Snakes Alive!

John is at it again.  Lecturing, name calling, telling people off.  Calling them snakes!  He doesn’t pull any punches.  He lets them know in no uncertain terms that God is not happy with the way humans are living their lives.  They need to make some changes, he demands.  They are not living up to God’s expectations and are letting down their part of the Covenant between the people of Israel that came into being when Moses first showed up, that was behind the story of why there are rainbows in the world.  God makes covenants, enters into partnership, wants to be in relationship with troublesome humans who keep breaking their side of the bargain.  Then God connects with Isaiah and sends a message that these broken covenants are not what God wants!

Today’s passage of Isaiah about "the wrath of God" which results from these broken covenants, is pointing to what all the scriptures have in common this Sunday. That many people believe in the wrath of God. And while there are some folks who probably should take this more seriously, like certain politicians, leaders of organized crime syndicates, murderers, billionaires with their mega yachts who complain of rising wages, people who start wars, scammers that phone at 6 in the morning claiming that you need to pay a speeding ticket and the like, who could do with a taste of God's wrath, most people are doing the best they can to get by. The postal workers, the teachers and nurses, the cleaners and the cooks, the typists and the professors, the car washers, the truck drivers and the grocery clerks. How does the wrath of God help them when they are more afraid of the wrath of their bosses? It's stunning to learn that those bosses are earning in a single year what their average employee will earn in their lifetime. The CEO of Tim Hortons earned $151.8 million dollars in 2022, including benefits and other compensation. That's quite the gap between him and the donut server earning $15.64 an hour, according to CBC reporting. So much so that when you crunch the numbers, he is earning the same salary as about 5000 of his employees combined. A poisonous snake who exploits humans as resources. Still feel like having a double-double? What would John say about it? Probably what he said to the tax collectors; stop with the greedy exploitation!

Believing in the wrath of God is surprisingly common.  Many people grew up with the story that God has so much wrath towards us that God killed Jesus, torturing his innocent son to death.  The idea of original sin or looking at images of Jesus bleeding on the cross, just emphasizes this image of a wrathful God. 

Too much anger though, and people shrivel inside.  Too much negativity leads to stunted growth.  Too many put downs, accusations and guilt trips leave people stuck in apathy and anxiety.  Many hurting souls give up hope.  They turn to selfish ways, caring only about themselves and their families. Or they turn to addictions to numb the pain of never being good enough. People who are trapped in this kind of self-hatred live in constant fear of God’s wrath.  They turn to gurus, psychics, televangelists and charlatans but they do not find comfort.

If only someone would read the words of Isaiah to them.  Isaiah, who heard God saying, “Comfort, oh comfort my people, speak tenderly to them, and tell them that their day of pardon has come.”  This is not an angry God.  And in today’s reading, God is the one to turn away from wrath.  God is the one that provides comfort.  God is the one that saves the people, God is the one that protects and strengthens.  God is the one who helps refugees sing a new song in a strange land, and God is the one who brings joy.

Joy comes in surprising ways.  The amazing and prolific writer, C. S. Lewis, talked about this surprising nature of God’s comfort and joy.  In his book, “Surprised by Joy”, he wrote about being a dyed in the wool atheist happy to focus on only the things he could touch or taste or smell or hear or see.  And yet, when he heard music, when he recited a poem, when he saw a sunset on a walk, when he read a fairy tale, when he saw a work of art, he would get a joyful emotion that he couldn’t explain away.  The surprises slowly and surely baptized his imagination and seduced him into rejoining the faith of his childhood. He abandoned religion because of the hypocrites and snakes he met in the church.  Joy brought him back. And little did he know as he was writing it, that his friend and proof reader, Joy Davidman, would a few years later become his wife, adding to even more surprising Joy.

John knew that same surprising joy, and he wanted his followers to know it too. And he told them simple concrete things that we can do to live in right relationship with God and each other.  He tied it into our livelihoods.  Don’t hurt others, share what you have and don’t get greedy.  Sounds simple, doesn’t it?  And he told them that he was not the messiah, that one was coming who makes him look like an amateur in comparison.  He was right in that, for a very simple reason.

John was mired in the wrath of God. Isaiah and Jesus were not; both saw God differently, acting in love, God doing the comforting.  God doing the surprising.  God bringing Joy.  Even to people like you and me, struggling with our own moments of snake-like anger, even when we too know we are hypocrites, preaching love one moment and raging the next, God is with us, we are not alone.  Thanks be to God for this gift of good news of salvation and surprising joy for all of us!  Amen. 

