Sermon Epiphany 2

1/17/21 Mary McPherson

I am good friends with my Zumba teacher (an exercise class) at the YMCA. I haven’t been to the gym in a while, but before Covid I would see her several times a week. I really like and admire this woman’s optimism and her openness to sharing her faith. After the George Floyd protests she courageously invited us to stay after class one day and pray for our country, which I and others gratefully did.

I was extremely disturbed last week when she posted a link on FB. Her pastor was calling people to go to Washington, DC to make a stand against what he saw as an unfair election. And I was even more disturbed after hearing what happened in DC.

After 60 lawsuits claiming election fraud were rejected by the courts, I personally am convinced there was no election fraud. I know not all of you agree with me. (Sadly, no news is totally objective these days, I am the first to admit it, so we all hear and believe different things, which is a topic for another sermon.) I read that members of congress knew that nothing they did on Jan 6 would or could actually change the election results. That’s just not the way our election process works. Yet, they said nothing to that effect to the people who were coming. They did not speak truth to their constituents, telling them that the election results would not change – regardless of what Vice President Pence did. I believe certain members of Congress played along in the illusions the president was claiming, that they could “stop the steal” and change the outcome. They are now being called out for it.

Whether you agree with me about this or not, is not the point. What I was convicted of, and the point I’m making, is that things may have been different if people had spoken up.

If I am critical of people like Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz, I have to turn the focus back to myself, and ask, am I doing all I can to disseminate truth as I know it?

Our bishop, Gretchen this week sent out a message asking us to do 3 things.

1 pray. 2 promote peace. 3 name the truth.

Northern Idaho has been a new experience for this California bay area girl. I find myself in the uncomfortable position of being in a minority – blue in a red state. I have learned the art of “tip-toeing”. Don’t ruffle feathers by talking politics. Keep your head down. Keep the peace.

If I am critical of members of congress’ silence and stay silent myself, I am a hypocrite.

Jesus often calls out hypocrites. The Holy Spirit is now telling me to speak out and I can’t ignore her any longer.

So, I wrote a letter to my exercise teacher. I told her I felt the need to tell her that I do not believe the election was stolen. I told her I still loved her with my whole heart, but that I was worried about her being shepherded by a man who encouraged people to go to DC to overturn the election and that I was praying for her not to be misled. I told her I hoped and prayed I didn’t offend her in any way. And asked that she, know my words were spoken in love and I prayed they would be received that way whether she agreed with me or not.

So, now you all want to know what my teacher said, right?

(Who said sermons couldn’t be cliff hangers?)

She wrote me back, and told me she loved me, and that I am free to have my own opinions. She said her Pastor was not encouraging violence in DC, he simply encouraged those that were called to come and STAND.

So, what did I learn from this interchange with my gym teacher? It just might surprise you…

In the events of Jan 6th, a small minority of people wreaked havoc on our nation’s Capital. We must resist the temptation to demonize all of them, and make rash generalizations.

In the George Floyd Black Lives Matter protests, a small minority of people actually did the looting. Many people there had the intention of peacefully protesting, just as many of the people in DC had the intention of peacefully protesting.

George Floyd wasn’t a perfect person. Ashli Babbitt wasn’t a perfect person. As Christians, we remember that each person is someone’s child, someone’s beloved, God’s creation. When we fail to remember that, we dehumanize our brothers and sisters.

How does all this tie into the scripture readings for this week?

Nathanael, I love Nathanael. “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Do you think Nathanael might have been guilty of rash generalizations about those people in Nazareth, those not in his tribe of like-minded folk? Nathanael was prejudiced. He pre-judged Jesus before ever meeting him because of where he was from. When he meets Jesus, he quickly realizes his mistake. Do we ever pre-judge people when we find out they are a republican or democrat?

In Psalm 139, the psalmist talks about how God really knows us. Ever thought about why people want to be seen and known?

Someone can love me superficially, without knowing much about me. But if they love me while knowing all my failings and shortcomings, that I have different political beliefs than they do, that love is the kind of love Jesus wants us to have for each other.

I LOVE Psalm 139. The lectionary cherry-picked the verses for us this morning, but Dave gave me permission to use the entire psalm. In particular, verses 18-21 were omitted. It’s found in its entirety on P 794 in the Book of Common Prayer

If only you, God, would slay the wicked! Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!

They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name.

Do I not hate those who hate you, LORD, and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?

I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies.

Wow. Those are strong words in the middle of this beautiful psalm.

If we are honest with ourselves, I’ll bet some of us can relate to having strong feelings like the psalmist. I confess there are times when I, too, I have felt anger towards others in this political environment. Those verses are followed by 2 of the best verses in the whole psalm.

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.

See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

What a wonderful prayer. The psalmist seems to realize he can’t follow the way of love without God’s help. Neither can we.

As I struggled with sleeplessness one night this week, the Spirit spoke to me, just like the spirit spoke to Samuel, and I got up out of bed to write down what she said. She told me,

“God looks at you with eyes full of grace and compassion. And asks you to look at others through a lens of grace and compassion as well.”

This is what I believe Bishop Curry called us to do in his message last week when he quoted Abraham Lincoln.

With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds …

Let us pray.

O God, you have bound us together in a common life. Help us, in the midst of our struggles for justice and truth, to confront one another without hatred or bitterness, and to work together with mutual forbearance and respect; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, p 824.)