Month: October 2008

Date: Sunday October 12, 2008
Scripture: Matthew 26:6-16
Sermon: What Does Jesus Say about Wealth?
Pastor: Rev. Kim Wells

I can’t tell you how many times as a pastor I have heard, we can’t talk about money in church. People don’t like to hear about money in church. When you talk about money in church, people think of those TV preachers always begging for money. If we have to talk about money once a year at stewardship time when we make our financial commitments to the church for the coming year, well, o.k. but otherwise, stay away from talking about money. People won’t come to church. It will turn new people away.

I recently read of a church with a new fund-raising scheme for the church. Rev. Rob Hartwell, pastor of the Village Lutheran Church in Bronxville, New York was admittedly overweight. A donor promised to give $5,000 to the church for every pound Hartwell lost – if he lost at least 70 pounds. The challenge worked. Hartwell is almost 100 pounds lighter and the church received almost $400,000 in income. [See Christian Century, Sept. 23, 2008, p. 8]

It is inevitable that churches talk about money. And not just because money is needed to do the mission of the church.

When we look at the teachings of Jesus in the gospels, it’s a wonder we are not talking about money as a main topic almost every week in church because in story after story in the New Testament, Jesus is talking about money, economics, and wealth. Of the 38 parables, 16 are about money. Jesus talks more about money than about prayer, or worship, or heaven, or abortion, or marriage, or sexuality, or any number of other topics.

As Jim Forbes, recently retired pastor of the Riverside Church in New York City, pointed out in his lecture at Eckerd College Tuesday evening, we might not like what conservative Christians and propagators of the prosperity gospel are saying, but they have one thing right. Money and faith go together.

Multiple teachings of Jesus validate this. Money and faith are inextricably linked. And to ignore money, because we don’t want to turn people off to church, or because it is too worldly, or because we have inherited our culture’s discomfort with talking about money (we’d much rather talk about sex), is to short change the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So, friends, if you don’t like talking about money in church, then you probably aren’t going to like this sermon, because it is about money.

What does Jesus say about wealth?

My guess is that most of us already have a pretty good idea of what Jesus has to say about wealth and money. Jesus was from a poor family. We are told that at the rite of circumcision when Jesus was 8 days old, his family was not able to make the customary sacrifice of a lamb, but instead offered a pair of pigeons, the fall back sacrifice for those who were poor. [Luke 2:24, Lev. 12:8] We basically know that during his ministry, Jesus was poor, relied on others and the land for his material needs, and that he never owned a house or a business.

When we look at the teachings of Jesus about money, many are familiar, especially for those who attended church school, or have been regular church goers, or who have read the New Testament. There is the story of Jesus telling the rich young man to sell all he has and give to the poor. [Luke 18:18ff, Mark 10:17ff, Matthew 19:16ff] There is the saying that it is harder for a rich person to enter the realm of God than for a camel to go through the eye of the needle. [Matthew 19:23-24, Mark 10:25, Luke 18:25] There is the verse advising, if you’ve got two coats, give one away. [Matthew 5:40, Luke Luke 6:29] And the invitation not to fret about our material well-being and consider the lilies of the field. [Luke 12:22ff, Matthew 6:25ff] We may be familiar with the story of Jesus driving the money changers out of the Temple. [Matthew 21;12ff, John 2:13ff, Mark 11:15ff, Luke 19:45ff] We may remember the story about the rich man and Lazarus: the rich man dies and is burning in hell for ignoring the poor man at his gate. [Luke 16:19ff] There is Jesus’ chastisement of religious officials who wore fine robes, and lived on the pensions of widows. [Luke 20:45ff,Mark 12:38ff] There is the story of the widow who put all she had into the offering at the Temple. All she had. [Luke 21:1ff,Mark 12:41ff] There is the beatitude, blessed are the poor. [Luke 6:20] And the story about building bigger barns for storage, while your soul rots. [Luke 12:16] Perhaps we remember the story of how Zacchaeus not only climbed a tree, but paid back four fold those he had cheated and then gave half of what he had left to the poor. [Luke 19:1ff] Frankly, my guess is that we know quite a bit about the teachings of Jesus relating to money.

