Sermon by The Very Rev Chris Yaw, 3/10/2024
Centering Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ,
Son of God,
May your will be done,
through me.
Good morning everyone!
How do you like my pink?
No, this is not a preview of my Oscar party wardrobe for the big event tonight when I know you will all be rooting for "Barbie!"
It's what priests wear on the 4th Sunday in Lent -
It is an ancient tradition which bids us to note that Lent is almost over -
And the Joy of Easter awaits!
So today carries a bit more of a celebrative tone than other Lenten Sundays - which you will no doubt note in our music and liturgy!
Pair this with our Lenten theme: "The Happiest Lent You've Never Had" –
And let's celebrate with a children's book that was a part of my childhood!
I want you to see the cover of the book - which is why it is on the cover of your bulletins!
It's called Struweelpeter - or 'Shock-headed Peter' –
It is an 1845 German children's book written and illustrated by Heinrich Hoffmann.
It comprises ten illustrated and rhymed stories, mostly about children.
And it is a book of cautionary tales.
(*****1 Cruel Frederick Photo Here****)
For example, there is the story of 'Cruel Frederick' - who terrorizes animals and people.
Eventually he is bitten by a dog, who goes on to eat the boy's food while Frederick is bedridden.
(*****2 Philip Photo Here****)
There is the story of "Fidgety Phillip" A boy who won't sit still at dinner and accidentally knocks all of the food onto the floor, to his parents' great displeasure.
Most of the stories, though are much more horrific - and I will only mention one of them - because as a childhood thumb-sucker, it gave me more than one nightmare:
(*****3 Konrad Photo Here****)
It's the story of Konrad the Thumbsucker, whose mother warns him not to suck his thumbs. However, when she goes out of the house he resumes his thumb-sucking, until a roving tailor appears and cuts off his thumbs with giant scissors - in graphic detail.
(*****Back to preacher****)
Why book-burners rail against Peter Pan, but let this train wreck of a horror show stay on public school library shelves, I will never know...
This book was a best-seller though - throughout Europe in the mid-and-late 1800's and into the 1900's!
Dr. Heinrich Hoffman wrote it for his children because he was a sadist - NO –
Because he was a child psychologist drumming up business, for him and generations of therapists - NO –
But because he felt the children's books of his day were too fluffy and entertainment-oriented - and he wanted something with a strong and clear moral lesson!
The irony here, which probably has Dr. Hoffman turning over in his grave, is that this book is widely considered as the precursor to modern day comic books - which don't exactly have the reputation as shapers of clean and clear moral guidance for juveniles.
Nonetheless, there are few literary genres that do this more effectively than the cautionary tale - whose very aim is to demonstrate the disastrous consequences of misbehavior, albeit in exaggerated ways.
Yes!
Cautionary tales remain effective at shaping the moral imagination of children, including children of faith!
This is what we look at this morning as we consider the story of the serpent lifted up on a staff by Moses for the children of Israel, and Jesus for his children, you and me.
Many of us children have come to church this morning as sick as those Israelites - bitten by snakes of our own –
Serpents of pain and distress - that have us disillusioned, confused, and disheveled!
But you, dear saints of God - know what do to!
You know where to come!
You know who to ask!
You know where to look!
And the message runs very clear today!
Look up!
-------
This morning we join Moses, who's miraculous exploits have included:
- Calling miracles down from heaven and showing up the mightiest person on earth, old pharaoh of Egypt!
- Dramatically leading the Israelites out of bondage,
- Parting the Red Sea to give an escape route and destroying his enemies,
- And coming down from Mount Sinai, in a ferocious storm, carrying the Ten Commandments - becoming the first person ever to connect a tablet to the cloud...
But even after all these miracles! - people are people -
Yesterday and today -
Same as it ever was - Same as it ever was -
Even after he brings down miraculous food from heaven, manna, and quail:
They grow impatient!
They complain!
"Where's the ketchup?"
"Mine has no cheese!"
"Can somebody please cut off the crust?"
Moses has heard it all before!
God has heard it all before!
And so God does something that you and I often do to our children:
We push back!
We penalize them!
We punish them!
OK - maybe we don't send snakes -
But, if you have children like mine, don't tell me you've never thought about something even worse...
Consider this story a cautionary tale!
And in this cautionary tale, as the Israelites gather on the flat plain of the Sinai desert, God sends snakes to bite them!
Talk about snakes on the plain!
(Now that was a bad joke, but I couldn't resist...)
But we also noticed one thing that is very different in this cautionary tale - at least compared to Dr. Heinrich Hoffman.
While bad behavior ends with its reward of terrible consequences:
Moses' story does not end that way!
God steps in.
God does not allow these ungrateful complainers to wallow in their well-deserved punishment.
God restores, God rebuilds -
God says "I will save you."
Now, this certainly sounds a bit disingenuous because it was God who sent the snakes in the first place -
But when you consider that those snakes would not have been sent if those complainers had not complained -
It makes you and me wonder what kind of snakes we've invited into our lives...
