Sarah's not retiring, she's havin' a Baby!

“Oh yes, you did laugh” I must start out by saying that I love these words. I also think about Sarah and Abraham because it is one of the most playful things God says in the whole Bible and he says it to Sarah a complex and important hero of our common heritage. If you are familiar with the story of Abraham and Sarah I apologize for this next bit- so please indulge me for a second. Abraham and Sarah are Sumerians- they live in Ur a powerful city state on the Tigris and Euphrates. To give you some background- Ur, and all of the Sumerian City States, was a land of theocrats that the King rules all as the High Priest to their many Gods. Then Abraham receives word that he must go against convention and leave his life in Ur and go to Cannan and be blest by this unknown God, due to his adherence to this command he is known as the father of all the big three monotheistic religions. Anyway, he follows the order and leaves and encounters things that fill the book of Genesis such as Sodom and Gomorrah, Sarah and Abrahams encounter with Pharaoh, not to mention that they were chosen by God to have progeny that were too numerous to count. Sarah even gave Abraham Hagar, her Egyptian servant, to help fulfill prophecy (because she was barren – or so she thought) so that Abraham could fill the land- and with the arrival of A & H’s son, Ishmael, they probably assumed they were done . By the time of their meeting with the Lord in the Oaks of Mamre, Abraham is the leader of a large flock of travelers and S &A are well –in their golden years probably ready for some time off (Abraham was 100 and Sara was 90) - they worked hard, they have long passed their mandatory retirement age in the US – I can even imagine their caravan being an ancient version of the RV on it’s way to chill out in the Biblical version of Florida – Cannan with Gods promise of a new and bountiful land. Time for a break we might think- Abraham and Sarah have already been to Cannan once and where forced away by a famine – then they were economic refugees in Egypt where they tussled with a Pharaoh and then unsuccessfully negotiated with God to save Sodom and Gomorrah at the Dead Sea. Wow, it definitely sounds like the time for a break.
Well- now for something completely different. God tells Sarah she will have a child. The son that will carry on to be one of the founders of a great nation. She even laughs at God, I think because she is so surprised, to put it mildly- after all she was 90- she is obviously surprised that this wonderful gift can be given to her. Wow- think about it, when we think we are done and we are comfortable God always pulls us forward. God pulls forward to do more than we ever imagined. So when Sarah hears she will give birth at this time during her life- I think a laugh is very appropriate. So hold on this story of surprise and moving on to the unknown, while we think about our Gospel passage
In this passage from Matthew, The Disciples, or followers of Jesus, are told to go out and do some amazing things- Heal the sick, raise the dead, and as we know- take nothing but your sandals. They are to accept no payment- in other words- they are to trust God.
I can imagine that this would be hard for a Disciple to hear. It is easy to follow, it is not so easy to lead- but with support it can be doable. Could you imagine being given this type of independent duty? You’ve watched and you’ve learned, as they did- if for just one moment you could imagine yourself in their shoes- you’ve probably would have become very comfortable with a leader who is- and will continue- to save the world- God in the flesh. I mean I think I would be comfortable with this arrangement of following God, no matter how difficult the living would be. Then your support is pulled away. You’ve got to do it alone, or at least you perceive it will be alone. How do these stories of disrupted comfort apply to us? We are frequently are pulled from our comfortable places- just like Sarah and the disciples we are pulled from our comfortable and easy existences. God continues to surprise and challenge us to reach heights that we think are impossible just like he did with them- God continues to pull us from our comfort zones- and God is with us through it all.
It might help us to think of these examples from our modern times-
There are people who worked tirelessly throughout history and continue to do so today.
Take Gandhi for example, Mohandas Gandhi could have easily been a lawyer in India or South Africa, dealt with unjust laws and been prosperous and happy- he then sheds his clothes and liberates a nation. Speaking of Gandhi, there is the story of one of my favorite Anglican Priests from history, Charlie Andrews, who in the early twentieth century decided that the posh parish life in England was not what God called him to do. HE went against his ordination vows and went against the king of England and assisted Gandhi in liberating India & Pakistan, two nations that were bound by the yoke of oppression.
In America, Martin Luther King Jr was a afforded the opportunity to be a minister at one of the largest black churches in the nation, he was respected in what was considered his community by the status quo and he could have followed the example of many and been happy, complacent, and – yes- comfortable. But this was not what God called him to do, he worked to create the new Jerusalem by fighting for equality among all of God’s people and sadly he died for it. There is Mother Theresa who already gave her life to God, and could have been like the many pious people before and settled for a life of quiet service, contemplation and prayer, but she dedicated her life to bringing dignity to dying and destitute- all of them God’s children (no matter religion, race, social status, or infirmity). There is Desmond Tutu, who was a priest and a bishop who could have quietly performed the duties prescribed to his office and made no waves. But, God called him from complacency and he led a nation to justice and equality by ending apartheid in South Africa. Most importantly- there was a Jewish carpenter who decided to abandon a comfortable life in Nazareth and realize what his destiny was to be and acknowledge who he was – the saviour of the world and God’s only son who will give himself to us and the cross.
What do all of these wonderful soul stirring stories have in common? It is the throwing off of a yoke, not the yoke of oppression, but the yoke of comfort and complacency. Now, I know that we have all worked hard and I am not calling us all to go out and win the Nobel Peace Prize- that would be nice- But, I do wonder if when we enter the world beyond these doors can we take the time to notice the world around us? When we leave the comfort of our beautiful church and the warmth that the surroundings give us, we are empowered through the holy sacrament of Communion through the service of the Eucharist to change the world! Many days, myself included, we leave this comfort to quickly find the comfort of a restaurant, the easy chair, or the simple comfort of a wonderful and beautiful Sunday afternoon with family. But I wonder if we could listen to what the Spirit is saying to us, and take that empowering sacrament of the Eucharist into the world and use the strength that Christ has bestowed upon us to be the body of Christ in this world. God always is calling us to move forward, to fix what is broken in this world. Listen to what the Spirit is saying- are you being spoken to?
I am not saying that our actions have to be big! Some people are called to that- some go to Haiti, some hear God calling them to be clergy, some hear the call of God asking them to assist refugees and people in distress, some might hear the call of serving someone who is hungry a simple meal, some hear the call to assist the ill, some hear the call to mentor and help the youth of our community, some hear the call of bringing God’s beauty to our ears and eyes through art and music, some might hear the call of helping to clean a refuse filled area of God’s Green and Blue Earth. God might be calling you to write a letter, or stand and organize to fight an injustice that is taking place in God’s Kingdom. In other words, all things are big when we work as Christ’s body in this world.
So whatever the Spirit is saying to you, take the time to listen and I bet that the comfort of following God’s active direction will be much more gratifying than the comfort of complacency. In fact, I bet you’ll laugh just like Sarah-----laugh with joy.

