Conditions in a World of Grace?

Isaiah 58:9-14

One of the basic principles we are taught in mathematics is conditional logistics, otherwise known as “if….then…” statements. If A = B then B = A. Or if A=B and B=C then A=C. Okay – enough math (I know it makes some of you dizzy). Conditional statements are important, though, because they set up the basic framework of math. They are the tracks for the train.

In church, we hear all the time about our unconditional God. We hear about the God who sent his son Jesus the Christ to die for us without condition. We cling to the hope of Grace – that amazing reality that God forgives our sin through the blood of Christ spilled on our behalf. Grace seems to defy conditional logic. IF Sin=Death and Humans=sin THEN Christ=eternity. Wait….that’s not logical. No – it is not. It’s love. God's love. And love is anything but logical.

Can an unconditional God have a conditional reality?

However, in this week’s lectionary Old Testament reading the If…Then statement comes out. Isaiah 58 was written approximately 587 BCE which was after Israel had been released from their long Babylonian captivity. The people were very unhappy. Oh sure, they were glad not to be slaves anymore, but disheartened and crabby. They didn’t have a temple anymore. Their culture, religion, government and food supplies were in a shambles. They were blaming each other and hurting themselves. You know how people get when they are disappointed. Grumble-city! Along comes the prophet to give them a message from God. He says:
“

Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

"If you do away with the yoke of
oppression, with the pointing finger and
malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.”

So to all this complaining our God says “If….then.” IF you get rid of oppression and IF you feed and care for each other, THEN you will be in light and not darkness. Later the scripture goes on to say IF you keep the Sabbath, THEN you will find joy in God.”

God’s answer to the cries of the people of Israel is to say: "If you’re unhappy and you know it – stomp your feet! (stomp, stomp). If you’re willing to give of yourself and lift others up – you’ll be blessed! In other words – you’ve got the problem. You solve it! "

Christ's Parallel

It is very similar to Luke 9:10-17 (the feeding of the 5,000) when the disciples tell Jesus the crowd is hungry and he says “You give them something to eat”, but then Jesus multiplies the loaves and fish so all can dine. God is telling them to stop oppressing, finger pointing and playing the blame game and then the light of the community can shine. But God also promises to be the light bringer, just as Jesus multiplied the fish.

So what can we make of these conditions? Is God still unconditional? You bet. The truth we see in this scripture is one of the most important things to learn in a developing Christian life: Grace is not conditional, but Growth is. Grace – the gift of God to us is without condition. BUT growth in Christ requires the IF’s to get to the THENS.

If you want God to love you – God already does. If you want God to forgive you – God already has. But if you want God to grow you as Christ’s disciple and if you want the peace of Christ, the joy of God, and the heaven on earth that is the Christian life, then you must be obedient. You must stop oppression and speak out against those who would batter, violate or isolate God’s children. You must stop finger pointing and learn to give to and forgive others. You must stop malicious talk and learn to lift in love.

Then you will have a life where you are not using your energy holding other people down for your own ego. You will have freedom because you are not holding onto the past pains and grudges that wound you. You will have joy because you’ll be sharing strengths with each other not just complaining about weaknesses. You will be a light people can use to find their way to God.

How do you start this growth in God? By prayer. The first thing God tells them to do is pray, and God promises to be there. After prayer, comes obedience – following God’s desires for our charity, generosity and active Christianity. After obedience comes justice. When the hungry are eating, when the victims are safe and when the wounds are healed the light will shine so brightly we will live in the noon of God forevermore.

This equation doesn’t happen over night. You may need to study, pray or to talk to a mentor or wise person about how to heal old wounds, forgive great wrongs, feed the hungry or let go of oppressing habits. The promise of God is the same: to be here with us while loving us without condition and inspiring us to enlighten a world that has seen way too many dark days.

May we all Grow in Grace.

What God Knows

Note: This message was inspired by a discussion with a group who attends the early service. (It is kinda like a Sunday school class, only more theologically adventurous and wonderfully less formal). While we were talking about whether we thought God knows everything that happens before it does, Julie was inspired to bring up the “parable of the talents” but the topic changed before her thought could be developed. It raised interesting questions in my mind about that issue so I went home and read it again. Julie didn’t make a distinction between this story in Matthew and a similar story in Luke (Parable of the Minas) – but she said "Talent" not Mina – and knows her bible pretty well – so I’m sticking with Matthew.

When I was in 11th grade I was in the library of my high school at lunch with friends from the science club (my nerd herd) getting ready to plan a new dungeon for Dungeons and Dragons. My friends went to get a rule book out of a locker and left me to hold the table. A pretty and popular girl (re: cheerleader type) named Marilyn came over to my table. I knew her because as Sophomores I had been assigned to be her “Peer Math Mentor”, which she disappointingly discovered did not mean I would do her homework. She leaned over to me as her friends from the other table watched with big shark-like smiles.
“Can I ask you something?” She said invitingly.
“Sure,” I replied with resignation.
“Do nerds know?” She asked mysteriously.
“Do nerds know what?”.
“Do you know that you’re nerds?”
"WHAT?”
“Do you know you’re geeks and everyone else in this school thanks God every night we are not like you?”
I paused for a moment, mildly distracted by her Farrah Fawcett hair, and then answered her patiently.
“Nerds know there is more to life than high school.”
She stomped away with a hair flip, terribly disappointed I wasn’t more interesting prey, and my friends returned in awe of me, because I had been seen talking to Marilyn.

