Your Faith Journey - Finding God Through Words, Song and Praise

As we prepare for Easter, this is the special Good Friday presentation of the Cantata, Once Upon a Tree. 

Boxes.  We are always creating these mental boxes or categories in which we are placing people, assigning labels and then feeling very uncomfortable when people do not fit our assigned boxes.  In fact, some tend to get angry when people do not fit into their perceived boxes.  We do this with all kinds of people, and we are so very, very good at doing this with God.  We are forever boxing God in.  We, who consider ourselves good “church people” regularly try to place God in boxes like tradition or even religious patriotism.   And, we are forever trying to remake God in our image.  We are forever trying to place God’s very self into a box based on our perception of God, one that was usually formed during our childhood education but never develops and grows beyond that early understanding.  Furthermore, we want to make sure other people’s understanding of God fits into the God box we create because we are so comfortable with our perceptions and traditions and we don’t want to find ourselves feeling uncomfortable, especially when it comes to what we say about God.  And, heaven forbid if someone does something outside of the box or something gets changed because we want things to be done the way they have always been done!  Well, I have news for you today!  God is always going to be bigger than the God boxes we create.  God is always going to be shattering those boxes, and God is always going to be pushing us out of our comfort zones. 

As we look at today’s gospel reading, Mary is bumping up against the mental boxes people have created around cultural norms, traditions, and people’s perceptions of the way Jesus should act and respond to various situations and people.  She is bumping up against The Way Things Have Always Been Done while breaking cultural norms at the same time. Today’s gospel story is so familiar to us that it no longer sounds scandalous or uncomfortable to our 21st century ears.  But, in the first century, what happened at Mary and Martha’s house would have been the talk of town.

First, as the story unfolds, Jesus’ feet have already been washed. You see, everyone walked along those dirty, dusty roads in sandals.  The oxen, sheep, horses, donkeys and camels traveled the same roads, so their pungent droppings needed to be washed off sandals and feet as well. Foot washing was a customary part of hospitality, something done before guests entered a house. Mary and Martha would have already made sure this lowliest of tasks had been done before guests even entered their home.

Second, Mary was NOT supposed to be showing up in the dining room at all, unless to serve.  However, just recently Jesus had miraculously raised her brother, Lazarus, from the dead, and Mary was overflowing with gratitude, devotion and love.  So, into the dining room she went, shattering a cultural norm.  To make matters worse, Mary begins touching Jesus as she anoints his feet with perfumed oil.  Now, men and women in that culture were prohibited from touching each other in public; in fact, a man wasn’t even supposed to speak to a woman who was not his wife, mother or daughter.

Well, the scandal escalates as Mary loosens her hair and uses her long, flowing hair as a towel. Because a woman’s loose hair was viewed as too sensual, it was taboo for a woman to even have her hair unbound. We still see this in some religious cultures today – a woman’s hair should not only be bound, it should also be covered.

Finally, Mary uses an extravagant nard worth an entire years’ salary to perfume Jesus’ feet. The writer of John’s gospel describes Mary’s act as an “anointing” of Jesus.  Anointing was reserved for kings, prophets or priests who were called by God for a special task, and such anointing was done by a male priest in Jerusalem.  It was NOT done by a layperson.  It was NOT done in a Bethany home and it was most certainly NOT done by a woman.  Mary is shattering multiple boxes of tradition and culture.

The writer of John’s gospel offers us the outrageous idea that Jesus, the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Christ, is being lavishly anointed for his journey to the cross by a small-town laywoman, who, in a moment of unbridled devotion, seems to shatter every tradition in the books.  Mary obliterates cultural norms and the many categories and mental boxes people have created for Jesus and his ministry.  And, people in the room are pushed WAY beyond their comfort zone.

Well, Judas Iscariot gives voice to the discomfort in the room. He pretends to care about the poor as he publicly shames Mary and tries to put her in her place with his supposed male superiority. Now, if you have ever been belittled, shamed or mocked for any reason, you know how awful and uncomfortable Mary must feel.  But when Judas does this, the real scandal and miracle of the story takes place! Jesus admonishes Judas, not Mary, as one would expect. Jesus puts Judas in his place by saying, “leave her alone!”

Mary will not be denied. In those three words, “leave her alone” Jesus sharply defends Mary and receives her as an equal. Jesus is perfectly comfortable being touched by a woman.  Not only is he perfectly comfortable with this.  He is perfectly comfortable that she does this with her hair down in a room full of men!   Instead of siding with tradition, Jesus joins Mary in breaking down the cultural barriers between women and men, and she embodies the radical equality in the Reign of God.

