Sermon 10/24
McMichaels UMC
Joel 2:23-32 (NRSV)
O children of Zion, be glad
and rejoice in the Lord your God;
for he has given the early rain for your vindication,
he has poured down for you abundant rain,
the early and the later rain, as before.
[24] The threshing floors shall be full of grain,
the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
[25] I will repay you for the years
that the swarming locust has eaten,
the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,
my great army, which I sent against you.
[26] You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
and praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has dealt wondrously with you.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.
[27] You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,
and that I, the Lord, am your God and there is no other.
And my people shall never again
be put to shame.
[28] Then afterward
I will pour out my spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams,
and your young men shall see visions.
[29] Even on the male and female slaves,
in those days, I will pour out my spirit.
[30] I will show portents in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. [31] The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. [32] Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.
New Testament Reading:
Luke 18:9-14 (NRSV)
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: 10"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.' 13But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' 14I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted."
Or even like this tax collector.
In Jesus’ time, “tax collectors” appeared high on everyone’s “most hated” list. The Roman’s simply assessed the tax collector a fixed amount for his territory. He, in turn, had the job of raising the money—with enough left over to make it a profitable business for himself. This was, in effect, a license to practice greed and injustice. The more taxes collected, the higher the tax collector’s profits. Gangster-methods of collection were not uncommon. For these reasons, a tax collector was regarded not only as an extortionist but also as a traitorous person who had “sold out” to the Roman oppressor.
So, here we have a priest praying to God and thanking God that he is not a thief or an adulterer or a rogue or even a tax collector. He thanks God that he is not like those people. The priest, in his prayer, judges and condemns those other people. And many of us fit this description of the priest. We may not be adulterers, but we sometimes think about it. We may not be rogues who go against the norm, but we sometimes think about it. We may not take things that don’t belong to us, but we sometimes think about it. We may not cheat and steal and coerce like the tax collector, but we sometimes think about it. We are no better than the tax collector in our thoughts and our actions. We are ‘those people’.
And we are also just like the priest. How many of us have looked at other people and thanked God we were not like them? How many times have we looked down our noses at the people who have menial, low paying jobs and who cannot or will not strive to do better? How many times do we shake our heads in disgust at the poorly educated? How many times do we scoff at people who cannot afford to put money in the church offering or pay for a meal that is only $.99?
And then, on the other hand, how many times do we look at those who have so much more than we do and know that they have done something evil or illegal to get where they are? And how many times have we thanked God that we are not like those people in Iraq?
As you know, Mike is home on a 15-day leave after spending over 7 months in Iraq. He had the opportunity to witness those people in action. During a couple of phone calls we had together over a month or two, he would point out what these people were like and ask me about the so-called Christians here at home. I began to realize that we were just like the priest. He would tell me how faithful the Iraqi people were in praying 5 times a day, every day. Then he would ask me how often we Christians pray. He was impressed with the fact that they would drop everything 5 times a day and pray to their God – out in public where everyone could see. Their God, by the way is the same God we are supposed to be praying to.
Mike would tell me about how the people dressed and how the more religious would wear black. This was a testimony to how they felt about God. They would all carry around a Rosary-type bracelet that reminded them continuously about God. They had their prayer rugs that were only used for times of prayer. And I would think about how many of us are reluctant to wear or carry anything that would show that we are Christians? We often don’t even carry a Bible to church. We are always afraid of what our friends or neighbors would think. We don’t want to stand out in a crowd and show that we are Christians.
Mike had the opportunity to work side by side with these people during some of his duties. He was impressed with the way they worked. They were eager and diligent in their duties. They were resourceful and imaginative in doing their job. They did not complain about whatever they had to do. They went straight to work and finished the job without complaining. And I thought about us. How we often complain bitterly about our job or our circumstances.
And talk about resourceful. Mike said he looked at the vehicles they drove, and most of you know that Mike is a real car buff, but he was blown away at what they did to keep their vehicles running. With the use of wire and tape and screws and sticks, they kept their trucks and cars on the road. They are a poor people, but they know how to make the best of what they have. Can you imagine us driving a 20-year-old vehicle with duct tape and wire holding the body together? We would be so ashamed. Somehow we would figure out a way to get another vehicle. After all what would other people think about us?
And talking about vehicles. . . Mike said he believes the Iraqi people must hold some kind of record for getting the most people into one vehicle. And it’s not because they are trying to set a record, but just because they are so willing to help others that they find it hard to drive by someone who needs a ride without picking them up. Often it’s people they don’t even know. It’s just that there is someone who needs a ride so they squeeze them in somehow. And us? We’re too afraid to even pick up a hitchhiker that may need a ride because their car broke down.
