​Woke to Jesus
Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Greenwood, Virginia
September 29, 2019
Proper 21, Year C
The Rev. John Taliaferro Thomas
 
Are you woke?  The call for wokeness traces back to the late sixties and was coined as slang for getting conscious, getting hip, getting aware in that day of the radical racial inequality.  The term woke then went to sleep, but its use has made a strong resurgence in the last few years as so many other inequalities have dragged it back into popular parlance.
 
There are so many issues to we are asked to be woke to now.  Of course, we need to be woke to classism, racism, and sexism.  We need to be woke to climate change, white privilege, and the socioeconomic roots of opportunity and achievement gaps.  We need to be woke to cultural hegemony, exclusive language of all kinds, and gender fluidity.  Wokeness has also given rise to slogan driven declarations: Black Lives Matter, Blue Lives Matter, Me Too, Pride, and many things LGBTQ+.
 
If our heads spin around all we must learn and appreciate to be so woken, now, some who employed the term originally, calling attention to race issues now resent its more widespread application as a watering down of its singular urgency.  So then, we need to be woke about not over appropriating idea of being woke.
 
Warning: we could get so wrapped around human peculiarity and particularity as mediated in such dizzying lingo that we reduce important conversations to dismissive labeling or resent whoever the other is because we feel put down as ignorant or unaware.  All of the issues and ideas driving conversations of justice and equality deserve a deeper dive into understanding and appreciation.  But when we become overwhelmed and threatened, we tend to shut down, shut out, or just shut up.  And yet, as a matter of faith, and a cornerstone of our baptismal covenant, we are to seek and serve Christ in all persons loving our neighbor as ourselves.  There is no asterisk there.  We are not excused even when doing so is hard, complex, or controversial.  We can disagree without being disagreeable.  But we cannot look away from the bedrock that is the Gospel of Jesus.
 
Today, we encounter one of those lessons that sends preachers scrambling.  In one of many of Luke’s commentaries on the impossibility of serving God and wealth, we hear the story of the rich man in hell and the poor man in heaven.  The set-up is stark.  The rich man spent his life in purple Gucci and gourmet feasting, while the poor man sat on the floor with dogs licking his sores.  When they die, the poor man is carried into healing heaven, and the flames of torment now lick the rich man.  As the story goes, he asks father Abraham who is the poor man’s companion in heaven, to have the man bring him a cool sip of water.  When Abraham tells him the chasm between them it too great, the man tells him to send the poor man to his five living brothers (to his people) to warn them of their potential fate. And with the foreshadowing of Jesus returning from the grave to bring life for all, Luke’s not so subtle joke and jab at those who do not get it is intense.
 
It is no wonder lectionary preachers all over the Church are trying to put a softer filter on this disturbing picture.  If we can speak in more metaphorical terms, perhaps we can get through this stark challenge, and keep our Jesus gentle, meek and mild.
 
Sorry.  This image is a two by four hitting us - especially us - between the eyes.  While we are a small denomination of Christians, we are among the most affluent in the world.  While we are shrinking like all mainline denominations, statistics tell us we are among the most educated, most resourced, and most physically secure of all segments of the world population.  This is not to say that most of us are super rich, Gucci laden, senseless consumerists.  But we do enjoy safe drinking water, access to decent nutrition and healthcare, and the protection relative peace and opportunity.  On the scale of economic reality we are much closer to the rich man than poor Lazarus.  If we take Jesus seriously, we have to live with awareness of our position, steward our abundance, and respond to the deep chasm between having much and having little to nothing.
 
In saying all of this, the preacher could be accused of going to meddling: of spouting socialism, communism, or some other form of wealth redistribution.  But that is not the point, nor is poverty and wealth gap a simple calculus with an obvious solution that some externally imposed force, tax, or shame can fix.  The problem for the rich man is not that he has all of that wealth; it is that he never seizes the chance to leverage his resources to help even the guy sitting under his table.  And even when he is fanning the flames of tormented selfishness, his response is to seek relief for himself, and to order Abraham and Lazarus to do his bidding.  “Me” and “mine” is the vocabulary that deepens the chasm.  “We” and “our” is the language that moves us toward healing and help.  Jesus goes on record over and over, reminding us that we are in this life together with all creation.
 