Throughout his ministry, Jesus shattered people’s perceptions, traditions and all of the boxes they created to categorize people.  All were welcome in his presence.  He was perfectly comfortable ministering to and welcoming all people, especially those considered outcasts – those who were supposed to stay in the boxes marked the fringe of society.

Twenty centuries later, Jesus is still shattering our mental boxes, our perceptions and our traditions.  Who are the outcasts today?  Who, if they joined us at the Lord’s Table, cause you discomfort and the urge to say, “no that just can’t be.”  Perhaps your discomfort rises around people who are gay, lesbian, or transgendered. Perhaps it is with those who don’t speak English or any considered “other.”  Perhaps it is with someone who suffers severe mental illness.  Perhaps your discomfort even rises from small children being able to receive the gifts of God’s very self at the Lord’s Table.  Maybe your discomfort is with the very poor, who, Jesus reminds us, are always with us due to ever present human greed. 

Well, the gospel truth is that ALL are equally welcome at the Lord’s Table and ALL are equally welcome in God’s kingdom.  And, the gospel truth is that God is quite likely going to break open all of the boxes you have created for God’s self, so that you might be transformed and so that you can begin living into the radical equality and love of God’s Reign. 

Yes, God is always going to shatter our mental boxes regarding the way we think things should be because God is always about bringing transformation to us and this world.  As we shall see in just a couple of weeks, God is going to obliterate the most powerful box of all, the box that creates fear and anxiety within us and shapes so much of who we are and the way we live – the box of death.  As Mary acts generously and lovingly and shatters people’s perceived notions of how things should be done, she anoints Jesus for the ultimate obliteration of perceptions, categories and mental boxes.  And, we are going to see that ultimate box destroyed as God conquers death and raises Jesus from the dead!

Heaven rejoices when, with Jesus, we let go of our mental boxes and step into the radical equality and love that is found in the Reign of God.

Boxes.  We are always creating these mental boxes or categories in which we are placing people, assigning labels and then feeling very uncomfortable when people do not fit our assigned boxes.  In fact, some tend to get angry when people do not fit into their perceived boxes.  We do this with all kinds of people, and we are so very, very good at doing this with God.  We are forever boxing God in.  We, who consider ourselves good “church people” regularly try to place God in boxes like tradition or even religious patriotism.   And, we are forever trying to remake God in our image.  We are forever trying to place God’s very self into a box based on our perception of God, one that was usually formed during our childhood education but never develops and grows beyond that early understanding.  Furthermore, we want to make sure other people’s understanding of God fits into the God box we create because we are so comfortable with our perceptions and traditions and we don’t want to find ourselves feeling uncomfortable, especially when it comes to what we say about God.  And, heaven forbid if someone does something outside of the box or something gets changed because we want things to be done the way they have always been done!  Well, I have news for you today!  God is always going to be bigger than the God boxes we create.  God is always going to be shattering those boxes, and God is always going to be pushing us out of our comfort zones. 

As we look at today’s gospel reading, Mary is bumping up against the mental boxes people have created around cultural norms, traditions, and people’s perceptions of the way Jesus should act and respond to various situations and people.  She is bumping up against The Way Things Have Always Been Done while breaking cultural norms at the same time. Today’s gospel story is so familiar to us that it no longer sounds scandalous or uncomfortable to our 21st century ears.  But, in the first century, what happened at Mary and Martha’s house would have been the talk of town.

First, as the story unfolds, Jesus’ feet have already been washed. You see, everyone walked along those dirty, dusty roads in sandals.  The oxen, sheep, horses, donkeys and camels traveled the same roads, so their pungent droppings needed to be washed off sandals and feet as well. Foot washing was a customary part of hospitality, something done before guests entered a house. Mary and Martha would have already made sure this lowliest of tasks had been done before guests even entered their home.

Second, Mary was NOT supposed to be showing up in the dining room at all, unless to serve.  However, just recently Jesus had miraculously raised her brother, Lazarus, from the dead, and Mary was overflowing with gratitude, devotion and love.  So, into the dining room she went, shattering a cultural norm.  To make matters worse, Mary begins touching Jesus as she anoints his feet with perfumed oil.  Now, men and women in that culture were prohibited from touching each other in public; in fact, a man wasn’t even supposed to speak to a woman who was not his wife, mother or daughter.

Well, the scandal escalates as Mary loosens her hair and uses her long, flowing hair as a towel. Because a woman’s loose hair was viewed as too sensual, it was taboo for a woman to even have her hair unbound. We still see this in some religious cultures today – a woman’s hair should not only be bound, it should also be covered.