Be generous with your lives!

One of the things I start doing at this time of year is dreaming of going to Naramata Centre for the summer.  I love the workshops and the fellowship with the big grand family that is the Wider United Church, running into other ministers or lay folks who are involved with the church, sunrise worship on the dock, sandcastles on the beach, great music and potlucks in the campground.  The amazing conversations around a campfire or over a good bottle of wine with intelligent, caring, spiritual folks are unforgettable.  The chance to walk a labyrinth, pick cherries, learn new drum or ukulele techniques, make new friends, share stories and deepen my faith are all things that happen at Naramata.  I can’t wait to look at the catalogue of classes!

Tim likes the crops in the neighborhood.  The first time he learned the art of wine tasting was on a bus tour of the area’s many vineyards.  Whether it’s Township 1775, Therapy, Blasted Church, or some new start-up, he’s sure to come home with a bottle of Gewurztraminer or two.  I prefer the ice wines or something sweet from Elephant Island.  Whatever we bring home, we more importantly bring home renewed faith, courage, enthusiasm and hope for our journey.

I feel my light shining more brightly after time there, like I’ve got my saltiness back.  Even when I was writing this and reminiscing about our many visits, it helped me feel more encouraged and excited about God, faith, and our mission.

One thing grapes are is generous.  There’s not one lowly little fruit like a cherry where it takes quite a bit of time to fill a bucket.  Picking a bunch of grapes instantly gives a big handful of fruit that lends itself easily to sharing.  And grapes are so versatile.  They can be made into grape juice or wine, they can be eaten fresh, they can be pickled, thrown in Waldorf salad, cooked into jelly, and I even found a recipe for pizza on line that the cook raved about.  Raisins go great in cookies, pies, muffins, cereal, you name it.  I won’t wade into the great cinnamon bun debate and whether or not raisins belong in that particular treat, but you get the picture.  It’s a versatile and flexible fruit that can serve many purposes and give great delight.

But!  Many a time I picked up what I thought was a chocolate chip cookie and found it was raisin.  Some even joke that’s why they have trust issues.  More seriously, too much wine can cause all kinds of troubles. We have folks who meet in our building every Thursday evening because they struggle with wine.  That’s why our communion service uses grape juice, to have a safe place that won’t trigger cravings for people recovering from addictions.  Too many grapes when I was a nursing mother could cause agony for my babies, which I didn’t expect.  And raisins have a surprising amount of sugar.  Moderation with grapes is important.

Jesus wanted us to be generous and flavorful and enthusiastic, but was also aware of the need for balance.  Too much salt on food can make it unpalatable, bad for our blood pressure and kidneys.  Too much salt on the land can leave it barren, unable to grow anything.  Too little salt and the wildlife lick highway road salt which causes all kinds of havoc.  Finding the right balance is complicated.

Another analogy of generosity of spirit was seen in the movie many of us watched last Sunday, “Guitar Lessons”.  The main character started out being stingy of his time, his talents and certainly his heart.  He was living the dream many Albertans crave.  Beautiful home, amazing toys but no people in his life.  No community.  He was the ultimate rugged individualist, the successful person who could do what he want when he wanted it.  But he was lonely.  He didn’t know how to connect with others.  It wasn’t until a stubborn, bratty kid walked into his life at a Tim Hortons and refused to leave, that the main character was able to shift to a spirit of generosity.

Generosity is a fruit of the spirit that takes wisdom and discernment to do wisely.  Our mission statement says, “We are called to be an Inclusive Christian Community empowering spiritual growth through meaningful outreach and dynamic, inspiring worship.”  It used to say ‘enabling spiritual growth’ but there’s a world of difference between enabling and empowering.  They are both supportive, generous words where we give people time and encouragement to deal with the issues they struggle with.  But when we enable people, we can actually keep them stuck in their troubles, bailing them out from all their troubles.  When we empower people, we help them come up with their own solutions.  Generosity that enables others can bankrupt us.  Generosity that empowers others can make a huge difference.  There was a scene in “Guitar Lessons” that showed an example of empowering generosity, when the elder gave his nephew a wooden box and careful instructions what to do with it.

When Jesus said, “You are Light, You are Salt”, he used the Hebrew word for the plural of you, like “Vous” instead of “Tu” in French. He was preaching to the whole community, not individuals.  When we grow the gift of generosity together, our little lights gleam together and make a real difference in the world.  May it be so for us all. Amen.