What Calf Do you Worship - Matthew 22 Exodus 32 - Proper23A

What Golden Calf Do You Worship? 

Tony E Dillon Hansen

Sermon based upon Exodus 32:1-14, Matthew 22:1-14, Psalm 106, Philippians 4:1-9

Opening Prayer

When we read this familiar text from Exodus about how people were persuaded to give all the gold items they had in order that Aaron can build a calf. That is some sales pitch! Makes me wonder how did he convince these people to do that? 

They were so lost that they were willing to give up prized possessions. 

When we ask for stewardship for our church, I doubt many of us would be willing to give up prized possessions.

Yet Aaron was able to get these people to give up their gold and then melt that into this thing we call a calf. Suddenly, it is a festival?  Everyone is worshiping this “idol” , this thing, that was all their gold. 

The irony is thick. 

That raises these questions. What gold do we worship today and why? What do we place before us that blinds us from God and what God wants of us? 

You know we do this because every newscast tells the value of something, the interest rates, price of gas, the stock prices, and the latest fads. And we all eat it up without question. When we talk about doing the right thing for Ukraine or Israel or pick something, often the question is how much money do we send and for how long? 

Doing the right thing however doesn’t have a “price tag” but it does have rewards beyond dollars and gold. Doing the right may not be easy, but the result has value - real tangible value that endures recessions and hardships. Doing the right thing means sometimes we have to be patient and to listen.

We can come up with all kinds of excuses, and I have heard many in my time. Lots of “I would but…”

Just like in the parable of the wedding banquet where this king invites a number of guests and they all give quaint little lies and laughs but refuse the invitation (einladung in German). I, like the king, would be baffled and maybe a bit upset. Yet, if I prepared a whole bunch of food and festival, and people don’t come, find some people. I am knocking on doors and calling folks. 

That is when the festival really begins. When we truly invite and welcome whoever we meet, then community, church and God’s love flourishes.

That is our God. You have been called, will you answer?  

You may not even know it, but God has set a banquet for us and is coming to your door - to find you. Not to scare you but with welcome robe of love.

That is a constant theme in Matthew. Finding - even we who don’t know it or don’t think we are worthy. God is looking for you and wants to celebrate with you. How exciting that can be - if you are willing to answer the invitation. Or do you have another excuse?

God invites us in many ways and asks us to lean into our faith. To lean into the promise instead of trusting in the fake ones all around us. Gold is just a metal. Cash is worthless when you can’t use it and especially when we are dead. All the world material we have is nothing when have no purpose and no meaning. That is when we lose faith and when we lose sight of God,

That is when we give up possessions out of fear, anxiety, or some false promise because we fail to listen or to remember, and we fail to have faith in the promise given to us. 

That is God calling upon you to join us at the table, and we are to extend that welcome in our lives as well. 

So God is there setting a banquet and sending out invitations. God is waiting for us to join - to respond. For we have been chosen, but are you willing to answer? 

Beloved the lamp is lit, the table is set, banquet is made. You have been invited. Put away the excuses. Listen not to the fake and the material wants, but open your heart to the promise and join in God’s love today.

Do what’s right and let your faith lead you and help you extend that love and that promise to those around you. 

Then you will recognize the false idols, the calf in your life and when you do, put it away. See how worthless it is. When you truly accept God’s love in your life and your actions, then you can understand that love is a celebration of the best of us.  

That Beloved is 

Thanks Be to God.

What Happens When We Reject God - Matthew 21 - Proper 22A

What Happens When We Reject God

Tony E Dillon-Hansen

Sermon based upon Matthew 21:33-46, Psalm 19, Isaiah 5:1-7

Opening Prayer

I love the verses of Psalm 19 because it reminds me that my words and thoughts have to be acceptable in God’s sight. Therefore, I intend to share with you that which I feel is acceptable before our Creator. I may screw up once in a while, but I will let the Lord guide me to where I need to be and what I need to say.

People often want to think that because they have a thought - that it must be true and must be what others think. Do we know anyone like that?

Yet that is another example of our ego projecting rather than letting God happen. That is determining that our words are source of truth and we confuse truth with want. This is a measure of church because we know people here, in church, that think because they do things or come to church more often that they somehow deserve more. 

Thank you for attending, but that isn’t the point of church. Pure attendance and listening to the word is nice is missing something. It misses what Jesus wants us to do - to be truly welcoming and graceful not just in the walls of a sanctuary but in all the areas of our life. 

That is why being a Christian is a life style and “way” of living because the “way” of Jesus requires us to do things, to speak with humility and to act with grace in our hearts.

When we fail we go astray we have prayers like these psalms to help us find our path back to God. "Whatever gains I have come to regard the as loss because of Christ.” (Philippians 3:7) Whatever I get from my work in this life and in my actions, I have nothing without God as my guide. Whatever money I have, house, car or job …these are nothing without the living presence in our breath and soul.

This parable of the wicked tenants as it is often called is a warning to leaders about how we care for our flocks and the people around us.  It is also a warning to us as regular, normal folk in how we manage our relationships and how we care for others in our community.  This is our Earth and the only one we have.  This is our life and the only one we have. The question is whether we are doing things to lift God’s presence here or not. 

We can build wonderful places and work wonder in gardens. 

In our recent trip to Europe, I saw magnificent structures and I saw the horror of war destruction left to remind us the true cost of destructive behavior. The St Nikolai Memorial was a giant cathedral (rather a ghost of one) that is burnt out facade of its former glory. It is left as a reminder of the cost of war and as a memorial to all those who perished due to the war as well Nazi crimes. I felt compelled to kneel and pray in what would have been the steps to the chancel of an ornate sanctuary but instead looks directly into the sky with only fragments of the original shell left along with its tall burnt out steeple behind me.