Finally, Mary uses an extravagant nard worth an entire years’ salary to perfume Jesus’ feet. The writer of John’s gospel describes Mary’s act as an “anointing” of Jesus.  Anointing was reserved for kings, prophets or priests who were called by God for a special task, and such anointing was done by a male priest in Jerusalem.  It was NOT done by a layperson.  It was NOT done in a Bethany home and it was most certainly NOT done by a woman.  Mary is shattering multiple boxes of tradition and culture.

The writer of John’s gospel offers us the outrageous idea that Jesus, the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Christ, is being lavishly anointed for his journey to the cross by a small-town laywoman, who, in a moment of unbridled devotion, seems to shatter every tradition in the books.  Mary obliterates cultural norms and the many categories and mental boxes people have created for Jesus and his ministry.  And, people in the room are pushed WAY beyond their comfort zone.

Well, Judas Iscariot gives voice to the discomfort in the room. He pretends to care about the poor as he publicly shames Mary and tries to put her in her place with his supposed male superiority. Now, if you have ever been belittled, shamed or mocked for any reason, you know how awful and uncomfortable Mary must feel.  But when Judas does this, the real scandal and miracle of the story takes place! Jesus admonishes Judas, not Mary, as one would expect. Jesus puts Judas in his place by saying, “leave her alone!”

Mary will not be denied. In those three words, “leave her alone” Jesus sharply defends Mary and receives her as an equal. Jesus is perfectly comfortable being touched by a woman.  Not only is he perfectly comfortable with this.  He is perfectly comfortable that she does this with her hair down in a room full of men!   Instead of siding with tradition, Jesus joins Mary in breaking down the cultural barriers between women and men, and she embodies the radical equality in the Reign of God.

Throughout his ministry, Jesus shattered people’s perceptions, traditions and all of the boxes they created to categorize people.  All were welcome in his presence.  He was perfectly comfortable ministering to and welcoming all people, especially those considered outcasts – those who were supposed to stay in the boxes marked the fringe of society.

Twenty centuries later, Jesus is still shattering our mental boxes, our perceptions and our traditions.  Who are the outcasts today?  Who, if they joined us at the Lord’s Table, cause you discomfort and the urge to say, “no that just can’t be.”  Perhaps your discomfort rises around people who are gay, lesbian, or transgendered. Perhaps it is with those who don’t speak English or any considered “other.”  Perhaps it is with someone who suffers severe mental illness.  Perhaps your discomfort even rises from small children being able to receive the gifts of God’s very self at the Lord’s Table.  Maybe your discomfort is with the very poor, who, Jesus reminds us, are always with us due to ever present human greed. 

Well, the gospel truth is that ALL are equally welcome at the Lord’s Table and ALL are equally welcome in God’s kingdom.  And, the gospel truth is that God is quite likely going to break open all of the boxes you have created for God’s self, so that you might be transformed and so that you can begin living into the radical equality and love of God’s Reign. 

Yes, God is always going to shatter our mental boxes regarding the way we think things should be because God is always about bringing transformation to us and this world.  As we shall see in just a couple of weeks, God is going to obliterate the most powerful box of all, the box that creates fear and anxiety within us and shapes so much of who we are and the way we live – the box of death.  As Mary acts generously and lovingly and shatters people’s perceived notions of how things should be done, she anoints Jesus for the ultimate obliteration of perceptions, categories and mental boxes.  And, we are going to see that ultimate box destroyed as God conquers death and raises Jesus from the dead!

Heaven rejoices when, with Jesus, we let go of our mental boxes and step into the radical equality and love that is found in the Reign of God.

This is a special musical performance of Do This and Remember Me by the Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan

This is a special musical performance of Do This and Remember Me by the Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan

I must confess something.  I am totally and completely dependent upon my GPS.  And, I must confess, not only do I get geographically lost as I travel from place to place, I have also been figuratively lost at various points in my life.  There have been times in life when I have truly felt emotionally and spiritually lost.  Today, Jesus speaks to us about getting lost and, of all the parables Jesus told, the story of the Prodigal Son is perhaps the most profound.  

Today’s gospel reading tells of a father who had two sons.  The younger son, wanting to get away from home, asks for his future inheritance, a share of his father's estate.  He wants his own life apart. This younger son seems cocky, confident, arrogant and self-reliant as he essentially says: "Give me my part of your stuff, Dad. I'm going to take off and live by myself."  His father willingly gives it to him, and the young man runs off to a distant country, quickly squandering his inheritance.  Soon he finds himself knee deep in pig slop, feeling very hungry and destitute.  And, he finds himself chastened by his intemperate actions.

