The Widow, the Poor, and the Orphan

First of all, I invite everyone to stand. When I was at the clergy retreat, besides singing refrains, the retreat leader asked us to follow Taylor Swift (actually she didn't know who Taylor Swift was) and shake it off. Last year during Pizza and Social Justice, Kristin did a similar exercise with our youth. Shaking our bodies and letting go does help release our anxieties and the toxins that build up in our bodies. I am not going to put on any music, but let us take a couple minutes and shake our bodies. Be aware of those around you, and maybe swing your arms, bounce a little bit. REady?  Begin...

You may be seated.

 Can anyone tell me why Jesus' hometown people tried to throw him off a cliff the first time he preached after he was baptized? ...   It was because they believed he was coming home to set up shop and they would have wealth and prosperity because all of Israel would flock to Jesus, the new prophet, the new king, the new messiah. And then Jesus told them the story of Elijah and a time of great turmoil in Israel's history when Elijah was sent to a foreign land rather than to feed and care for his own people. Jesus flatly told them, I am not here to lift up this town, but to lift up the poor, the orphan, the widow, the oppressed, the imprisoned, the sick, and even the dead. 

What ever happens this week, this month, and with the election, there are some things that aren't going to change. The first is God's love for you, for us, and for them. The second is God's calling us to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. The third is God's presence in our world. 

Jesus tells the parents of his day, "If your child asks for some bread, you don't give them a stone. If you know how to give good gifts, just think about about much more you will receive from God." God's love is not dependent on our religion, our actions or thoughts, our citizenship, our clothes, or number of likes on social media. God loves each and every one with God's whole heart, whole being, and it is eternal. God's steadfast love endures forever!

I am going to raise a check-in with yourself here. If I were to ask you what is getting you through these tough times over the past couple years and months and you aren't mentioning the church or God (though I know we have some atheists and agnostics here) as a source of comfort or strength, it may not be there this week if things go downhill and you need to dig deeper. Find a way to take a step this day and this week to grow and strengthen those relationships, it does matter. 

Secondly, Justice! You notice, do you notice that the first words of Micah 6:8 aren't love God, but do justice. No matter who wins, we, as a church, have accepted the call to be a Just Peace church, and will work for this no matter what happens with out nation's government. Elijah, Israel's mightiest prophet in First and Second Kings, when there was turmoil and a three year drought,  was called to a small foreign village and care for a widow and her son. No matter what happens this week and the coming months, it is our job, our calling, to seek out those who are lost and left behind and care for them. It is our mission to strive for justice whether here, the states that don't have health care rights for women, or in Israel/Palestine where injustice and genocide are the powers and principalities that must be rebuked, must be conquered, must be eradicated. 

If things are better by the end of the week or the month in our country. There is still the job of healing and reconciliation. In many ways, our country has not been this divided in a very long time. How do we love mercy and walk humbly if we are the winners are those who believe in democracy, women's rights, and that immigrants are good for our nation? That brings its own set of challenges. 

Now, God is good! (All the Time!)  All the Time! (God is good!) Many an American see God has HOLY and POWERFUL and ready to bring vengeance and punishment. If we proclaim God to be good, as does Jesus, then this means that God is not going to send down a plague to wipe out the bad people or open a hole to Sheol and swallow them up. This does not mean that God is absent! God is not absent! God is present! Last night's sunset with purple and orange on the horizon shows me there is beauty in this world. Watching the joy of the children on Halloween and people giving out smiles and candy to strangers shows me there is still community and trust here among us. Being here this morning with you all, singing and praying, hoping and yet uncertain, shows me there is something to live for and fight for. 

The kingdom of God is near. The kindom of God is here. It does not matter what type of government we have, for Christianity is spread throughout the world in all countries and places. So we, who have some resources and some agency, can use our love that God fills us with for good, battling the powers and principalities and offering care and the basics of life. God is good! (All the Time!) All the Time (God is good!) 

Tomorrow night we will gather at the Log Cabin (Community building) for a time of Song and Prayer for the Healing of the Nation. Tuesday night, come and join us as we pray for planetary healing which include us as individuals, community, our nation, and the world. Wednesday night we will be singing. Throughout the Bible people sang, when Moses and the people went through the Red Sea, people sang, when Israel and Judah were defeated and hauled away as slaves to foreign lands, they sang, and after the Last Supper before the went to pray, Jesus and his disciples sang. God is good! (All the Time!) All the Time! (God is good!) 

Amen.