Visiting the memorials in Berlin as well as Neungamme, outside of Hamburg, furthered that reminder. That hate when left unfettered, unabated results in the destruction of targeted people but also includes those who inflict the hate and violence. You could feel the weight of guilt as well as the agony and horror of violent hate.

It fits well with this text too because when we lie, when we hate, or we forget to do God’s work, that is when we forget God and reject God. That is when we follow our ego instead, and that can leave behind destruction Because hate can turn violent (as it often does) because people reject reason and reject God.  

This violence carries with it a heavy penalty that may be visible like the burn marks on what was left of that church or the slabs of concrete where thousands were forced to live and forced to work under extreme horror and left to die of starvation or disease - if not outright murdered.  This violence leaves scars, and also ones that are not visible - the ones inside and the ones full of regret and suffering.

When we don’t take care of God’s world with God as our God, this can be the result. When we don’t care for our neighbor as ourselves, we let evil result. When we don’t check our ego and instead let God’s love be our love, then that is not God’s love. 

However if we check the ego, and we let God be the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts, then we let God be with us and in our world. 

Reject hate, reject lies, reject violence, and stand up for Justice. Let God guide you and show you. Then we can be so much more than our struggles or our earthly hunger. 

Let that love (God’s love) be all that you need.

That Beloved is …

Thanks Be to God.

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

What Stories do we tell - Matthew 14, Genesis 32 - Proper 13A

What stories do we tell?

Tony E Dillon Hansen

Sermon based  upon Matthew 14: 13-21, Genesis 32: 22-31, Psalm 17

Opening prayer

The story of loaves and fish is a story that John uses as the basis for communion. The celebration of God among us and together in a meal that sustains beyond our mortal hungers and thirsts.

Thus, when Jesus blesses the bread and fish, there is something more that happens than just food sustenance. There is an opening of perspective with disciples and community who find direction. There is sharing, the is hunger and thirst quenched, there is question and people… and there is God. There is recognizing God in the moment. 

The story of wrestling with God is one of my favorites because it is a story that is for everyone (not just us wrestlers). We all experience this in our lives, and we all have to come to terms with something that needs our attention whether we like it or not - whether we like the delivery or not.

Sometimes, we come out broken and different as well as having a new or different perspective (even success). I have preached on Genesis 32 a couple times, but this time, let us look at a different perspective as well. 

Why do we tell these stories? Why do we read these lessons? What are we to do with the result?

When you or I tell a story, there is something that we remember and something we want to share with others. When I tell you about something that happened with my son or my spouse or an interaction on the bike trail, something invoked an emotion and sparked some insight - or just some other realization. 

Incidentally, I saw a snake on the bike trail (twice now), and I thought of all the ways that could have went horribly. Yet, I did not run over them and the snakes (maybe the same one laughing at me and taunting) did not hurt or maim me (just more than startled me). 

So why do I recall this event and tell you a story? It certainly doesn’t have to do with “good will” towards snakes. I don’t have much love for snakes - I guarantee. 

Yet the story of feeding thousands with little bread and fish or wrestling with God has something for you and I. Maybe, it has something to do with seeing adversity (whether it is seeing a crowd of hungry people with little food or coming to terms with all that we have done in life or just meeting a critter on the trail ) and in that adversity, something happened or someone happened. 

People like to tell stories and regale of all that has been and laugh about the funnies, like almost falling into the bushes, but if we look into our stories into our events of our lives, we might see that God has been a witness each time. 

Yes God is a witness to us and our lives. Yet, God does more than just witness. God is teaching, leading and guiding us. The question for us is what do we learn from what God teaches us. Do we put our own ego  and our own answer forward, or do we let God teach us in these moments? 

We might not like the delivery, and we might have a few scrapes on ourselves going through ordeals, but we come out with an understanding, a perspective that we share with others. It isn’t always perfect but it is perfectly God and perfectly meant for us and how we share. That is communion and that is community.  Sharing and specifically sharing the spirit!

Whether like Jacob, who wrestled with God or a crowd witnesses God serving a meal or God told me not to ride over the snake (I think). Maybe you can help me see what God was trying to teach me.

When we are looking for the answers, when we are fighting through another night of questions -that tossing and turning in bed, there we can turn to someone who can help us and will lead us - if we let the spirit work. 

Good thing is that spirit will work for you when you let it. 

Yet I, like many of you, forget to see God in the moment many times. We may even lift a prayer to God , wonder where and what God is doing while we suffer. Why is God doing this to us now? Who, here, has had these questions?

In the story of Jacob, God teaches someone in the middle of conflict. In the story of feeding thousands, God teaches a whole community how to handle conflict. In the story of the trail, both me and the snakes lived. 

In each of these, people in the moment didn’t recognize at first but eventually understood. God may not tell us everything, but God does reveal to us when we let the spirit work and let the spirit teach.

So think when you are telling a story, you are sharing a bit of your life and lives those around you, but you are also sharing a bit of God in those moments. When you break bread and have a meal with someone, look in that moment and find God with you and blessing you.  When you look at the lessons you have learned, look at how God was there guiding you and helping you the whole time. 

When you are riding, walking, wrestling or eating on the trail (the journey of life), there -> God is.

Yes share with God, let God witness you and witness God in your life.  There is the heart of communion, your story and the community.  

Go ahead tell your story, remember how your perspective changed, and how your story helps others change their perspectives. I submit to you to find God in that perspective, and you will see even more.

That Beloved is…

Thanks Be to God