So, he returns home, prepared to acknowledge to his father that he has failed and no longer deserves to be called his father’s son. The younger son has finally come to his senses. He is content, even eager, to be treated as no more than a slave or hired worker. But, he is in for a big surprise.  And, Luke’s telling of the story at this point is so beautiful.  Luke writes that while the younger son "was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him." He calls for a feast to be prepared in celebration of his son's return.

Well, this celebration does not go over well with the older son.  He protests that he has never disobeyed his father and he has never given him cause for grief. This is true, but the older son is trying to find his legitimacy in obedience instead of love. He doesn't know about simple relationship – and you know what?  The Bible is all about relationship.  God is all about relationship!  One of the deep truths we need to learn is this: when we don't have a living, life-giving relationship with God, we often try to substitute with duty and obligation.

Now, while this parable is called the story of the Prodigal Son, it probably should be called the story of the Prodigal Father.  The word prodigal means lavish or extravagant, and it is really the Father who is extravagant when it comes to his sons. The sons are prodigal in failure; the father is prodigal in generosity.  And, in this story, we get an amazing glimpse of what God is like.  The father says to the returning son, "Everything I have is yours."  What a marvelous response, and what an amazing image of God!  God is always greater than our sins.  According to Jesus, God is like a Prodigal Father who welcomes home his son without explanation.  No questions are asked about why the son is returning home and no apology is even asked for. He throws his arms around his son.  And he invites everyone to celebrate because his son who "was dead has come to life again; he was lost and has been found."

This is not just a son. He's a returned son.  You see, after being lost, it is when we come back that we know how important union is, what strength and joy relationship gives. It is one of the most consistent messages of the Bible: It is in losing that we discover what we have. Alienation isn't the end of the world; it's the way we commonly come to God. Almost all biblical figures are transformed "sinners," not people who walk a straight line to God. That is not the path.

This parable of the Prodigal Son, or Prodigal Father, has the power to change us because it names human relationships so perfectly and we see ourselves in both sons.  Like the younger son, we try to live our life apart and autonomously, and yet that leads to an eventual alienation and unhappiness. Slowly we gather our truth and our identity. But we are also capable of being the older son who prides himself on his orthodoxy.  The elder son projects a small-minded, moralistic image of arrogant superiority derived from his perceived selfless, sacrificial life of service to his father.  And, he is unable to celebrate and enjoy a free gift!  There is a real sense that of the two sons, the younger son ends up being spiritually healthier at the end of the story, while the elder son remains spiritually sick.  So, we end with an amazing story of one son who seems to do it all right but is wrong, and another son who seems to do it all wrong but is right!

At the end of the parable we never learn whether the older son comes to the banquet, but we do know that the Father continues hoping his older son will join the party and not live in resentment or continue to have a sense of superiority toward the brother who has done it all wrong. It is an invitation to all of us who have perhaps been good Christians, "older sons – and daughters," but can also lack compassion, forgiveness, mercy and love.

It is fascinating that this is the end of the story.  Jesus leaves the parable open ended.  We really do not know what happens next.  We do not know what the elder son finally does.  But, in this open-ended story, we see a Father who never gives up.  Behind Jesus’ parable “lies profound and overwhelming truth about God and God’s kingdom.  We humans, we all were lost, mired in sins of sensuality and greed and self-referential resentment, hip-deep in the pig slop of envy.  Before we knew it, God reached out in the people Israel and then again in the life and death and resurrection of Jesus.  God has raised us up and called us home.  It is just not about you or me, or my sin or your sin, or my deserts or your deserts.  It is all about God and God’s life-giving love and mercy.  Every time God’s active, stretching, searching, healing love finds someone and calls that person back home,” we discover the overwhelming scandal of God’s extravagant grace, God’s prodigal love for humanity and this world, and it is cause for great rejoicing!  So, come and join the party, and live in relationship with God and one another.  That is where real, deep, lasting joy is found. (Feasting on the Word, Rodney Clapp, p. 120)

I must confess something.  I am totally and completely dependent upon my GPS.  And, I must confess, not only do I get geographically lost as I travel from place to place, I have also been figuratively lost at various points in my life.  There have been times in life when I have truly felt emotionally and spiritually lost.  Today, Jesus speaks to us about getting lost and, of all the parables Jesus told, the story of the Prodigal Son is perhaps the most profound.  

Today’s gospel reading tells of a father who had two sons.  The younger son, wanting to get away from home, asks for his future inheritance, a share of his father's estate.  He wants his own life apart. This younger son seems cocky, confident, arrogant and self-reliant as he essentially says: "Give me my part of your stuff, Dad. I'm going to take off and live by myself."  His father willingly gives it to him, and the young man runs off to a distant country, quickly squandering his inheritance.  Soon he finds himself knee deep in pig slop, feeling very hungry and destitute.  And, he finds himself chastened by his intemperate actions.