But it’s hard to know what to do with these teachings, because we need money to live. So, we generally prefer to put our head in the sand, and ignore these teachings. Or consider them anachronistic or idealistic. So we resort to, don’t talk about money in church. . .

But this morning, since we’re looking at “What Does Jesus Say about Wealth?” let’s ask ourselves why Jesus talks so much about money. I think the two stories that we heard this morning give us some clues. Right next to each other in the gospel of Matthew is the story of the woman who anoints Jesus’ feet using ointment worth a year’s wages. Maybe equivalent to $30,000 today. That is extravagant. Lavish. Even profligate. What about the poor???

And then there is the story about Judas betraying Jesus for just 30 pieces of silver. Maybe a month’s wages. A fairly small amount. What might be paid to purchase a disabled slave.

These stories involve a large amount of money and a fairly small amount of money. When we think about money, it is not just a medium of exchange, but it is something we use to measure value. Something that costs more is worth more in some way – either because of labor, or materials, or demand or other things that influence production costs, like energy, transportation, and taxation. And something that costs less is of less value, again usually because of labor, materials, or demand or other factors. But basically money helps us to establish the relative worth of things. I think that Jesus uses teachings about money in this way. What we do with our money shows how much value things have for us. Money is used to assess relative value. Especially regarding our spiritual lives and commitments.

In the story about the anointing, which involves a large sum of money, we see a large value placed on the gospel, a large value placed on the will of God, a large value placed on the spiritual life. The woman has no reservations that we know of about spending a year’s wages on a compassionate gesture to a friend. This pure and generous gift shows us that she was completely committed to God.

The woman with the ointment is doing God’s work. She is using her wealth, her resources in accordance with God’s will. She is offering what she has to God’s realm. She is freely giving this incredibly expensive gift away, not hoping to get anything back, not to impress anyone, but simply out of love and faithfulness. She is showing her commitment to God, and the realm of God that Jesus has shown and taught and embodied. She is showing her faith and her desire to be part of God’s hopes and dreams. So she is using her money to glorify God. She is holding nothing back from God

In the story of Judas, and the relatively smaller amount of money, we see less value placed on doing the will of God, the work of God, less commitment to the gospel. There are some who say that Judas was the most faithful disciple because only he was willing to further God’s plan that Jesus be sacrificed by turning him over to the authorities. But if Judas was so pure, I don’t think he would have taken any money. He would have done God’s will for free with no personal reward. So, I think Judas was enticed by personal gain, greed, and the desire to salve his disillusionment. His faith and commitment to the ministry of Jesus was not great enough to overcome his self interest. So his involvement with the 30 pieces of silver shows the state of his commitment to the Gospel.

So I think Jesus uses teachings about money and wealth as an indicator of the condition of one’s spiritual life. It’s not the specific amount of money involved necessarily, but what it indicates about the values of the people involved.

So these stories help us to see how Jesus talks about money. Money can be used to assess the value we place on God’s will, on our spiritual life, on our relationship with God, and on our commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ. The more our use of money reflects gospel values of peace and justice and compassion, the more we know that we are serious about our commitment to God and the Gospel. When we see ourselves using money in other ways, we see less of that commitment and less faith.

Jesus talks so much about money and wealth because he knows the power it has to lure us away from God’s intentions for creation and for the human family. He knows the power of money to draw us away from community values of the common good and compassion. He knows the seductive power of money to create an illusion of power, security, control, and worth. Like the serpent in the story of the garden of Eden, money can entice us away from God’s will. So Jesus knows that money and wealth are a prime indicator of the condition of a person’s spiritual life and commitment to God. So he is paying a lot of attention to matters of money and wealth.