On Jacob's Ladder

On a ship, there is a piece of equipment called the Jacob’s Ladder- and yes it is as the name implies – a ladder. It is very flimsy, if I handed it to you, to say, paint your house or change a light bulb, you would probably choose a more standard variety of ladder- say aluminum or one of those really great one advertised on TV- (you, know the one that forms a triangle and can seemingly make the space program unnecessary due to it’s incredible reach). The Jacob’s Ladder I am talking about is a rope with rungs attached. It’s purpose is to save lives, it is a bridge between the ocean and the safety of a ship, it is flimsy, it makes your heart beat faster when you descend or ascend it. It is, to say the least, a nerve racking affair when you must climb it. It is attached from the top and descends to the water to save lives. I think there are major parallels between the story from Genesis and this piece of maritime equipment, they both join the turbulent earth with sanctuary. These ladders are connections between the divine salvation and despair. Both of these ladders can also be a comfort, it tells us of the connection between salvation and the enveloping deep are not that far away from each other. They are both as close as you can reach, they are both (the divine ladder and the more earthly one) designed to reach to earth, not some tantalizing carrot that causes us only to yearn and groan, but to yearn and groan and reach the goal of salvation, whether from the sea or the brokenness of our increasingly cruel and unstable world. If we can reach up in our very souls and grasp this ladder and some how bring heaven to earth we can change the world, we can grab all of the wonderful souls of creation and bring them into the ship of God’s love. It is not easy, the waves and tumultuous currents of modern culture make it hard to reach, many give up- but, we cant give up because God’s love will always be there if we just strain for the ladder.

