Good Morning. It is perhaps the most cliché of beginnings to say how excited I am to be here today. It almost feels as if it’s something I’m supposed to say. My dilemma is that… I REALLY mean it.

I also would like a extend thanks to you for all the work that you are doing for your community and our world. You inspire me. Your leadership shapes me – in brief, Talia is the reason I went into ministry, Andy is the reason why I stayed in Ministry, and Dr. Shelley preached the sermon that has played in my head every day for the last 44 days… meant so much to me, I had no problem doing the math.

On behalf of the staff of the Florida Conference of the United Church of Christ, I bring you greetings and an expression of gratitude, and frankly, on the most personal of notes, I thank you for having me here and I thank you for all that you are – because who you are and what you do as a community, shapes me, holds me accountable, and inspires me. It is REALLY good to be with you today.

Now that being said, our text today offers a challenge. We are going to be hearing together a segment from Matthew’s gospel, and our first challenge, I believe is that we don’t get to hear ALLLLL of Matthew’s gospel today. Too bad, right?  Would’ve been fun.

It’s unfortunate in a sense anytime we take just a clip because certain things just don’t seem the same without their proper context.

For example, the other day I wanted to go see the new Queen movie, Bohemian Rhapsody, and it occurred to me, that out of its context, some of the text would lose its beauty, its power, and its impact… “I see a little silhouette of a man, scaramouche, scaramouche, will you do the fandango?” What the heck does that even mean???

So, my friend hutch and I tried this little experiment to see if just by text alone, it was possible to understand the magnitude. And for those of you unfamiliar with the tune, I’ve taken the liberty of adding the original audio with lyrics too.

Certain texts make a lot more sense and carry a lot more beauty when they are placed in context.

Our text for today comes from Matthew’s Gospel and is the foundation of what has been commonly referred to as the Lord’s prayer. And I would suggest to you, that without some context and explanation, what we are about to hear may sound like a bunch of scaramouche,… if you will.

Most troublesome to me, perhaps, would be the idea, as my Sunday School teacher, Mr. Ayala suggested that there was a way we were supposed to pray, and this was it.

Folks, if there’s magic lever connected to the creator, I still haven’t found it.

I have too much respect for you as a community of practice that appreciates and has found the blessing of diversity in such ways to suggest that there is one way to do anything.

But most importantly, I find it inconceivable that the Jesus who infuriated the religious leaders time and time again for doing things differently – for talking shop on different days, talking to people who were “outcasts”, and even not washing his hands – would ever suggest that there is one way to do anything let alone one way to pray. I find it impossible to believe that the Jesus who can’t seem to go a chapter and a half without sitting down for a meal in a different and often controversial place with a different and often controversial group of people would ever try to make the club more exclusive.

And as a matter of fact, I think that’s what draws us into this piece. You see as we pick up Jesus’ words this morning, he is in the middle of the “Sermon on the Mount” a three-chapter sermon- apparently nobody told him that it’s impolite for guest preachers to go more than 20 minutes… 15… 20??… and this wasn’t a gathering of church member prospects, this was a gathering of people already within the community – this wasn’t a new member orientation… this was a congregational meeting…

Matthew is writing to the folks who have been told that they are unworthy of the Temple. The disenfranchised, the turned-away, the holy-rejects. For the Jesus in Matthew’s story, one of the largest sins imaginable is institutional abuse and religious hypocrisy and acts of righteousness are most commonly literally translated into acts of justice.

Matthew seems uninterested with a heaven that comes as a reward after death but a realm of possibility that is to be unlocked here and now through acts of justice and compassion.

Admittedly, context included, this text comes with its challenges. Most of which to me, come through male-dominated language. For some of us, paternal imagery invokes pain or absence, and in a time when toxic patriarchal masculinity maintains its control over so much both at and underneath the surface, I wince at what seems to be more male-dominated language.

But, I firmly believe that if the author of Matthew cared to look t his far into the future to anticipate our societal obsession with toxic masculinity, the Jesus who was humbled by the woman at the well, the Jesus who fought to reclaim …. And the Jesus who referred to God as our Mother Hen, would have happily and responsibly used a different Noun.

So, if you, like me, have ever felt as if organized religion was moving towards self-preservation as opposed to faithful impact, if you like me have ever wondered if humankind can become so self-righteous we miss the point, if you like me, ever wonder, if there is a way of faith that can be vibrant and vital for here, and now, perhaps there is something that can be heard in our text today.

That’s a long prologue, I know, I promise I will keep the argument, short. Here now, the words from Matthew’s gospel.

Matthew 6:5-12 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

“And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.

But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

“When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words.

Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

“Pray then in this way:

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

 

When, I learned that our theme for this month was Feast’s of Gratitude and Where to Find them, the audacity of that notion, inspired me. And for some reason, even with all its challenges, I thought of this portion of Jesus’ sermon. I’m inspired by the notion that there is abundance within our eyes view. And I’m compelled by the audacity that Jesus asserts in his prayer.

In many ways, I think this prayer Jesus offers is supposed to be a challenge to his first listeners.

In a time where religion was dominated by a notion of God that was distant and exclusive, I believe it was audacious to suggest that God was much more a loving presence that knew and hurt for the needs of the people.

In a time where people’s debts and assigned transgressions became permanent and separate markers of shame, it was audacious to ask God to forgive humankind to the same extent they were willing to forgive each other.

And in a time where nationalist identity and religious identity were tragically inseparable, it was audacious to assert that the true emerging realm was one that resembled not the lines on a map but the boundary-less reality of heaven on earth – on earth as it is in heaven.

