Saturday, September 21, 2013

Sunday's Sermon: Decisively Ringing Out Kingdom of God

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September 22, 2013   /    Amos 8: 4-7   /   I Timothy 2: 1-8     /   Luke 16: 1-13

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As children of the Light, ring out the Kingdom of God decisively as anointed believers!

And, herald honest 'glad tidings' like fresh September school bells ringing in prudence, the strength and virtue.

The Gospel's urgency is always about living and awakened to  the 'now' moment today, urging the breaking in of God's Kingdom of truth, justice, mercy, and more!

How true!

Let justice roll like the waters over the mountaintops.

But, unlike water's destruction in Colorado, and Syria's extremest brotherhood, and, military might spilling blood over that troubled land.

Let justice roll!

Giving each one her or his due - that's justice, no? - means that I must be awakened to, and, aware of how I may oppress the needy by my actions and daily deeds.

Like the steward who is praised for his decisiveness, BUT not for his dishonesty in the example in today's Gospel from Luke's Gospel's, Chapter 16, just proclaimed for us today, here and now.

What does a child of Light look like?

She or he prays for personal awareness foremost. 

That's being awakened now to God's truth, and, God's Kingdom, to be DECISIVE in acting fairly, justly, with mercy as we humbly walk this good earth, as another prophet, Micah mentions elsewhere.

Jesus makes a dishonest steward an example of discipleship.

Surprise, surprise!

Go figure that God works in wondrous and unexpected ways here.

Remember that it is not the dishonesty of the fired steward that Jesus extols, but rather the steward's wisdom in being decisive now!

My responding then to the moment with prudent action toward the needy, especially.  Not delaying like I may often, suggesting, another time, another place, later in life when I have more time, when I'm retired, when my life is less busy.

Let justice roll, cried out the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., fifty years ago here in Detroit, and a month later in Washington, D.C., with his iconic, "I Have a Dream" speech.  King got a little help from Gospel singer, Mahalia Jackson, when he needed to enliven his fledgling speech.  Like, Mary, the mother of Jesus, America's patroness, and, like our own moms, or, women in the church and society today. 

They are there like Mary pointing to Jesus at the wedding feast of Cana when the married couple ran out of wine at their wedding banquet.  "Do whatever he tells you," Mary tells the stewards.

They do!

And, sufficient wine for the embarrassed couple.

Like Mahalia Jackson there at Martin Luther King Jr.'s moment of need to tell the dream that invites us to look at the content of one's character rather than the color or one's skin!

Let justice roll!

Amos longs for that in speaking truth to power in chapter 8 of that prophet's book entitled, Amos, in our sacred scriptures.

People then, and now, seemed to separate the Sabbath, waiting for it and the end of the new moon, to daily rip off people unjustly, dishonestly, you know!

It's easy to spend other people's money, I would say to myself when I was pastor in Lake Orion.

It is.

Or, to unroll more toiled paper than I need at someone else's expense at the public library, for example, to make the prophet's point.

Decisive thinking to act justly.

I pray for that, and more, in supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings offered for EVERYONE, for those in authority and leaders.

We all pray that justice will roll swiftly and  decisively when millions of Michiganders are at stake
in the currently challenged farm bill, formerly called the bridge card.

We pray that DECISIVELY, we will let our leaders know.  To know how important food and bread is for so many in Michigan threatened by lost of food stamp dollars for their dinner table.

Like the scale at the supermarket we weigh just the pounds of tomatoes we need, the justice, that is, doling out parts and pieces of the apple pie for the nine of us in my family, as I was growing up on Detroit's east side by the City Airport.

To act decisively is what we imitate beyond the dishonesty of the steward in this parable, this example story from Luke's sixteenth chapter.

Let justice roll with the urgency of the now of Glad Tidings, Good News of the Gospel by the children of Light - those anointed with the gift of prudence given by the Holy Spirit upon the disciples and you and me!

A mother's example of justice, and dad's decisive prudence also, or, your own and mine acting now, and, using the Golden Rule, treating others as you would want to be treated, as the standard scale or measure, that's what this Liturgy of the Word and Eucharist, Mass and more, coupled with Mahalia Jackson's HELPFUL WORDS, TELL EM ABOUT THE DREAM, MARTIN, and Mary's own, 'DO WHATEVER JESUS TELLS YOU, that kind of  DECISIVENESS, that's what we're called to, you and I, today, now.

Let justice roll!

Go on now!

Do it decisively today, tomorrow, and always for Christ's sake!






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