Preparing the Way - Luke 10

Preparing the Way 

Tony E Dillon Hansen

A sermon based upon Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+10&version=NRSV

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14)

There are a couple things that come to mind when we look at the text for Luke 10.  I would like to consider Luke’s text in terms of how we start a mission by picking a place.  I would then like to consider how one conducts themselves in this mission. 

In Mark 6, as I am sure many of you will recall, Jesus instructs the disciples to go out in pairs into towns ahead of them.  In Mark, we witness similar notes of how to conduct themselves with respect to people on the road and in the houses. 

Luke goes further with many more involved in the mission and talks about harvest needs in the towns. Are we talking about the old agrarian needs like my farmer grandfather wanting help on the farm or is there something else being suggested here?  Time to roll up the sleeves and get to work!  The harvest, however, that is implied here is of the people themselves rather than of a grain harvest. 

Great!! —If you know farmers like my grandpa, they could have always used more people for arms full of hay bails, acres of bean walking, long nights of grain harvests, and dusty corn shelling. That is, of course, how I envision my preaching mission.

How to Pick a Place?

When our family goes to look for a place to live, we may be willing to consider some features that appeal to us like location, friendly neighbors, kids in the area, crime potentials, accessibility, or … does this house or neighborhood look Democrat or Republican - Does it look like us?

There is a bit of carpe diem and faith in these passages, given the notion of going into these unknown areas and homes then staying there. Nothing more is provided about how to determine which place to pick.  We are not told to choose based upon whether it is nice and well built, whether it is able to hold people, whether it is tired and small, whether it has guns or looks friendly, or whether it could be a community shelter with roaming collective of immigrants, unemployed, disabled or angry people. You have to pick a place and the first one that accepts is your objective.  Jesus is saying in so many words here, “Have Faith. It will work out.”

How Do We Learn and Grow?

There is where you will learn about those people because they have already decided to welcome you into their midsts (step one of ready for harvest.) These missions are told to bring the message and to embrace the customs of those that welcome them (learn about them and enjoy their hospitality as proper “guests” should.)    

This beckons a story of two Zen Masters: a visitor and a welcoming Master. Upon arrival, the visiting Master begins to talk about the great things his students were doing, and to talk, and to talk, and to talk.  Every time the welcoming Master suggests some idea, the visiting Master is dismissive and keeps talking (oh we have that, we do that and we have something better…) The welcoming Master then invites the visiting Master to tea and begins to pour tea into the cup and continues to pour over the cup’s limit into his lap.  The visiting Master complains that “the cup is full” and asks why the welcoming Master has clearly let this tea run over.  The welcoming Master explains, “like this cup of tea, your mind is full of ideas and opinions where you will not learn anything more until you empty your mind.”  

When the missions present themselves and their message, they are told to learn and to adapt to the new cultures rather than forcing opinions upon others. We know that eating habits are core to cultures and cooperation. Jesus calls the missions to bring the message into communion with their culture and with openness to learn from them what they are willing to share.  Then, we can grow together. We have to prepare our minds to grow with what we encounter. Otherwise, we miss the opportunity to learn valuable lessons, cultures and ideas that may prove useful to us today or in the future.

So, when we return to the choices we have (places or otherwise), that choice will influence what we learn and how we learn.  If we always pick from those with similar appearance, political stripe or culture, how are we to learn and grow with our neighbors that we have, let alone those we have yet to meet?  If we pick the same thing over and over, how do we improve or change? We do not have to agree nor do we need to shed our beliefs. Yet, alongside the missions sent by Jesus, we are tasked to learn the different ways people come to life, to the Way, and to God because each of us has something to share. 

Just trying something different provides us with discovery of tastes, smells, art, challenges and joys that are in lives all around us.  With this, Jesus is telling us how we grow in love of neighbor and God. 

Yet, if these towns do not welcome, the Arabic custom of wiping dust off shoes is how the missions are to behave - Nothing more and nothing less (and not shoe tossing for insults).  For instance, a problem with tossing shoes is you might have to retrieve the shoe, or you walk barefoot until you get new ones!  Maybe, these people have recent grief or simply do not want visitors today, but Jesus says to wipe away and walk away today. Perhaps, there is a more appropriate time for these people, but we cannot make it difficult for future success by providing buyers remorse today.

An interesting concept is that as other towns (and people) become welcoming, so too will the not-so-welcoming towns by witnessing the good results that happen in the welcoming communities: natural alignment. It is the nature of life and society where people want the good things- to experience the good: aka God. Yet, they will experience at their own pace and willingness. That sounds a lot like the United Church of Christ??!!  

A Retrospective

Once we find success, we need not gloat or become boastful.

Once we find success, we must carry on to the next.

Once we find failure, we must carry on to the next.

Learn from your work, be thankful, we must carry on to the next.

That is the essential of the second part of the scripture.  

Even the missions could not believe their own faith had worked for them when they brought back stories of wonderful successes. Jesus gives them a retrospective of the graces given to them while also reminding them to focus upon the enduring work ahead of them.  

Power, faith and a good harvest that get used to force others into submission is a destructive mission to the greater mission.  Wealth, social status, religious ostracism (like against LGBT), terrorism (like Boston or Turkey), burning a Quran or systemic violence (like racism) are ugly versions of this where someone (or some people) used good fortunes via the Word of God to justify prodding anger, sheltering hate or inflicting pain.  