Jesus’ suggestion to the folks gathered that day is that it matters as much HOW and Why things are done as it is what’s being done. One of the reasons I say you all, United Church of Gainesville inspire me is because it is always so clear in What you do, WHY you do it. I love the stories when the WHY supersedes the WHAT.

I heard the story a while back about Suzannah Crowder. Picture her with me, Suzannah has very fair skin and excited eyes; short in-stature but not in light. Suzannah is an author, a motivational speaker, a teacher, and a mother. She has received awards for decades including 1999’s WINGS Woman of the Year, 2001’s Community Service Award by the Columbus Dispatch, and Woman of Promise in 2004.

Suzannah is the founder of a chain of soup kitchens around the United States, with plans to also build in Canada, England, Australia, and Ireland.  She calls those who walk through the doors of her Soup Kitchens, her “guests”, and on different nights she offers these guests fun menus, such as ‘Wing Night’ and ‘Motown Night’.  And this is at a soup kitchen!  She also provides classes not normally offered by soup kitchens, such as self-esteem building programs and real-life career coaching. Her mission it seems isn’t just to feed her guests, but to love her guests.

I submit to you that, Suzannah Crowder, and you, United Church of Gainesville, are examples of what happens when we become entrenched in the passion for equality, justice, and compassion such that that WHY soaks all the WHATs and HOWs. And I believe that this is what Jesus is reminding the gathering a couple thousand years ago.

Friends, I believe that your table of abundance, is right here. In your worship, in your seminar rooms, in your youth room, in your gatherings, in your play time, and I thank God for that.

Because, in a time where religion was dominated by a notion of God that was distant and exclusive, I believe it is audacious to suggest that God is much more a loving presence that knows the hurt for the needs of the people.

In a time where people’s debts and assigned transgressions became permanent and separate markers of shame, it is audacious to forgive humankind to the same extent that we believe God forgives us

And in a time where nationalist identity and religious identity are too often tragically inseparable, it IS audacious to assert that the true emerging realm IS one that resembled not the lines on a map but the boundary-less reality of heaven on earth – on earth as it is in heaven.

Friends, when I say you inspire me, I am inspired by the way in which you work to bring about Heaven on Earth, in all that you do.

A store owner was tacking a sign above his door that read “Puppies for Sale.” Signs like that have a way of attracting small children, and sure enough, a little boy appeared under the store owner’s sign.

“Can I please look at them?” the boy said.

The store owner smiled and whistled and out of the kennel came Lady, who ran down the aisle of his store followed by five teeny tiny balls of fur.

“How much are you going to sell the puppies for?” he asked.

The store owner replied, “Anywhere from $30 to $50.”

One puppy was lagging considerably behind. Immediately the little boy singled out the lagging, limping puppy and said, “What’s wrong with that little dog?”

The store owner explained that the veterinarian had examined the little puppy and had discovered it didn’t have a hip socket. It would always limp. It would always be lame. The little boy became excited. “That’s the little puppy that I want to buy.”

The store owner said, “No, you don’t want to buy that little dog. If you really want him, I’ll just give him to you.”

The little boy got quite upset. He looked straight into the store owner’s eyes, pointing his finger and said, “I don’t want you to give him to me.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out all his money. “I have $1.37,” he said.

“I don’t think you understand” the owner said. “He’s broken. He’s not for sale.

“That little dog is worth every bit as much as all the other dogs” the boy said, “and I’ll pay full price. In fact, I’ll give you $1.37 now, and 50 cents a month until I have him paid for.”

The store owner countered, “You really don’t want to buy this little dog. He is never going to be able to jump and play with you like the other puppies.”

To this, the little boy reached down and rolled up his pant leg to reveal a badly twisted, crippled left leg supported by a big metal brace. He looked up at the store owner and softly replied, “Well, I don’t run so well myself, and the little puppy will need someone who understands!”

Admittedly, one challenge that the text for today offers to me, is that sometimes I don’t feel that audacious. Sometimes I lack the audacity – I’m too tired, I’m too hurt, I’m too afraid, I’m too proud… on and on and on…perhaps the most amazing thing that the table of abundance has to offer us, is simply a seat. And on the days, where we don’t feel lie there is much more we can do, perhaps that is enough. At least, that was enough for one woman I read about.

She was a homeless woman in Ohio, eating out of the dumpster behind McDonald’s, thought by the locals to be certifiably insane, pregnant who had decided her life could not go on. She had planned how she would take her life and had resigned herself to being terminally hopeless.

She snuck into the local library the day before she was to take her life randomly looking for one last “cure” in a book.

And she opened a book called Chicken Soup for the Soul and read a story called “Puppies for Sale” about a 10-year-old boy and a puppy with no hip sockets. She had very fair skin and excited eyes; short in-stature but not in light. “When I read that story,” Suzannah Crowder said, “I immediately started crying. I realized that puppy was broken, but it didn’t mean he wasn’t valuable.  And I realized that I’m like that puppy, just because I am broken, doesn’t mean I am not a valuable person.”

Friends, I share that story with you to remind you of what I’m sure you already know. That the message that all are welcome, and all are needed at the table of abundance is salvation. I thank you for all that you do to bring about peace, justice, and salvation – heaven on earth.

My prayer for you is that in this season where the darkness seems to linger a little longer and there seems to be more work than there is time to do it, that you find what you need at this table of abundance, so that in the model of the Man from Nazareth, you may continue with audacity to seek and give forgiveness, fight for the those who are waiting for their daily bread, and boldly embody the Creating Spirit who will seek to sustain you as you go about making this on earth a little bit more as in heaven. In these times, it may not just be what we’re capable of, it might in fact, be exactly what is needed. Amen.