In the story of the rich young man who comes to Jesus, he is spiritually hungry. He has fulfilled all of the commands of his faith, and he knows that still something is lacking. He still does not feel the close relationship to God that he desires. He senses that his commitment to God is still not complete. In the story, Jesus tells the rich young man to sell all that he has and come follow Jesus. The man walks away sadly, because this he cannot do. So his money stands in the way of his relationship with God. His wealth is impeding his spiritual life. This teaching of Jesus shows how what we do with our money shows the value we place on our faith and spiritual life. This man does not value his commitment to God enough to part with his money. So the story helps to show us how Jesus uses money to assess the condition of the man’s spiritual life.

We see this same kind of assessment involving money in the story of the widow who gives 2 cents to the Temple treasury. Here we see someone so committed to God that she gives all that she has. Her very last cent. How will she eat? How will she live? Yet, she holds nothing back. Her commitment to God is complete. She retains nothings. And in the story, Jesus lifts her up as a model of faithfulness far greater than those who give much more but also retain much more. Again, money is used to assess level of commitment to God and the condition of the person’s spiritual life.

So if want to assess our spiritual lives, our commitment to the gospel, our relationship with God, if we want to examine our deepest hunger and longing, we need to be willing to look at what we are doing with our money. Is our money at God’s disposal? Do we use our money in ways that bring us closer to God and our neighbor? Are we using our money in ways that work for God’s intentions that the poor be fed and everyone live in justice and peace with no victims, and the earth itself not a victim of our greed? Does our money control us? Is our money and our concern about wealth blocking fulfillment of our deepest and truest desires? A bold and courageous analysis of our use of money will show us where we are spiritually.

I think many of us don’t like talking about money in church because we don’t want to ask ourselves these questions because we are afraid of the answers we will find if we have the courage to be honest.

But that is to be expected. In today’s world, Wall Street spends, or spent, billions trying to entice us to want more, buy more, spend more. It has taken billions to mould us into consumers, whose primary mindset is of ourselves and others as economic entities. The teachings of Jesus invite us to see ourselves as God’s children, God’s family, beloved people of God. Good and beautiful. Created to be in community with God and one another for mutual enjoyment and consolation. That is not an economic entity. That is a spiritual entity. And one hour a week in church, even if we did talk about money every Sunday, is not much of an opportunity to reorient our identity, when the market is luring us the other 167 hours of the week!

But there is good news in the gospel about money. Like the woman who anoints Jesus, we can choose to use our money for good and see the deepening of our spiritual lives and our growing commitment to God. Through investing in justice and peace, we can use our money for making God’s realm more present on this earth. There are mutual funds, and micro credit funds, and all kinds of ways of investing that are in keeping with God’s commitments to economic and social justice. People are using their investments in companies with oppressive records to transform those corporations through resolutions for change in corporate practices. Shareholder activism has increased by 68% since 1999 in the US. [Sojourners May 2008, p.12 ]

We can also use our money as an indicator of our faith commitment by investing in this church. Within the past week, I have heard these two testimonies. Someone from the community came to the church, and in the course of the conversation remarked, “This church has a reputation for accepting everyone. . .” And a woman called the church to find out where we got the “Vote No to Amendment 2” signs, and she said, “I love what your church is doing and what you stand for.” This church is making a difference. And though it is not pledging Sunday, the one Sunday you expect to be asked to support the church financially, I need to tell you that the financial support that you give to this church is a way of assessing your spiritual life. It is a way of gauging your faith and your commitment to God. If you are not satisfied with the condition of your spiritual life, then you probably need to be looking at how you are using your wealth, money and time, and chances are you need to be giving more away.

Like the people in Jesus’ day, we too have money. Our times are more complicated, and we certainly do have much more money than the average person whom Jesus addressed. So, we need to be paying more attention, not less, to what the gospels say about money, because we are more in danger of money luring us away from God’s purposes. So, really, the church, to be faithful, to be committed to the spiritual well being of people, to be proclaiming the gospel, should be talking about money, more than ever! Because our relationship with money is a measure of our spiritual life, as Jesus tells us.