This last week, Netflix released a three-episode documentary about Bill Gates, the world second richest man.  While amassing his fortune in the tech boom, Gates was relentless, tireless, and visionary.  His business became so dominant that others in that sector dubbed his company, Microsoft, as the evil empire, gobbling up any and all competitors.  He was sued for anti-trust violations and shamed in the courts and the media.  He could have gone sour.  He could have leveraged his immense wealth to exact revenge, buy into other markets, or just floated around on an enormous yacht.
 
But something happened.  It is not clear what exactly, but with business stable and prospects abundant, Gates turned over daily operations of the business to someone else.  Then, he and entered into another absolutely equal partnership. He and his wife now devote almost all of their time and energy to this mission: “Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives.  His billions are working to eradicate polio, develop clean energy running on nuclear waste, and solving the massive problem of converting human waste into clean water and harmless byproducts.
 
Given the events of just this past week, with national and world leaders engaging in the blood sport of division, dissention, and personal and political vendettas, it is good to shift the narrative to something better, the work of those who value every human life.  We do not know Bill Gates’s heart or faith, but we can see his effort and energy doing something generative and life giving. 
 
We may not have his scale of wealth at our disposal, but we do have resources.  We may not have Gates like organizational machines, but we do have minds to think, hands to serve, hearts to love, and our Church’s work to get behind.
 
So again, are you woke?  Given all of the divisions that need to be helped and healed, I am not sure it possible to be so thoroughly woke.  Life is complicated, and an issue driven existence simply feeds anger, blame, frustration.  Folks, what we proclaim here is that we need only one kind of awakening: a grounded identity in Jesus.  Looking to God’s eternally creative presence, to Christ’s self-giving love, and the Spirit’s unbounded power guide us, we can tune into the ONE wokeness that covers all of the bases, fulfills our calling, and leads to all peace.  Get woke to Jesus, and all else good and right and just will follow.

​Enough
Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Greenwood, Virginia
September 22, 2019
Proper 20, Year C
The Rev. John Taliaferro Thomas
 
The University Maryland, Baltimore County.  Mascot: Chesapeake Bay Retriever named Fever.  On March 17, 2018, USA today described UMBC as “having no football team and chess is their best sport.”  On March 16, 2018, you may remember that they beat a certain local sports team in an historic basketball tournament upset. Unfortunately, I was there with lots of other UVA fans.  It was not pretty.
 
Walking back to the hotel that night on the sad and nearly silent streets of Charlotte, North Carolina, I remember discussing Coach Tony Bennett’s future with the University of Virginia.  We reflected that most coaches in his position would have the moving truck on standby for the next day because coaching college basketball is not a forgiving business.  But Tony Bennett is more than a coach.  He is a program builder and an invested leader.  He about building relationships more than building a résumé.
 
 After that the crushing defeat he said: “if you play this game and you step into the arena, this stuff can happen. And those who haven’t been in the arena or in the competition, maybe they don’t understand that. But there’s chances for wonderful things to happen, but when you’re in the arena, stuff like this can happen and all those who compete take that on. And so, we’ll accept it…  They played well and we did not.”
 
We all know what happened.  A year later, having common adversity as motivation, Bennett and the Cavaliers went from the agony of defeat to the thrill of victory.  That made the championship that much more sweet.
 
Fast forward to last week, exactly eighteen months after legendary defeat, Bennett signed a contract extension and instead of taking the monster raise, he asked for those resources to be given to the other coaches and to enhance other programs.  Then, he pledged five hundred thousand dollars of his own money to a career development program for his players past and present.  At the press conference has said this: “I have more than enough”
 
Over the past several weeks the predominant sports headlines have been all about money.  Certain players have received record high salary contracts.  One bad boy receiver in the NFL lost his multi-million-dollar contract with one team, only to be given another multi-million-dollar contract with another team, all amid serious allegations of felony misconduct.  When seeking respect and adulation, the operative phrase for most in the sports business is the old line from the movie Jerry Maguire: “Show me the money.”
 
We need to pause here.  Sure, Bennett is a local hero.  Sure, we may be a little biased in our love of the winning coach, and he is a human like the rest of us, but his words are prophetic, countercultural, and, to my mind, historic. “I have more than enough.”  That is real, servant leadership.  And it is in short supply in all areas of public life.
 
