FOR WITHOUT VISION, THE PEOPLE PERISH A Sermon at St.

Georges Church on the Fourth Sunday in Lent (Year C) Joshua 5:9-12 Psalm 32 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Even without the gospel authors editorial footnote in this passage namely, that Judas was a liar and a thief we get a pretty good sense of that apostle whom we know too well, the one who will betray Jesus a few weeks from now. But what if John the Evangelists allegations arent entirely correct, and what if Judas intentions are to carry out precisely what Jesus said all along that we should be mindful of the poor and the oppressed, and give to them, first? Jesus knew the depths of poverty that oppressed Galilee and the neighboring towns of Jerusalem, how awful it was to be widowed or orphaned. Even if you had a bread-winner in your home so to speak, you really didnt get much bread. There were taxes to be paid, both to the Temple and Rome. Back-breaking labor was the menu of the day, and most families got by on flat bread and gravy while the rich and powerful ate meat and drank wine. Even the smallest home today would seem palatial to an ancient Galilean, and even Jesus himself probably grew up in a home that had one, maybe two, rooms all to fit his mother, father, and, by many accounts, five or six brothers and sisters. Jesus knew, firsthand, how most people struggled. Thats why weve seen him have compassion on those crowds who gathered at his feet, such that he told his followers to get on with it and feed them. Judas, at least given what he says today, is following Jesus word for word. According to Judas, what Mary did was wasteful, plain and simple. She poured out one pound of perfume, made from pure nard an amount, most scholars surmise, which would have cost close to the average working persons yearly income. Mary seems the impulsive fool in this story, pouring it onto Jesus feet and wiping it with her hair. In time, the whole house was filled with the scent of aloe and spice. That seems the very definition of wastefulness, and it may be that Judas is being nothing more than a pragmatist: Didnt you tell us to feed the hungry and clothe the naked and tend the poor, Jesus? Honestly, just think what, say, $40,000 today could do for the poor. And to see it just poured out, and one someones feet, at that. Given everything Jesus has taught and stood for, it would seem only likely that he would confirm Judas claim, and berate Mary for being so wasteful and silly. Yes, it would

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seem that Jesus is oftentimes one of the most pragmatic Rabbis (why not eat on the Sabbath?, he once argued) and this time should be no different. Pragmatism should rule the day, it should seem, and anyone whos spent enough time with Jesus would expect him to say that that money should have been given to the poor and the needy, not poured on the floor. But its Mary whom Jesus praises; that woman who sat at his feet while her sister slaved in the kitchen some years before, and now the one who pours out expensive lotion and wipes it with her hair. Marys lavishness, not Judas pragmatism, wins in the end. Marys extravagance receives Jesus blessing. He knew, I suspect, that even our attempts at cost-saving and thrifty-ness also cloak the sin that Judas succumbed to a bit later on. That in our hearts we would rather get through life piece by piece, day by day, and likewise give piecemeal bits to one another and to the major problems that beset us. One of the prevailing adages out there is that today is all we have; yesterday is past, and tomorrow is not yet. How many times have you said (to yourself or others): Who knows? I may not be around tomorrow but Im here today, so its all Ive got. While this is all well and good and, perhaps, true, how many of us actually live life to the fullest today? How many of us actually do live like this is all weve got? Rather, how many of us say such a thing and then go about our day like its any other day, and weve got to save a bit here for tomorrow, and cut back there because we exceeded our limit yesterday, and not do this, or not forget to do this. No, if we actually believed that old adage, wed be a lot less like Judas and a whole lot more like Mary. Jesus knew that in our hearts were liable to skimp and save and avoid the larger issues staring us in the face, thus the reason he made clear that the poor will always be with us. Why? Not because we lack the resources, the time or the money, but because we lack the vision. A day lived for itself is self-defeating. A life lived for itself is a life marked by death. It is a day or a life lacking in vision, and the scriptures plainly say that without vision, the people perish. The words we hear today are not about saving money, nor are they about wasting gifts. They are about vision, and casting that vision in our lives so that it moves us in our hearts, minds, and souls. Isaiah, the prophet, told the people to stop worrying about the past, and not even think about the things of old. For God is doing a new thing, Isaiah said, do you not see it? Likewise, the apostle Paul reminded us that even his greatest accomplishments were like nothing, now that he had been found by Jesus, and that that

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was good news for knowing Jesus is the only thing that allowed him to press onward, and stop living life as if it were his to own and control. A new vision is breaking forth. Do you, today, not see it? What we are talking about here is the Kingdom of God, and nothing less than that. And if our lives, and our days, are moved by that kingdom there is no room for day-dreaming about some fantasy future, for the future is real. In the Kingdom of God there is no poverty or famine, no back-biting or economic struggle, no disease of mind, body, or spirit. In the Kingdom of God there is only abundance, just like Marys pouring out of expensive perfume all over the floor and feet and hair. What we lack is not an abundance of resources, for weve got all the money and all the time and energy we need. What is lacking is vision. It reminds me of the time I went to a black church on the south side of Chicago to hear one of my seminary friends preach. The service was set to begin at 10am, and I was a little bit late, but that didnt seem to matter because the whole place was already up and singing and there were no bulletins or formal processions to worry about missing. All I had to do was show up, get a place to stand, and praise Jesus. I was also not the only person who was late, mind you, as folks kept trickling in one after another, and the singing and praising went on and on for the better part of an hour. A few scripture readings were delivered, then some more singing, then my friends sermon, the some more singing, then some praying, then some more singing at which point the ushers started bringing around the offering plates. These werent just plates; they were deep baskets, and by the time it came to me it was pretty full. After the singing, it went back up to the pastor and he took them in his hand and said, Now I know theres a better spirit in this place, and that Gods people are set on him. At which point, he sent the offering baskets back out into the congregation, and they came back a second time, even more full. You see, this is a church that is literally rebuilding their community, brick by brick, and doing pretty amazing things fighting crime, and homelessness, and keeping kids in school, and standing up for Christian values in a nearly bombed out area of one of Americas cities. How are they doing it? The financiers would say they could do it because they have money. Still others might say theyre wasting my time with three hour worship services. But its neither, is it?

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No, its that that church was a church with vision, and a church proclaiming that vision. They were doing a new thing, and they were unafraid of saying so, like the pastor who told his congregation that theres good news and bad news about the furnace that broke. The good news, he said, is that weve already got all the money we need to fix the furnace. The bad news, he added, is that its still in your pockets. When we live the Gospel of Jesus Christ as if it truly is good news, and serve our community, and build one another up, and teach the faith, and welcome the stranger, we are a people of vision. I couldnt say it any more clearly, St. Georges, for we, too, must continue to be that very people of vision, the people we have learned to be together, visionaries for the Kingdom of God; that it will be as we pray: on earth, as it is in heaven.

The Revd Gregory Charles Syler Sunday, 14 March 2010

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