Even given the complexities of our modern situation, when we ask, What Does Jesus Say about Wealth? We have to come to terms with the fact that money and faith are related. That’s why Jesus talks so much about money. And that basic fundamental has not changed.

A new movement called Bolder Giving encourages generosity for the good of the giver as well as the good of the communities, the human family and the earth. I invite you to listen to the story of Tom Hsieh, a contemporary who has made the choice to use money to reflect the importance of God and his faith commitment in his life:

When I graduated from college, God pointed out to me: 1) He has a heart for the poor, and 2) I didn’t. So I decided to place my self where I could develop a heart for the poor. I passed up lucrative job offers, joined Servant Partner’s work (where I eventually met my wife, Bree) and took an hourly job as a computer technician. But even on that salary, I made more than I needed, so God started disciplining me in giving.

When Bree and I married seven years go, we knew that we could easily slide into spending more on ourselves. So we committed to living at or below the national median household income (currently $46,000/year) as way to set a limit. I’m 36, my wife is 31, and our daughter Kadence is now one year old.

This year I co-founded a new telecommunications business, SplinterRock, Inc. We save our clients 30%-70% on their telecommunications expenses, and have a non-profit affinity program that generates recurring unrestricted revenues for our non-profit partners.

Last year I made more than $200,000 as a technology executive; our family lived on $38,000 and donated the remaining money (after taxes). Giving is easy, because we live in the second poorest community in L.A. county, where needs stare us in the face. Compared to our neighbors we are still wealthy. We have two bedrooms for the three of us, while most of our neighbors have 3 families in the same sized apartment…

Some think too much of us and think we’re saving people’s lives. But doing this giving . . .has saved my life. I could easily have lived a life that was boring and inconsequential. Now I am graced with a life of service and meaning. [boldergiving.org/inspiring_stories/profile.php?cat=ages&value=35to60&id=87]

The gospels tell us, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” [Luke 12:34, Matthew 6:21] Too often, we are waiting for the spiritual experience to lead us to give our money away. We are waiting to have enough faith to be able to part with more of our money. What Jesus tells us is that if we want a heart filled with faith, if we want the serenity that comes with trust in God, we need to put our money into God’s hands to be used for good. We need to be generous and giving. After we put our treasure where it should be, our hearts will follow. The faith will come. The security will come. The trust, like the lilies of the field will come. We will experience the unimaginable riches of the spiritual life.

So what does Jesus say about wealth? “The measure you give will be the measure you get.” [Mark 4:24, Luke 6:38 Jesus gave his life. We’re only talking about money! Amen.

A reasonable effort has been made to appropriately cite materials referenced in this sermon. For additional information, please contact Lakewood United Church of Christ.

Date: October 5, 2008
Scripture: Isaiah 2:1-4
Sermon: What Does Jesus Say about War?
Pastor: Rev. Kim Wells

It was an era of regime change. The end of the term of one ruler and the transition to new leadership. A time of relief, fear, and hope. But as so often happens in such moments of transition, the hard line holds sway. So, in 4 BCE [Before the Common Era], in the wake of the death of the tyrant Herod the Great, the King of the Jews appointed by Rome, various revolts and protests took place. To keep the Jews in line, the Romans proceeded to slaughter 3,000 people in the courts of the Temple in Jerusalem, steal 400 talents from the Temple treasury, and crucify 2,000 protesters. [My Enemy is My Guest, J. Massyngbaerde Ford, p.3]