Nothing good becomes of “good” words and works when that is then used to harm any of God’s children (believer, non-believer or different believer).  

Thus, this lesson is not just for ministers, preachers and missionaries (or even good table manners.) This lesson applies to everyday people facing daily challenges and choices on how to take the good and the not-so-good. Do your work well, be open, respect, learn, reflect and prepare for the next.    

For us today, we are called into mission by Jesus to go forth, to share the message and to learn.  This is a mission that was started in Genesis where God commanded to “be fruitful and multiply”  where we have to look at what has been given to us and be willing to make the most of it. 

Jesus tells us to start somewhere and let that be your path. 

Jesus tells us to respect people that we do not know 

Jesus tells us to respect those that need to hear the Truth.  

Jesus tells us to respect those that do not want to hear the Truth today.  

Jesus tells us to empty our cups.

Jesus tells us to open our hearts and minds.

Jesus tells us to enjoy the meal in communion.

Jesus tells us to savor the moments we get. 

Jesus tells us to let the Word and the Way build.

Jesus tells us to be thankful!

This is how Jesus tells us to prepare the Way.

Thanks Be to God.

Changing Devotions and Perspectives: The Calling?

Changing Devotions and Perspectives II

Tony Dillon-Hansen

May 2014

As life progresses, we encounter ideas and perspectives that shape our current being.  The question of what is God calling me to do today is a mystery in a couple ways. There is a question about the existence of God or the premise of the deity’s personal interest in my path.  If there is such, what does that “calling” request of me? Finding Des Moines’ Plymouth Congregational Church on that path may yield clues to that request.

Through martial arts, study of Asian philosophies, and experience of Catholic teachings, I grew in strength with a sense of compassion for all people. Yet, the experience of being bullied, understanding religious hypocrisy and losing a child has wounded my once naïve compassionate sense of the world into a deeply questioning position of worth and purpose. There was little place for justifying the worth of religion. There is a question of the existence of a being that is directing the efforts and pathways in this world on any sort of macro or micro level. I will not pretend to witness God other than life exists with no explanation given, and I would hope that being has much more important things to attend than my lonely, trivial requests.

Perhaps, the entity has no interest in lording over people’s behavior (that would explain the ugly historical atrocities committed in the name of God or even without invoking such), and nature exists just simply as a manifestation of events. Parents and teachers of all stripes can easily attest to this where the point of lessons is to learn how to be autonomous. That we are here, today, in this environment, and one’s “ego in this bag of skin and bones” is a realization of something, and that people display that idea with virtual autonomy over own actions. Nature has many opportunities to learn about action and consequence, and proponents of chaos theory might suggest that “nature” is always ready to teach new lessons. That much is clear.

For all that has been boasted about God and religion, right, wrong, proper or foolish action ultimately requires one to do something, even if that something is nothing. The existence of God is very real to some people and to consider the absence of such, or of Lording qualities, would negate personal existence. So I would not know if God is calling me to do anything, but the position of where I am and where I have been has set me on a path that will yet change. The question is what was learned in the time and what can be imparted to others if anything.

There is a reason that I had to endure some things because as the Tao and the Buddha might suggest, one cannot possibly know good without knowing bad (and thus begins the 4 Noble Truths.) I can only hope that my path brings me towards better things and better places.  Experiences have helped to identify a proper course, and of course, chaos is always waiting to challenge that idea. With respect to chaos, a good fighter will tell you that strategy, flexibility and skillfulness are more useful than brute force attacks.  

With these ideas and if there is a calling, I became an ordained minister because a part of me still believes in compassion and honesty within human nature.  If there is a calling in the path, that is still a mystery to me. Yet, I found a great convergence of good teachings at Plymouth Congregational Church. 

I met with cynicism the first time that I heard the words, “No matter who you are; No matter where you are on life’s journey; you are welcome here.” As I heard subsequent sermons and discussions within and around the Church, there are people with critical thinking skills and people duly interested in expressing the compassion of humanity rather than hypocritical dogma and corrupt rhetoric. I can have reverence for the works and traditions of Church once again. That brought me home.

With Plymouth Church, I realized, for myself, that the purpose of church is to be a part of something that is larger than oneself, and I found more ways here to serve the community since many other organizations also meet at Plymouth. This place welcomes diversity and the purpose is clearly conveyed in order “to grow in love of God and neighbor.”  Church can be a place where people go to understand more about life and to do good work for your neighbors and community.  Thus, partially due to the tradition established in my youth, I actively serve in this Church because this Church expands its work into areas of the community that are in need of compassion (e.g. prisons, homeless, GLBT, and more), and they do not ask for a test when you walk in the door. This is close to what were my youthful ideas of the Church and the teachings of Jesus.

I still question the integrity of organized religion and God. I cannot un-live my experiences that caused questions and non-acceptance of my own senses, but maybe, I am not supposed to un-live them. My faith in people has been somewhat renewed by those involved with Interfaith Alliance and Plymouth Church. The mind has become quieter, acceptance of oneself is better, and possibilities are more positive. There is still more for me to do, and in what capacity that will be is what I have to find. That is the universal truth for everyone.  If there is a calling, it will take me somewhere better than I was and to go there with good people. If there is a calling, it has brought me here to this moment for a reason, and that is only a start of the next journey.