How much trouble we're in, that we brought on ourselves:
Putting off doctor visits -
Eating too much of the bad stuff and not enough of the good stuff -
Putting too many unneeded charges on plastic -
Refusing to reduce, reuse, or recycle -
Putting off difficult conversations -
Choosing judgment, assumption, pride, and selfishness -
- over humility, curiosity, and giving others the benefit of the doubt.
These things can all turn into big messes - and none of us are immune to their venom.
They're the snakes that bite us -
Serpents that torment us -
Yep, we know we've got some fault here.
BUT none of us are immune to God's answer either;
This is not just a cautionary tale -
Even as we wallow in that terrible mess of our own making,
God says:
"I won't abandon you.
I won't stand by and watch you suffer.
I get no gratification from your suffering!
I will be there,
I will lift up a serpent on a stick
It's my savior on cross!
For, you are my beloved,
I so loved the world that I gave my only begotten Son so that whomever might believe in him would not perish, but receive eternal life."
And God is urging you and me to look up this morning.
Realize that we are not alone!
Tap into that power that you have done time and again -
Refusing to believe there is no hope!
After all - it's something you already do so well!
You, the good people of St. David's, who don't sit home on the couch and say,
'Well, I guess the poor will always be with us! Nothing we can do about it!'
'Homelessness is just too big a problem to do anything about!'
'Oh, those problems in Haiti have been going on for centuries, there's nothing we can do!'
No!
When the going gets rough - you get going!
(Can I get an amen!?)
You know what to do:
You look up.
Look up in hope.
Look on in wonder.
Look to God for the energy and inspiration.
For God makes a way.
I wonder what that looks like for you today -
As you fight off those snakes -
- of despair, apathy, negativity, and hopelessness
How is God inviting you to look up - in faith, hope, and wonder?
-------
This is what Jesus was getting at when we overhear his conversation this morning with a man named Nicodemus.
Nicodemus was a Jewish leader who came to Jesus at night, presumably to avoid being seen with him, and to question Jesus about who he is and what he's up to.
That's what launched this reference to Moses and the Serpent on a Stick:
Jesus compares it to the cross and the crucifixion - to the salvation of all of God's children.
All we need to do is look up -
In our time of need -
In our time of trial -
In our time of trouble -
But you and I are well aware of how trite that sounds.
-------------------
This past week -
Donald Trump became the Last Republican Standing following Super Tuesday elections -
And Joe Biden used his annual State of the Union Address, before the biggest audience he'll likely see before November, to take the gloves off –
Setting up what few people want, but everyone expected: a rematch of 2020 in 2024.
Both candidates say this is one of, if not the most consequential elections our nation has ever faced.
And your worry and anxiety over it is not ill-placed.
In fact, political uncertainty may be just one of the snakes that's made its way into your home or heart.
I know some of you are facing major medical challenges.
And others are up against the wall, financially -
So asking you to 'just look up' can be more unhelpful and even irritating than saying nothing at all.
So I would like to take a play from the playbook of a happiness researcher I found while studying for our Lenten theme this year -
Here name is Ingrid Fetell Lee.
And her website is Aesthetics of Joy -
And it's highly recommended by your rector.
Like you and me, Ingrid is well aware of the complexity of human life - its moods, its changes, its capriciousness -
And she suggests something that may help you and me in times of difficulty - when looking up is really, really hard.
If the idea of finding joy amidst all the craziness that's happening around us just feels too difficult, then let's start with something small.
Ask yourself: What is the tiniest possible form of joy I could find today?
Maybe that’s whipped cream on your coffee.
Maybe it’s taking off your shoes and feeling a warm carpet under your feet.
Maybe it’s listening to a favorite song or noticing the dappled light streaming through a favorite tree - now that we have an extra hour before sunset.
Researchers call these tiny moments ‘glimmers’, a term coined by social worker Deb Dana,
And they can be anything that gives you a brief sense of joy or peace.
Again - these are mundane things like opening a Hershey's Kiss without tearing the foil - or the moment of silence when you drive under an underpass during a hard rain like we had Friday - that focus our attention on the magic of everyday life.
These glimmers may produce a moment of joy, in the midst of pain, during that dark night of the soul. But they can also point us toward something much bigger.
As a handful of us made our way to Shaarey Zedek yesterday - on our mission of presence and compassion -
We were tasked with trying to bring a 'glimmer' into the lives of one community in our midst that is in deep pain - a dark night of the soul -
And this is the word we brought:
Grab hold of a glimmer.
Take it as a reminder of who we are, who God is, and where life is going:
There will be a time of accountability, acceptance, and finally reunion with the divine.
And knowing that respite is our destiny, albeit clothed in mystery, may just be a big enough glimmer to get us through.
Friends, look up and look out for the glimmers.
Refuse the temptation of hopelessness -
Push aside the fake news of apathy -
You are God's chosen,
God's anointed,
God's good people of courage, who I thank God for everyday -
For teaching me how to look up!
Amen.