In an odd way that I do not accept as mere coincidence, the Gospel appointed for this week is all about the tension of serving God in a world that ascribes big money as the measure of success.  It starts with a parable of a man called the dishonest manager.  His boss has catches him squandering the company assets and tells him he is about to be fired.  The manager seeks to soften the blow, realizing that he is too old to work, and too proud to beg.  He calls in all of his vendors and tells them to cut their invoices in half and collects the money.  Strangely, the boss is complimentary of this tactic rather than being enraged at his shrinking bottom line.  And that is where the parable ends.
 
This is not a cut and dried morality tale with clear lines of good and evil.  Because the man is called the dishonest manager, it is clear that his reputation is not sterling, and must have been cheating people in business for a long time, putting his thumb on the scales and skimming the profits all along.  But finally, the boss’s suppliers are doing an honest deal.  Only when the hapless manager faces losing his position does he wake up to the he is going to need some friends, and he needs to set his relationships right.  The boss sees the bigger picture and even though the man is dishonest and desperate, he is delighted that he has begun the see the light.
 
As we see the metaphor for what it is, it is not all that flattering as to our place in the story.  We are children of a material world and we are consumed with having and being enough.  The story reminds us of the folly of false loves and the great idols of material security.  It reminds us that our motivations in life are not always so pure.   Using people and loving stuff leads to a false economy of true value.  In the end, our relationship with God and with one another is worth all of our attention, esteem, and effort.
 
Taken as a whole, the lessons for today urge us to seek the light even though there is plenty of darkness out there.  Jeremiah laments human corruption and faithlessness.  The letter to Timothy urges us to lift up our leaders in prayer that they may be “saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”  Bless their hearts.  And finally, it is laid out clearly that we “cannot serve God and wealth.”
 
When Coach Bennett made his case for sharing the resources of good fortune this week, we were given a gift that is a rare find in the public arena.  In saying “I have more than enough,” and then giving of his own resources to boot, I see a challenge and opportunity for all of us.  The leadership that needs following is that which values people: our lives, our future, and our deep joy.
 
Remember where this sermon started.  UMBC, the 16 seed in the regional bracket, delivering an historic upset.  Coach Bennett’s response was not blame and shame, it was acceptance and rededication.  His world has not been all success, sunshine, and adulation.  He is a flawed human like the rest of us.  And yet, he kept the main thing the main thing: gratitude for any and all success and respect for the players who take the court to grow through the challenge.  Win or lose, it is hard not to be a fan of this way of being.  That is leadership worth following way beyond the courts of play.
 
When we are honest we have to admit that we try and fail often in making our life reflective of God’s unlimited love.  We succumb to anxiety and worry as we listen to the voices of secular insecurity that tell us we are not enough and we do not have enough.  What we are here to tell the good stories and the cautionary tales.  We are here to remember and affirm that God draws us out of the human mire, showing and telling us that all is not lost and that God’s world is not past redeeming.  God so loves us that he becomes Jesus, staying lively among us in His Spirit.  In loving people first of all, we love God most of all.  And that is more than enough.  Amen.  

Bless Your Heart
Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Greenwood, Virginia
September 15, 2019
Proper 19, Year C
The Rev. John Taliaferro Thomas
 
Growing up in the Deep South requires fluency in more than one language.  We might all argue about how deep the South can get, but the Deep South of my rearing involved heat, humidity, sweet tea, and turns of phrase that are well known code words to soften the harshness of reality.  It is often said of Southerners that we do not hide the strange or bizarre, rather we dress them up and sit them on the front porch with the rest of us.  I suppose there are other places in the world where families are normal and people speak clearly and directly, but I suspect that they are rare and more or less deceptive in nature.  Where I grew up, there were things people said… then, there was what they meant.
 
​For example, they would talk about cousin Jane and it went something like this: ‘Janie is such a bird!  After she went to that school up north, she only shops at that natural food store and makes macramé belts for her boyfriends.  Translation: Cousin Jane came from a grew up in a good family like the rest of us, but she left home and lost her way.’  Or Uncle Billy: ‘Billy is such a homebody.  When his friends went off to school, he stayed home to take care of Big Mama and now he is sacking groceries over a the Piggly Wiggly.  They were good to give him a job.’  Translation:  Billy is an underachiever.
 
