July 11 (Proper 10) A Love Supreme Sermon

'My music is the spiritual expression of what I am — my faith, my knowledge, my being ... When you begin to see the possibilities of music, you desire to do something really good for people, to help humanity free itself from its hang-ups ... I want to speak to their souls. "— John Coltrane

Coltrane’s desire to speak to our souls through his music, is the same for God, who constantly is speaking to us and our souls. Down deep inside of ourselves, on the best of days, we can hear God speaking to our souls. Maybe we hear it in music, maybe jazz or a classical piece, or maybe an old treasured hymn that always brings a tear to our eyes. Music always has a profound effect on us and often we hear more than just the music.

"This album is a humble offering to Him. An attempt to say "THANK YOU GOD" through our work, even as we do in our hearts and with our tongues." - John Coltrane

These words from John Coltrane written in the liner notes for his album make clear that he saw his Love Supreme album as an offering to God, a work of thanksgiving for God in his life.

"I would like to tell you that no matter what... it is with God. He is gracious and merciful. His way is in love, through which we all are. It is truly— a love supreme."

Coltrane understood God as that love supreme that guided his life and no matter how he failed or how things went, that God's mercy and love would be with him always. His words are for us to hear today!

That love supreme he talks about, is what we see throughout the Bible from God’s actions in the Old Testament through the life & ministry of Jesus in the New Testament. In our opening reading, Amos, a dresser of Sycamore trees, a most unlikely prophet, but the one called by God to bring God’s word to those who crush the poor and ignore those in need.

But unlike Nineveh who heard from the prophet Jonah about their demise, and changed their ways. King Jeroboam and others in power refused to change, and sought to get rid of the prophet, to send him away.

God’s message through a plumb line, setting the people a part from such corrupt leadership, was not well received but again God’s compassion is tested by an unfaithful King and a people who have failed to live up to their covenants. It is a tough love message and compassion for the forgotten in need.

Jesus similarly challenges his listeners with the Parable of the Good Samaritan. A parable of mercy, of love, and a challenge to the existing way things are seen in society.

When asked by a lawyer, someone grounded in the Holy Scriptures, what must be done to inherit eternal life, Jesus asks them to answer it – Love God & love your neighbor as yourself, they answer. - “Do this and you will live,” says Jesus. But who is my neighbor?

The one who fell among thieves needs help, the priest and Levite look upon this man and walk away, he is dead or soon will be, they will not be defiled by the dead man but the Samaritan, the least likely, the least favored, the one who does not worship right, is the one who has compassion.
It was and is a radical statement by Jesus. The one least likely, the one who did not worship God as they should, is the one who embodied the compassion of God, who had mercy on the victim.

Maybe today, the parable would speak of Christians who walked by the victim, they had better things to do, they were so busy, but an illegal immigrant or an atheist stopped and had compassion on the victim.

The test isn’t on Jesus, its on us. Will we be like the Love Supreme, giving love and compassion to all whom we encounter, even if its not convenient? Because sometimes, we can learn from one we see as the enemy, the one who does not follow God as we think they should but the one who in fact has done more than us, like the good Samaritan.

It reminds me of a Dr. Seuss story, "Horton Hears a Who!"

Horton the elephant was splashing around in a jungle pool when he heard a small voice crying for help. He looked all around, but all he saw was a tiny speck of dust floating through the air. Horton realized that there was someone on that speck of dust who was calling for help. In fact, there was a whole town of people on that little speck of dust.

They were calling out for help because they were afraid that the speck of dust would fall into the pool of water and they would drown. Even though they were so small that he couldn't even see them, Horton made up his mind that he was going to help them. "After all," he said, "A person's a person, no matter how small."

All of the other animals in the jungle thought Horton was crazy, all made fun of Horton for wanting to help the people on the speck of dust. They even tried to put Horton in a cage.

Even though none of the other animals would help him, Horton refused to give up. He remained faithful to the task of saving the tiny people who needed his help. Because of his faithfulness, the tiny people were saved and finally, the other animals realized that just as Horton had said, "A person's a person, no matter how small."

Horton’s compassion is like God’s who calls us to faithfulness in Amos, not to forget the poor and needy and is like the Good Samaritan who despite all the odds, helps the one in need.

“May we never forget,” Coltrane reminds us, “that in the sunshine of our lives, through the storm and after then rain – it is all with God.”