This is the context into which Jesus was born: A society in a time of extreme unrest. Roman occupation was severe. Taxes were exorbitant and there was graft and extortion relating to taxation. People were sold into slavery due to unpaid debt, including tax debt. The Romans insisted on worship of Caesar which was an affront to Jewish religious tenets. The Roman occupying army demanded shelter, food, work animals, etc. from the indigenous Jewish population. There was class conflict between the haves and have-nots, and tension between the urban and rural populations. And add drought to all of that, and it was an extremely volatile mix. This is the context for the ministry of Jesus. [See Massyngbaerde, pp.2-6]

There were many responses to the circumstances. Some people simply minded their own business and tried to get by. Others, the Zealots, advocated violent overthrow of the Roman presence. It is thought that the disciple Judas was part of the Zealot movement. There was guerilla warfare perpetrated by those known as bandits who would kidnap, attack, and rob people. It’s not a coincidence that the story of the Good Samaritan takes place on the road to Jericho, known as a hotbed of such Robin Hood style bandits. [See John Dominic Crossan and Jonathan L. Reed, Excavating Jesus: Beneath the Stones, Behind the Texts, p. 141]

In response to the political/social context, there were also those who pursued non violent resistance. When the Romans put up a statue of the emperor to be worshipped in the Temple, the Jews presented themselves for slaughter, rather than worship the statue. They were left unharmed. [Crossan and Reed, p. 143] There were other unarmed protests. People would strike and refuse to grow crops, since so much of the harvest had to be given to the Romans. [Crossan and Reed, p. 144] There were many ways that people reacted to the presence of the oppressive Roman regime in the land of Israel.

The culmination was an all out armed rebellion in 66 CE [Common Era], which was put down by the Romans who proceeded to destroy the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE. So Jesus was born into a context of extreme oppression, violence, and unrest.

Of course, in times of turmoil and peril, people look for a leader, a prophet, a king, a savior. The Jews turned to the scriptures with hope looking for a word of deliverance. They eagerly anticipated God sending help as Moses was sent to bring the Hebrews out of slavery in Egypt. Surely God would send someone to save them from Roman oppression.

They turned to the words of the prophets. The ancient texts see war as one of the ways God shows blessing or disapproval of the Jewish people. When they are faithful, God blesses them with success in war and armed conflict. When they are unfaithful, God uses the success of the opposing army to redirect the Jews to faithfulness. So war is seen as a tool used by God to influence the life of the faith community.

In the book of the prophet Jeremiah, we see examples of the classic Hebrew perspective that God was punishing the people of Israel for their unfaithfulness by using the military conquest of others over Israel to deliver the punishment. In Jeremiah 15:13, we read, “Your wealth and your treasures I will give as plunder, without price, for all your sins, throughout all your territory, I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, for in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever.” War is used as an instrument of punishment. Later in the book of Jeremiah, restoration is promised. When the people return to faithfulness, God promises, “For the days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel and Judah, and I will being them back to the land that I gave to their ancestors and they shall take possession of it.” [Jeremiah 30:3] Some of the Jews of the first century were looking for such restoration.

In looking for deliverance, the Jews of the first century would have turned to the tradition of King David. The promised Messiah was to be of lineage of King David, not only by blood but in terms of power and character. And David is celebrated as the greatest King of Israel, a gifted leader of government and a heroic military leader. This is what the Jews of the first century were hoping and praying for in their difficult circumstances.

In the book of Second Samuel, we are told of some of David’s conquests as king of Israel:

Sometime afterward, David attacked the Philistines and subdued them. . .He also defeated the Moabites and, making them lie down on the ground, measured them off with a cord; he measured two lengths of cord for those who were to be put to death, and one length for those who were to be spared. And the Moabites became servants to David and brought tribute. . . David also struck down King Hadadezer son of Rehob of Zobah, as he went to restore his monument at the river Euphrates. David took from him one thousand seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. . . When the Arameans of Damascus came to help King Hadadezer of Zobah, David killed twenty-two thousand men of the Arameans . . . The Lord gave victory to David wherever he went. David won a name for himself. . .David reigned over all Israel; and David administered justice and equity to all his people. . . [2 Samuel 8]

It is easy to see the Jews of the first century in their situation of occupation praying for a messiah in the line of David to come and deliver them. To vanquish their enemies.

