What do you Expect for Yourself but not for others - Matthew 18 Proper 19A

What do expect for yourself but not for others?

Tony E Dillon Hansen

Sermon based upon Matthew 18:21-35, Psalm 103, Romans 14: 1-12

Opening prayer

Beloved, What do you expect for yourself but not for others?

You often see an example of this when people talk about welfare.  Why should I give them anything because I worked, paid taxes and was frugal (most of the time…. Some of the time… well a good effort was made.) Yet, when we are in dire straits then we expect people to be compassionate and understanding of our dilemma. 

This happens with compassion. Why should I dole out compassion because when I am in dire straits no offers me any? (Did you ask or was ego stopping you?)

This is a warning of sorts to not forget others when we receive blessings and forgiveness.  Who among us can say that they have no sin and no agency in what is happening in our world? Who amount us can say I am crystal clear of pain and suffering? No one - not even Jesus.

Yet through the suffering of Jesus, we have this hope and we can have justice for our suffering. We have learned love, faith and justice through Jesus and the cry has just begun.

The cry for justice is loud and strong but what do we do ? Complain that people are being loud and disruptive . 

We get complacent in our gifts (that we enjoy day to day) and forget that others around (our neighbors) deserve these gifts just as much as we do.

Great for you that you have a house, food, clothes and go on vacations, but what are you doing to bring God’s kingdom into our world? What are you doing to be the face of God to someone who needs it ? Whom do you need to forgive?

The fundamental gift we have from God is forgiveness because you and I well know that we mess up and that we stray - not just from God but from our neighbors. The ones we ought to love and help and especially to forgive.  

God gave us this gift and it is for us to share like all of our gifts. Yet this lesson reminds us of humility and compassion for our neighbors. This one, this forgiveness, reminds us that love has no bounds and is also a gift we must share and have faith that God makes things right.

Matthew doesn’t want us to just extend good faith and blessings at certain times but in our whole lives. Nor does the Gospel want us to extend these when we are to be paid back or only to people we think well of it.

Compassion, love, empathy and justice are not things we time box and only give when we are blessed 

God gives to us at all times, and we are to give to our friends and those we don’t know and even to those we disagree.

Why beloved?

Because God gave us gifts to share, to be examples, to be stewards of those gifts. Since we receive these gifts, it is for us then to share them with those around us. 

In doing so, we will find more grace, love, and build our faith in not only God but the people around us. 

That Beloved is…

Thanks be to God

Living Love in the Moment - Matthew 18 - Proper 18A

Living love in the moment

Tony E Dillon Hansen

Sermon based upon Matthew18:15-20, Psalm 119:33-40, Romans 13:8-14

Opening prayer

The last few texts from Matthew have told us how to live out our faith in the community ; to share with and to protect the vulnerable.

Today’s lesson is about tension, stress and conflicts because we all know how that shows up in our lives. How do we respond? How do we recognize Jesus in those moments as much the happy times? For verse 20 says that where two or more gather in my name, there is Jesus.

Yet the lectionary does us no favor by passing up some good stories in chapter 17 and verses earlier in 18. For we, especially leaders, are to be like children before God. Recognize that we stumble and do dumb things ourselves. For anyone that seeks to wear Jesus only in words but without action, is just spouting words. 

We are to find the lost and bring them into the community — we know who they are, the neglected, the excluded, the forgotten, the “I don’t have time for your issues” people. They too have a place in the kingdom and community. 

That brings us back to this text with more clarity. How do we go from tension and conflict to steadfast love and grace?

Psalm 119 reminds us to turn to God for those answers. “Teach me , oh Lord…”

How do you love your neighbor as yourself and how do you put on Jesus every day? “…Love is the fulfilling of the law.”

Understanding that and living that can help us understand the moments of tension and conflict because God is there too. If we look for the love and we actually believe in the love that is Jesus before we say or do things, we might just end up saying and doing the correct things.

For you know full well that I can put my foot in my mouth.  I know that I do that. Yet, if I take a piece of what I just mentioned here, maybe I don’t. Maybe I stop putting my foot in my mouth and do and be the face of Jesus in the moment where Jesus is needed the most.

It is not that we avoid conflict entirely (because we cannot) but that when tension rises, what becomes our motivation and who is before us. How do you let Jesus take the reins and be direction we take? 

You simply do. You let Jesus be and let God do good work rather than our egos. Those with little faith will call that hogwash, and that is why they fail.