May we hear that in our souls today.

Now I invite you to discuss at your tables, the words of John Coltrane, the prophet Amos (a graphic novel), or the parable of the Good Samaritan –

What is God saying to your soul this morning?

Sermon: July 15 (Proper 10)

As I was watching espn, I admit the remote often goes to channel 33… I listened to the charity work of the MLB with the Boys & Girls Club (the NFL supports the United Way), which a few years ago would not have been talked about or promoted…

From time to time you will hear about athletes too…
-Dikembe Mutombo who is orginially from Congo, part of the great forwards out of Georgetown in the 80’s like Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning…he has just helped built a hospital back home in the capital of Congo…

But the story that caught my attention that I think beautifully dovetails with Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan is that of a young phenom in women’s tennis of the late 1970’s and early 80’s. She turned pro at the age of 14 in 1979. She would beat the best from Billie Jean King to Chris Evert to Martina Navratilova. She was ranked second in the world by the age of 16 and by the age of 19 it was all over being forced from the game because of injury. Her name is Andrea Yeager.

But her quick rise to fame and the sudden end to it all does not even begin to tell her story. For Andrea Yeager, it was never about winning… Even as she rose to #2 in the rankings, she would visit hospitals nearby to reach out to the young who were there suffering with disease. She never wanted to be #1 and lose her ability to reach out… When her tennis career ended, she began a new one, helping kids with cancer. What is amazing is that she gave everything she had (all the money she earned from the tour, from endorsements, her pension & investments) to start Silver Lining Ranch in Colorado in 1990. In 2006, she continued her mission with kids with cancer but is now known as Sister Andrea as she is now a Dominican Nun in the Episcopal Church. As Billie Jean King said: "She has done so many good things for so many others since leaving tennis, and her journey continues today."

Sister Andrea speaks of following God’s call. I hear in what she has done what we heard in the Gospel today…

Jesus said, “Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?" The lawyer said, "The one who showed him mercy." Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise." Indeed that is what Sister Andrea Jaeger has done with her life. But that same go and do likewise is also addressed to us.

I think of Stephen Mitchell’s wonderful reflective piece on the Good Samaritan as they meet in heaven.

"The priest, the Levite, the Samaritan, and the man who fell among thieves meet in heaven to talk over old times. Since heaven has no past or future, they find themselves in the inn on the road to Jericho. "I felt awful about not helping you," the priest says. "My heart wasn't open enough. But I'm working on it." "The last time I had stopped to help a wounded man by the roadside," the Levite says, "he beat me and ran off with my wal­let. I was afraid." "It was my good fortune to be in the right place at the right time," the Samaritan says. "I didn't stop to think; the oil and wine poured themselves, the wound bound itself. My only prob­lem came later, dealing with all the praise."

The man who fell among thieves takes another sip of wine. "Charity begins at home," he says. "If I had been kinder to my­self, I wouldn't have been in that mess to begin with. But I am very grateful to all three of you. It takes great humility to step aside, for a parable's sake. And without the parable, I would never have been saved." (Parables & Portraits by Stephen Mitchell)

We are like the priest and levite, challenged to go beyond our fear, all that holds us back from helping others. Even Jesus in the parable offers a critique of using the Law as proscribed by God to hold one back from doing good to one in need… We need to be like the Samaritan, the heretic, the person no one ever would have thought of as the one to help out the man who had fallen and yet did! It is easy to pass on by (excuse)…The neighbor is someone who acts on love, without always thinking through it, without always knowing why… That is the story of Andrea Yeager and it is our story too…

How shall I inherit eternal life? asks the lawyer, and I think of some words of 35 years ago that speak to the answer that Jesus gives…

(Lawyer: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." Jesus: "You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.")

“Jesus' answer to the lawyer means simply, 'You don't need any great speculation over the meaning of life; you just need to do the ordinary, everyday things; you need only be there when your fellow man (or woman) is in difficulty, then you are already in accord with that meaning. Then you are not merely seeking that meaning; you are in the process of fulfilling it. For you will meet God in the imprisoned, the hungry, and the naked; when you are close to all of those, then you also dwell close to God, and you are in contact with the basic meaning and goal of your life.”(Helmut Thielicke, How to Believe Again, Fortress, 1972).

The Good News of Jesus Christ is with the neighbor who showed mercy, who gave love to one in need. We are to be that neighbor, to go and do likewise. Amen.