The situation in the first century was ripe for God to send a political, military leader to vanquish Roman victimization of the Jews. The people were ready for a leader who would draw upon the tradition of God’s military deliverance in the Hebrew scriptures. And lead such conquests against the Romans. Jesus knew this tradition. He was well versed in these expectations. Yet, we do not have any examples of Jesus drawing from the tradition of military conquest in Hebrew scriptures. He does not use this war tradition in his teaching. There is no support of armed resistance in the material we have about the ministry of Jesus. There were those in his day who advocated such a response to Roman rule, but we have no record of Jesus supporting those initiatives. So what does Jesus say about war? Even steeped in a tradition that saw war as a tool of God’s will, Jesus does not advocate for war or armed rebellion.

In fact, in the story of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem at the beginning of Holy Week, we see Jesus stage a counter military parade which he knows is leading him into the hands of those who want to kill him. He rides on a humble donkey, not a stately stallion, the preferred mount of military conquerors.

So, the fact that Jesus does not talk about war and violent resistance in a context ready to erupt in violence tells us something about what Jesus says about war. He does not advocate war. However justified it may be in that particular context, Jesus does not advocate war.

Now, as we examine the teachings and ministry of Jesus, there is more that can be noted about a perspective on war. Jesus does not just eschew armed violence. He does not just take the ethical standard, “Do no harm.”

Actually, what is seen as extraordinary about the teachings of Jesus, is that he is remembered for going beyond do no harm, to “Love your enemies,” [Matthew 5:44] “Pray for those who persecute you,” [Matthew 5:44] and “Turn the other cheek.” [Mathew 5:39] Not just don’t kill them, and don’t mistreat them, or tolerate and accept them. But actually love your enemy. Choose to do good to your enemy. Care for your enemy. Choose to behave to your enemies in ways that are kind, caring, compassionate. This is beyond don’t fight back. This is intentionally seek the good of your enemy, of those who would harm you. So what does Jesus say about war? Love your enemy. And as the bumper sticker says, “When Jesus said, ‘Love your enemy,’ he probably didn’t mean kill them.”

We see more of Jesus’ sentiments about violence and war in several stories in the gospels that involve a centurion, a Roman soldier. Given the context, the Roman soldiers were the ones enforcing the harsh occupation policies of the Roman government. So the Jews did not like the soldiers who were agents of fear and intimidation. What is Jesus’ approach to these soldiers? This can be seen as an embodiment of the dictate, “Love your enemy.” When a Roman soldier comes to Jesus begging that Jesus heal his servant, the story includes the testimony, “Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.” [Matthew 8:5ff, also Luke 7:9] This is an affirmation that the centurion, a Roman soldier, has more faith in God than the Jews of the day. This would be heard as the enemy is more on God’s wavelength, than we the chosen people, the people of Israel. This would be heard as an extreme affront.

In another story, after Jesus has died on the cross, but has not yet been removed, we are told, “Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, ‘Truly, this man was God’s Son.’” (Mark 15:39, also Matthew 27:54, and see Luke 23:47] So an enemy centurion voices the identity of Jesus before the disciples who have scattered, and before the women who go to the tomb. Again, this would be heard as a significant affront.

In these stories, we see that Jesus does not hold the policies of the government against those who enforce them. The stories show that there can be good even in those considered in enemy. The story of the healing of the servant shows the compassion of the solider. And that those considered enemy can be people of faith. It is almost as if the soldiers are victims like the Jewish people. So what does Jesus say about war, we are shown that he has compassion and understanding of the soldiers. And he sees them as human beings, not tools of policy, and not as statistics, or acceptable collateral damage in the resolution of conflict.

So what does Jesus say about war? Treat the soldiers like human beings. Have compassion on the soldiers for they, too, are victims. See the humanity of those caught up on systems and cultural institutions far beyond their control.