It’s that old Christian belief of loving your neighbor except they put it into practice. Mike said the Iraqi’s are willing to help anyone in need, anytime, any way. What about us?
Mike also saw the importance of family in these Iraqi people. They do what they can to make sure the family stays intact. Iraqi men are allowed to have 4 wives, but it is their belief that each wife be treated equally. Mike said if you are going to buy one of your wives a watch, you better plan on getting 3 more of equal value and beauty. Harmony and equality is imperative in the Iraqi family. And I look at what we have done to the family. So many of us have left our families broken and scattered through divorce and separation. It’s easier than trying to make things work.
Then there are the commandments. They have their list of commandments just like we do, but theirs go a little further. He has witnessed a Muslim breaking one of their commandments and go into immediate prayer, asking for forgiveness. And their commandments include one very important segment. The Iraqi Muslims are warned about impure thoughts. If they have an impure thought, they are to go into immediate prayer. They are to drop to their knees and confess their thoughts and ask for forgiveness. When Mike told me about this part, I pictured us. I saw us on our knees constantly for all the impure thoughts that we consider funny and harmless.
He told me about the children; hungry and begging. He said every time he and the other troops went out on convoys, they would always take along some extra food and hand it out as they drove along. And I thought of us. How we forget to bring in a can of soup or box of rice to add to our church pantry in order to try and help out those that are hungry right here in our own congregation.
He told me about the gardens of food planted along the roads and how the Iraqi people would stop and pick something along the edges for food during their travels. No one would come running out and chase them off. It was expected that, if anyone needed food, they were welcome to take a small portion to tie them over. I thought about Christ and his disciples taking some wheat from along the road when they were traveling and how they got in trouble for doing it. And I thought about us, running out to chase someone out of our gardens.
He told me how sex before marriage was banned and if a woman did have sex; she would not be able to marry. And if a couple got pregnant before marriage, how they would both be killed. And I thought about how permissive our society has become and how promiscuous our children are.
He saw how strong their faith really was. He watched as Iraqi men would walk across a field armed with nothing but a pair of wire cutters to disarm a bomb. These men would have no idea what they were doing except that they had to cut a wire so the bomb would not blow up. Their method of choosing which wire to cut was left totally up to God. If their time was up, they would clip the wrong wire and be with their God. If it was not their time, the wire they chose would be the right one. And I thought about how little faith we have.
Mike watched the way the Iraqi people treated their priests. They were held in reverence and respected. He said it was quite a contrast to the way we treat our pastors. And I thought about the ways we try to hinder and change our clergy to fit the mold that we want. If we see our pastor doing something we don’t like or agree with, we are quick to strike out and complain, forgetting that it just may be God leading them to do what is right and righteous for us.
He told me about how eager and easily the Iraqi people were to set up a church; anywhere, any time. They could set up a tent and have a wonderful worship service or worship in the open air. And I thought about all the time, trouble and money we waste trying to make our buildings just right so that we are comfortable and protected to worship. Sometimes I think we have our buildings just so we can hide and not let people see what we do to worship. Sometimes I think we are ashamed to let anyone see how we try to praise our Lord.
I think we are sometimes tainted by the news media and our own thoughts about Iraq and the people there. We are influenced by what we hear about Muslims in general and learn to hate because of the war that we are involved in. Mike certainly could have returned bitter and hateful from all that he has been involved in over there, but he was able to look past the radicals and see the people for what they truly are.
He said that they are a happy, outgoing, friendly people. He said he gets a little tired of hearing “Mistah, Mistah” all the time, but that is their way of getting the soldiers’ attention. He has watched these people going about their daily chores, singing what he thinks are praise and worship type songs. They have so little, he said, but they do so much with what they have. They can make the best of any circumstance. And I thought about how much we have and how little we do with it.
So when Mike would tell me about those people; the kind of people that the priest in the temple was thanking God that he was not like, and then he would ask me about the so called Christians at home, I didn’t know what to say. Their beliefs and their commandments and their God are not much different than ours. They believe in Jesus and that Jesus and Mohammed will meet in the last days and Jesus would interpret for us and Mohammed would interpret for them the final judgments. And if I look at all the things Mike told me about the Iraqi people and I look at those of us who profess to be Christians here at home, I have to wonder who will be judged more harshly.
So Mike and I both think it’s time to realize that we are no better than the priest praying in the temple and realize that we are no better than the tax collector. We think it’s time that we follow the example the tax collector gave us and ask our God to forgive us.