So, he returns home, prepared to acknowledge to his father that he has failed and no longer deserves to be called his father’s son. The younger son has finally come to his senses. He is content, even eager, to be treated as no more than a slave or hired worker. But, he is in for a big surprise.  And, Luke’s telling of the story at this point is so beautiful.  Luke writes that while the younger son "was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him." He calls for a feast to be prepared in celebration of his son's return.

Well, this celebration does not go over well with the older son.  He protests that he has never disobeyed his father and he has never given him cause for grief. This is true, but the older son is trying to find his legitimacy in obedience instead of love. He doesn't know about simple relationship – and you know what?  The Bible is all about relationship.  God is all about relationship!  One of the deep truths we need to learn is this: when we don't have a living, life-giving relationship with God, we often try to substitute with duty and obligation.

Now, while this parable is called the story of the Prodigal Son, it probably should be called the story of the Prodigal Father.  The word prodigal means lavish or extravagant, and it is really the Father who is extravagant when it comes to his sons. The sons are prodigal in failure; the father is prodigal in generosity.  And, in this story, we get an amazing glimpse of what God is like.  The father says to the returning son, "Everything I have is yours."  What a marvelous response, and what an amazing image of God!  God is always greater than our sins.  According to Jesus, God is like a Prodigal Father who welcomes home his son without explanation.  No questions are asked about why the son is returning home and no apology is even asked for. He throws his arms around his son.  And he invites everyone to celebrate because his son who "was dead has come to life again; he was lost and has been found."

This is not just a son. He's a returned son.  You see, after being lost, it is when we come back that we know how important union is, what strength and joy relationship gives. It is one of the most consistent messages of the Bible: It is in losing that we discover what we have. Alienation isn't the end of the world; it's the way we commonly come to God. Almost all biblical figures are transformed "sinners," not people who walk a straight line to God. That is not the path.

This parable of the Prodigal Son, or Prodigal Father, has the power to change us because it names human relationships so perfectly and we see ourselves in both sons.  Like the younger son, we try to live our life apart and autonomously, and yet that leads to an eventual alienation and unhappiness. Slowly we gather our truth and our identity. But we are also capable of being the older son who prides himself on his orthodoxy.  The elder son projects a small-minded, moralistic image of arrogant superiority derived from his perceived selfless, sacrificial life of service to his father.  And, he is unable to celebrate and enjoy a free gift!  There is a real sense that of the two sons, the younger son ends up being spiritually healthier at the end of the story, while the elder son remains spiritually sick.  So, we end with an amazing story of one son who seems to do it all right but is wrong, and another son who seems to do it all wrong but is right!

At the end of the parable we never learn whether the older son comes to the banquet, but we do know that the Father continues hoping his older son will join the party and not live in resentment or continue to have a sense of superiority toward the brother who has done it all wrong. It is an invitation to all of us who have perhaps been good Christians, "older sons – and daughters," but can also lack compassion, forgiveness, mercy and love.

It is fascinating that this is the end of the story.  Jesus leaves the parable open ended.  We really do not know what happens next.  We do not know what the elder son finally does.  But, in this open-ended story, we see a Father who never gives up.  Behind Jesus’ parable “lies profound and overwhelming truth about God and God’s kingdom.  We humans, we all were lost, mired in sins of sensuality and greed and self-referential resentment, hip-deep in the pig slop of envy.  Before we knew it, God reached out in the people Israel and then again in the life and death and resurrection of Jesus.  God has raised us up and called us home.  It is just not about you or me, or my sin or your sin, or my deserts or your deserts.  It is all about God and God’s life-giving love and mercy.  Every time God’s active, stretching, searching, healing love finds someone and calls that person back home,” we discover the overwhelming scandal of God’s extravagant grace, God’s prodigal love for humanity and this world, and it is cause for great rejoicing!  So, come and join the party, and live in relationship with God and one another.  That is where real, deep, lasting joy is found. (Feasting on the Word, Rodney Clapp, p. 120)

This is a special musical presentation of Don't My Lord Deliver Daniel by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

This is a special musical presentation of Don't My Lord Deliver Daniel by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

Today, Tula Ngasala shares with us more news about the water project in Tanzania. Faith Lutheran has been instrumental in the development of this project. Tula will update us on the work that has been done and what still needs to be done. This project represents one of the ways our congregation is participating in giving life to a community as well as working to diligently be good stewards of our earthly environment