I remember that day in the library as clearly as if it happened yesterday. Did I know I was a nerd? Sure. Did I know other kids thanked God they weren’t like me? Well, no. But it wasn’t surprising. But what did that knowledge do for me? What did knowing I was a nerd have to do with anything? I think I remember it so well because it had to do with everything. It was the first real awareness that I was someone in the world’s eyes. That lead me to discover I was also someone else in God’s eyes. Those two views helped me overcome social shallowness, and become the child of God I was meant to be.

Does God Know?

The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) answers that question for us very well indeed. It describes a master who gives 3 servants talents (a monetary denomination) of different quantity. The first gets 5 talents, the second, 2 and the last, 1. The first doubles the charge and returns 10 the Master. The second also doubles his amount and returns with 4. The last guy is afraid of the master and hides the talent. He later digs it up and gives it to the master (a little dirtier than before). The master tells the first 2 servants they are good and faithful and promises them more. The last servant he rebukes and tells him that he could have at least put the money with a bank and got interest instead of burying it. He takes the 1 talent from the man and gives him the boot – casting him out to the darkness with gnashing of teeth. It’s a pretty harsh story when you think about it. Is Jesus telling us God can be cruel to the losers among us? No. There is a greater message among the coins. What does God know?

God knows what we can do

The master is said to give the talents to each man “according to his ability”. This tells us the Master knew his servants well enough to know how much each could handle. The Master has unique knowledge of the history of each person and the ability they have to achieve. God knows what we can do too. Often when faced with a challenge we want to throw up our hands and say “You have to be crazy, Lord. I can’t do this!!!” However, we forget God formed us and knows our abilities better than we do. Remember God’s knowledge isn’t based on what we WILL do. But what we CAN do. The Master knew the first servant could handle 5 talents. He didn’t know if he would or not. So he is happy when he sees the first servant choosing to fulfill his potential. Always remember: to God we are a promise, not a package. God sees what we can do. God hopes we will deliver.

God knows what motivates us

God knows what motivates us to make the choices we do. God knows when we choose to do things out of love, or out of fear. God understands when we say cruel things because of bad memories or sullen regrets. God sees why we are afraid to reach out with more freedom and confidence. God knows why we hide the talent. God understands people who just can’t say “no” (and people who say it all the time).

The first servant is like all Type A – first born children – motivated by productivity. So, the Master praises him and gives him more to do. The second servant is motivated by success. So, the Master praises him and raises the stakes. Notice his says “'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things” (Mt 25:23, NIV). The first is good with many, and gets many. The second is good with few, and gets many. But, the poor third guy - he is motivated by fear. He fears the Master, and losing the talent. So, when the Master sees his choice, he fulfills that fear. “You were afraid of losing your talent, and so you shall.” He takes the talent away and throws the servant out. Now why would a Master do that?

God knows there is a next time

I believe the man is thrown out without his talent so that his fear can be fulfilled and the next time he can learn to be motivated by hope instead. Humans fear the unknown. When we start acting on fear, we are acting from the scenes in our head that are a hundred times worse that reality can really be. But once the consequence is known, the fear can be turned to knowledge and eventually empowerment. All three servants will have a next time. The first is now working with 11 talents. The second is working with 4 plus whatever else the master gives him to take him from few to more. But the third – he didn’t work the last time because he was afraid of loss. If the master found him in the darkness, brought him into the light and gave him another talent – what do you think he would do? I think he’d invest it. He no longer has to fear what its like to lose a talent. He’s already lost one! He can be freed to work again because he can learn. Knowledge conquers fear as surely as love conquers death.

The Parable of the Talents doesn’t tell us about the “next time” because Jesus has other points to make in his sermon. But the Bible tells about the next time. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Cor. 5:17 NIV). The man with one talent can be a new man; a man who no longer lives in fear, but works in freedom. He is a man who doesn’t need to hide anything anymore.

Does God know?

Yes. God knows who we are, and what we are capable of. God knows the things that motivate us (positively and negatively), and God knows we have all of eternity for “next times” to discover who we can be in God’s eyes. God knew, before Marilyn figured it out, that I was a nerd. And God knew that even a nerd can be set free.

Does God know what you’ll do? God knows you are a promise. God hopes you know it too.

Once More Into The Breach!

I started this blog last December as a bridge to my retirement from the pulpit. Then the cyclone hit.

Cathy's father passed away. Cathy got breast cancer, had a mastectomy and chemotherapy. We moved from El Paso, Texas to Quinton, Va (near Richmond) with 2 dogs, 2 cats, 2 cars and a moving van full of comic books. We got settled into a brand new house, in a whole new place, and found a nice new church to attend while I work on my book and Cathy recovers and works at a hospital. We have started the daunting task of trying to get to know people and make friends (Cathy's doing good with that - for a shy nerd like me, its been a struggle.)

God in our lives has been strong, smart and loving. We are at home in the woods of the beautiful country. We have had a rough year. We have walked with a great God.

So after all the upheaval and time for spiritual healing and mental settling, I'm ready to get back to my ministerial, funny, wise witness and share the journey with you again. I hope to invite some new folks and VA friends to join our journey as well.

Let us now go forward together!

Your Shepnerd,
Rev. Kellie

P.S. As my good friend Mitch has taught me to say: New blog posts will be here every Monday morning. Except for when they're not.