Now, how is the Old Testament story of Jacob’s vision of a ladder joining of Heaven and Earth relate to the Parable of the Sower. The parable tells the story of a farmer that plants good seed and basically weeds come up around the good seed, bit Jesus assures us that we should not be concerned because- basically- all will be taken care of. Jesus then goes on to explain that the Son of Man on Earth is the good crop, the nourishing crop- & evil is obviously the weeds- but the good crop will “overpower- or triumph” the evil weeds through the divine. Here is the second analogy of the evening- I love gardening, especially herb gardening- I don’t know sometimes I think I’m a medieval monk herbalist born in the wrong time, without the silly haircut of course…………
But, anyway I like to plant Basil, and other herbs that I like to cook with. I also like Mint for my iced tea. If you have ever tried to grow mint, you know that it will take over your garden. Weeds and centipede grass try to take it over, but their efforts are futile in vanquishing the planted mint. Here’s where the analogy comes in- when Jesus tells the story of the parable, he acknowledges that there will be weeds- when he speaks of planting good seed, he is not speaking of horticulture, he is speaking of love and us- as the hands and feet of Christ in this world. To be Christians, we must do hard work. We must overcome the weeds-just like the mint does and with God’s help the weeds have no chance. What are the weeds that we must overcome you might ask and how do we overcome them, and what does the analogy of Jacob’s ladder have to do with all of this?
The story of Jacob’s ladder paints a picture of a three tiered universe- a medieval version of the universe. When I was a child, I was told of a place in the sky- or heaven and then our green and blue gift of the earth in which we have stewardship of ( and are standing on at this moment) and well the hotspot located underground- the place you went to if you were bad (or squirmed in church as my granny used to say – God rest her soul). This is a very popular version of the cosmos that prevailed as the dominate science until the renaissance. But as an incarnational people, could it be possible that the ladder is us doing what God wills us to do, obtaining heaven through becoming closer to Christ through prayer and action? Could it be that this ladder is not some paranormal gate, but a mystical one reached by prayer? And not just the prayer we do internally, but the prayer that Rabbi Abraham Heshel, a noted Jewish theologian and activist, said that was best performed with our feet through action and SACRED activism? This ladder is in us and so is the garden that Jesus speaks of. In our internal private places we have desires and thoughts of greed (hum, wonder if I can score the last piece of pie), coveting our neighbour’s possessions (this happens every time I see a Hybrid car), not to mention the gluttony that happens often in many of us. The weeds of complacency are in our minds- the weeds of the acceptance of the injustices of this world – the weeds of rage that happen when many of us feel like we have not received the respect we deserve- the thoughts of prejudice that we all have when we see someone who is not exactly like we are. It is through Christ and the good seed that is God that will bring the harvest of love, compassion and –yes- sacrifice, to our souls and deliver us into unity with God and all of Creation. It is the internal ladder that we must groan and stretch for that will deliver us to this heavenly country. It is a ladder to the divine that is so fragile that if you blink you might miss it, but it must be found and ascended so that we can tend the good crop and watch it flourish, and when we have found this ladder is it not our duty as Christians to share our discovery? Isn’t a crop to be shared- not horded? When we decide to accept and climb our ladder, we can then throw our ladder down into the weedy tumultuous garden that is the treacherous sea and reach down and grab those who suffer and bring them into Love.
I know what this feels like, on an earthly level. There was not better felling while I was in the Coast Guard than reaching down that jacob’s ladder and pulling someone onto your ship.
As followers of Christ, and as a loving, incarnate people, don’t we have a responsibility to throw down the ladder and pull those up around us. Can we help weed the garden of the world and let the Spirit flourish as does Mint in the summer? Can the entire crop of God’s love flourish and feed the world?

So, let us grab up the harvest and use the ladder to deliver Christ’s love to a hungry and distressed world.