So what does Jesus say about war? Even given the context, and the tradition, we do not see Jesus advocating war or violence in any way. We see Jesus advocating love of enemy.

Now we can say this is fine utopian thinking, but just not practical and practicable in today’s world. But the time has come to rethink that, as well.

Is it practical to stockpile weapons that can destroy the entire world? Is it practical to spend billions of dollars maintaining those weapons? Is it practical to spend billions on weapon development for killing people when there is need for money and scientists and engineers and others to direct their efforts to meeting human need and developing new sources of energy, and medical treatments, etc.? Is it really wise to direct so much of our resources, human and financial, toward developing methods of armed conflict to solve differences? Wouldn’t it be more practical and wise to put resources into developing non violent means of resolving conflict? If we put even a fraction of the money and time and skill that we are putting into armaments, into think tanks, study, and experimentation with strategies for resolving differences without violence, we could make significant changes in our culture of violence.

In the book, God’s Politics, Jim Wallis of the Sojourners community, shares a story about Archbishop Rowan Williams, head of the Anglican Church:

. . .Archbishop [Rowan] Williams offered an observation that became for me the most insightful statement of the year-long- run-up to the war with Iraq. He said (quoting psychologist Abraham Maslow), ‘When all you have is hammers, everything looks like a nail.’

The United States has the biggest and best hammers in the world. But they are the only ‘tools’ we seem to know how to use. And all we seem able to do is look for more nails to pound.

[p. 110]

You see, we have created a culture of violence and conflict. We have chosen to teach history primarily from war to war, rather than from social advance to social advance. I know, I was a history major in college. You basically study one war after another, with some culture and social movements thrown in along the way. But it is definitely war centered. We have created this way of looking at history, and we can transform it.

We have chosen to create media that glorifies violence as entertainment – on TV in movies, and in video games. We are brought up to expect violence and war as an acceptable, justifiable, inevitable means for resolving differences, in the family, in the community, and in the world, between nations. No one blinks an eye at the Martin Luther King parade when the sanctioned vendors are selling toy guns and swords, at the event honoring a man whose core philosophy was non-violent resistance.

We have developed a culture that fully expects and accepts violence. And we can transform it into a culture of peace. This may not eliminate violence entirely, but we can intentionally promote the transformation of our culture to one of peace. We can teach history differently. We can change our media and entertainment industries. We can transform our culture to value cooperation over competition. We can celebrate everyone having what they need to live, instead of glorifying greed and wealth. We can dismantle our cultural fixation on celebrities who are rich and lift up as celebrities teachers, artists, scientists, engineers, and social workers, and people who are working for the common good. Put those kind of folks on the cover of People magazine.

And in the church, we can promote the anti-violent teachings of Jesus, instead of endorsing the current status quo of our culture of violence.

We do not have to accept this culture of violence that we have created. We have made it, we have a hand in perpetuating it, we can be agents of transformation, as well. Swords into plowshares – it’s not a new idea, but a concept to be embraced with new urgency given the monumental increase in our capacity for destruction.

Transformation is at the heart of the teachings of Jesus. He was advocating a realm where all are cared for, where resources are used to sustain and improve life. Jesus crossed the boundaries that separate and divide people, challenging greed, prejudice and the things that contribute to violence embodying a community in which every person is treated with dignity. Jesus shows us supportive community where all flourish. And Jesus delivers this message in a context of violence, oppression, and military occupation. This tells us something about war. War detracts from creating beloved community. War diverts us from pursuing the realm of God.

So, as Christians, we ask ourselves, really, what does Jesus say about war? Here we close with two quotes from the Gospels. From John: “I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” [John 10:10] And from Luke, “Forgive them, God, for they don’t know what they are doing.” [Luke 23:34] Amen.

A reasonable effort has been made to appropriately cite materials referenced in this sermon. For additional information, please contact Lakewood United Church of Christ.