Such things are rarely said with malice, though there is always a tinge of judgement and wonder in how they were presented.  Learning to understand this second language describing human behavior is essential in Southern culture.  Learning to speak it is essential in learning how to behave.  Most of us were taught that if we do not have something nice to say, then we should not say anything at all.  Thus, the best and safest things to say to others in the messes of life is “Bless your heart.”
 
That one statement is not only useful and kind, it is so theologically sound.  Part of growing up in a culture where family is just what it is, and strange is more normal than not, is a certain theological realization that humans are, by nature, a big ole mess.  While there are plenty of questionable theological shortcuts in popular parlance, like “everything happens for a reason” or “love the sinner hate the sin,” “bless your heart” cuts through the pretense of purity or righteousness and accepts the basic anthropology of human nature.
 
When Jesus hangs out with notorious sinners, his critics give him hell.  Of course, they are looking for anything that will ding his reputation or dissuade his followers from following because, what Jesus knows and makes clear is that all of us fall short of the Glory of God.  For the hyper religious Pharisees and the law worshipping scribes, there is this only black and white: clean and unclean, righteous and unworthy, good and evil people.  When Jesus sees the potential for good in everyone, he hits too close to home, challenging power which they believe is derived from their pharisaic purity, their scribal piety, and their inherent belief that they are just better than other people.
 
Rather than feeding the fire of human puffery, Jesus turns the conversation toward two parables.  One is about the shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine sheep in search on the one lost one, and the other of a woman who stops everything in her household to clean up and find a lost coin.  Instead of giving power and credence to human machinations, Jesus points to our generous God, a God who takes both male and female form, a God who seeks and searches and finds and rejoices in what is found.
 
As a reset and a conversation changer, these parables appreciate that all of God’s people are a mixed up and confused bunch.  We are capable of such idiocy and destruction, but we are also capable of great love and unlimited creativity.  The Pharisees and scribes propagate a self-styled faith-based privilege system in which they believe good people staying away from those who are not as good as they believe they are.  It is not that they are indifferent, rather that they start with erroneous assumptions about themselves and others.
 
We see this played out in modern religious expression all of the time.  The prosperity gospel movement, which is widely and commercially popular, works on the principle of the holy scoreboard.  This game depends on some people living more rightly than others and, thereby, earning more holy favor.  Accordingly, the reward for such goodness is made evident in material success, public adulation, and pious notoriety.  But such moral high ground is impossible to hold.  People fail, fumble, and fall. 
 
In seeking the lost and the least, Jesus kills the power to the scoreboard, ascribing all power to the Loving Source.  We do not do the will of God to curry favor and earn points.  We do the will of God because of our delight and amazement in what God is already doing for us.
 
The great author, writer, and Christian theologian, C.S. Lewis, was found alone on his knees and weeping in the Chapel of St. John’s College, Oxford, where he lived and taught.  One of his colleagues came along side of him and asked what was the matter.  Lewis then told his friend of his companion, a woman with whom he was very much in love, and her recent diagnosis of incurable cancer.  The colleague, attempting to comfort Lewis, told him that surely God would hear his prayers, the prayers of a such a dedicated Christian apologist, and heal his love.  Lewis is reported to have said: “I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn't change God. It changes me.”
 
Lewis would go on to marry the woman and care for her young son.  In later life he wrote more about his grief acknowledging that his experience of that love was a glimmer of the depth of God’s love for us; a blessing mixed in the messiness of life, saying: “The pain now is part of the happiness then. That's the deal.” [1]
 
While we are apt to default into thinking of our relationship with God is a transactional business, Jesus lives and shows God’s love as an abiding force, not a conditional matter.  We come to Church not to hang out with the righteous elect, but to know and feel the heart of God beating in ours.  The message of the Gospel is not that we are any better than everyone else, just that we have a clue as to where to turn for help, and whom to thank for all we have been given. We are here to pray because we can't help ourselves.  We are here to pray because the need flows out of us.  We do not pray to change God. We pray to change us.  Bless our hearts.  Amen.


[1] For an excellent story of Lewis’s life and love, see the movie, Shadowlands, whence these quotations are collected.