Faith and love are more than just the good times but also at the last minute time.  Faith and love are needed when nothing else makes sense. Faith and love are needed when we have questions or are struggling. In fact, that is when we need them the most. That is When we need to let God take the reins. That is when we let our faith work and when we let love be what it is meant to be.  

That is what God wants for us and why Jesus is present in the moments of good and in moments of tension.  It is therefore a question for us to recognize that and give space for Jesus to work with us. 

That beloved is why we are here: to recognize God at work not just on Sunday but in daily life beyond the pews and doors of the sanctuary. Find god in the classroom, the corn field, the office, the grocery store, and yes dinner time. For what good are the words we read and hear if they are not present in our daily life and actions. 

That is a central theme of Matthew, one that exposes and denounces hypocrisy and sets for us a correct path. This path is one that that asks us to be humble, contrite, and to walk with God before us.  This path is one that lets God be God to let our faith in God work.

Beloved, So much more will be gained when we “lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.” That is why we should let God be present when we disagree or have tension. Turn your heart to God, away from selfish gain. Turn away from vanities. Turn away from disgrace and dread. Understand the Lord is with you and teaching you.

That is why God is present in this moment now and for us to recognize that awesome presence.

That Beloved is…

Thanks Be to God

Why Take Up a Cross - Matthew 16 - Proper 17A

Why Take Up a Cross

Tony E Dillon Hansen

Sermon based upon Matthew 16: 21-28, Psalm 26,Romans 12: 9-21

Opening Prayer

After rebuking Peter for apparent lack of faith, Jesus instructs him and us that whoever follows must be willing to take up their cross. 

What does this mean and why does Jesus say this?

What is so powerful about this is 1) a bit foreshadow but also 2) in the instrument of death and state execution, we have a powerful symbol. We have something that says if you really want, and you really believe, then you must be willing to sacrifice and to sacrifice everything.

That is the power of the cross. It is also a calling and challenge because that is no easy claim. That however is so much for some people. Yes, It is not an easy order. That cross, that letting go and letting go of everything is for what? We want to know what we get …

Personal glory and kudos? For grand recognition and plaques on walls? No. It is for someone that delivers for you and me.

That letting go of everything is part of our baptismal renewal and journey that lets God be God. That lets God reveal to us what is possible rather than us trying to impose an image or characterization, like what Peter did.

We know many people that will wear the armband of Jesus and display publicly their “profound” faith but willing to give up nothing, willing to do nothing more than profess such. That is shallow and a core lesson of Matthew. That our faith and our belief requires of us something more than just rhetoric and a few songs on Sunday. 

That is why I say church is action (like James’s epistle says “faith is action”)  and means for us to do rather than just say.

Belief in Jesus is hard work and means we must be willing to do the necessary, to seek justice in the face of stark injustice, to seek equity in the face of inequality, and to seek love in the face of horrendous violence. When we do, when we lean into our faith In God, we can find courage to take the necessary steps because we have the perfect example in Jesus. 

Yes, hear the words from Romans, and let your love be genuine, be ardent in spirit and serve the Lord - not the money, not prestige, not ourselves.  

Serve the Lord and let God be the judge instead of us or our ego. Let your heart fill with love and good. Let go of what ails you and what concerns you and Let God. Fill your heart with the love of Christ, and when you do, you will have no space for hate and evil.

So taking up a cross is more than something we put on the wall or in the sanctuary. Taking up a cross is living out the commands and life that Jesus lays out for us. Taking up the cross is living in the community and being with people from all walks of life, not just the ones we enjoy and feel comfort. Because you know someone that needs love and the face God in their life. That face can be revealed through us.

When we walk with the homeless, when we march with those seeking justice, when we advocate for the water rights of Native people and advocate to correct wrongs of so many decades of slavery - the horrors of “manifest destiny”, and when we we see the blessed humanity of the migrants seeking a better life (in our cities and our neighborhoods), that is when we do God’s work and we see God among us. It is remembering that the sick need love, and that there are people in our community that need our love and our help today. It is remembering to share a smile.

That is a measure of what Jesus means.

Yes loving God and loving neighbor is hard work every day and every hour, not just the time in the sanctuary. God calls to us to service and also find divine rewards in that service. I guarantee no amount of money or prestige  can fulfill you in the ways that service and especially service with loving heart can.

So remember when you look at the cross, ask yourself what it means to you and what it means for you to do in your life.

Ask God, and Beloved, God will answer. Yes you will find much in that answer. Taking up a cross is work, and at the same time, it comes with rewards beyond comprehension when you let God reveal to you.

That Beloved is…

Thanks Be to God