The Hokey Pokey – Is That What It's All About

Philippians 3:4-11 & John 12:1-8
If you remember the Hokey Pokey, you're  giving away your age.  If you are under 39 years old, you may not understand it. The Hokey Pokey is a community participation dance that has empowered a lot of wedding receptions and gatherings where people are feeling happy and a little crazy. After all, that’s what it’s all about…isn’t it? Sing it with me: “You put your right foot in, you put your right foot out. You put your right foot in, and you shake it all about. You do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself around. That’s what it’s all about.”

What if that IS what it’s all about? Putting your right foot in – at the right time. Putting your right foot out – at the right time. Putting your right foot in and shaking it all about – using the right motion and the right timing. Doing the right things, at the right times. That’s the Hokey Pokey, but I don’t think St. Paul would agree that this is what it’s all about.

You see, in his letter to the church at Philippi, he told them he had done all the right things at the right times. He was perfect in the eyes of the tradition and law. But, he said, that’s not what it’s all about. It’s not about following the law perfectly. The law never brings us peace. We can see today how much it is bringing us pain, and division, and judgment. From the Lutheran perspective, the purpose of the law is to bring us a recognition of our inability to follow it. The law cannot save us. It drives us to the mercy of God. Only the grace of God in Jesus Christ can save us.

Once we recognize that God sent his Son inspite of our sin, then we can do the Hokey Pokey – we can dance, we can rejoice, we can share in the peace and joy that God’s mercy and grace brings to us. We can see the Law for the blessing it is to us. We follow it, not because it is required but because it brings us joy and delight.

We gather with family and friends, and we dance. We do the Hokey Pokey. We put our right foot in – at the right time. We put our left foot in – at the right time. We put our right foot in and we shake it all about – doing the right things: following the law as love dictates and becoming the hands of Jesus Christ in the world. Grace is about dancing in the grace of God’s mercy and love. We do the Hokey Pokey and we turn ourselves around – because Jesus Christ is what it’s all about.

Dancing with my Father God in a field of grace,
PWM

The Angry Brother

Luke 15:1-3; 11b-32

I attended a lecture by Dr. Amy Jill Levine, New Testament professor at Vanderbilt Divinity School. She knows a great deal about the Jewish tradition in the first century. She has a personal connection to it, seeing that she’s Jewish. This informs her understanding of the written word of the Christian testament. I trust that there’s an unwritten Word present, too.

Anyway, she says that when Jesus told parables, the Jews of that day would have understood that the end of the story was the most critical point of the teaching.

Many Christians focus on the son who took his father's money and left. That's not them, of course. There's always someone else whose sin is worse that we can point to. It takes our attention off ourselves.

Yet look how happy the father is to see his son come home. This is not the image of a punishing God. Far from it. This Father wants the best for his children, good and bad. There’s no remembrance of sin, even before the son admits his mistakes.

The parable concludes with the Father’s interaction with the prodigal’s older brother. Certainly, a rebellious brother does not deserve a feast. If the older son had his way, the undeserving brother should have been put in the servant’s quarters just as the prodigal thought, and treated as a lesser person in the household.

There was no joy in the return of his brother. No love. No peace, only anger. No fruits of the Spirit. Do we see any of that today?

As shamefully as the older brother acts, the Father treats him tenderly. The Father does not reprimand the ‘obedient’ son. He does not react to his unloving, i.e., sinful response. All that is the Father’s is the son’s. And look, there I’ve done it again. I focused on the older son at the end of the parable. The true lesson is seen in the Father’s response, even to the self-righteous older son. The Father is tender. Open. Loving. Non-judgment. Non-condemning. Not weighing one sin against another.

Rejoicing that God’s grace is without limits and overlooks every kind of sin, is outrageous. When I treat members of my own Christian family in less than loving and joyful ways, no matter what they've done, I reject the invitation to join the feast. Good God, folks, there’s a banquet going on right now! Sit down at the table and eat – with your brother and sister!

Peace, PWM

What’s a fig tree to do?

Luke 13:1-9 (part 2)


That's the question I always ask myself. What does this Bible story tell me I’m supposed to do? When I do that, I think I start out on the wrong foot every time. Because it’s rarely about what I’m supposed to do. It’s about what God did for me in Christ.


People we think were good people died in the Haiti earthquake, side by side with those we think were not so good. A seminarian died in one place, and a voodoo priestess in another. Yet, Jesus said God is not about retribution. A God of love doesn’t go after bad people and take down innocents with them. Our good actions don’t guarantee us the favor of luck.

Then why does Jesus throw in repentance as a means to prevent our own destruction? That seems contrary to the point he makes that it doesn't matter if you are good or bad. Isn’t repentance about turning our lives around and becoming a ‘good person?’

The way many people see repentance leads them to think this story is about judgment. If you don’t repent, you’ll get cut down and thrown in the fire. That’s a typically Jewish thought from the OT: do good and God will reward you; do bad and you’ll get the ax. This story would rub the Jews who were listening the wrong way. It goes against the Hebrew image of God from the OT.

But the word repent doesn’t suggest we force change on ourselves so we become good people. The word ‘repent’ refers more to the turning around of our attitude. Jesus is saying, “Change your attitude.” This change in attitude brings a reform in why we do the things we do. It’s the heart of being a Christian. Thomas Merton was right when he said, “In Christianity, motivation is everything.”

What is the change in attitude Jesus wants us to make? I think Jesus wants us to change our attitude about God being vindictive and punishing. We hear that so much. Bad things happen in nature because God is mad at something. Insurance companies have clauses for “acts of God,” defined as hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, etc. Jesus tells the parable to teach a different image of God, and how the change in attitude comes about.

The lesson for me comes from watching the rescue efforts of the gardener. He sees my life is meaningless when I don’t bear fruit. “Let me work with it. I will break up the hard ground around it, and nourish it. Let’s give it more time.” When I consider what Christ has done for me, how he shows me the truth in our God of mercy and love, I don’t fear the ax. Christ will always be the Mediator for me. Always giving me another chance.

Ultimately, this story is about perpetual second chances. One season, I may get it right. Only to sink back into a season of fruitlessness. The gardener never gives up hope. He made us. In his own image, he made us. He will always work with us.

A side note about fruit: Is there a way I can know if my actions are good fruit? I think so. Galatians 5:22-23 says “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control.” If my actions generate any of these for another person, I might be able to consider it a grace from God that something I did made a difference in their life. Maybe I was like Christ to them for a moment in time. If my heart is pure, the motive of my works will be for the good of anyone who might be impacted by my actions.

May we all recognize the second chances we are given. And be grateful. PWM

P.S. Sorry, there’ll be no weenie roast tonight.

Repentance is overrated when misunderstood (Luke 13:1-9)

Huh? So if I repent, the same things won’t happen to me? None of my blood mingled with my offerings? No buildings will fall on me? “Okay, God. I’m sorry.” There. Piece of cake. Now I can breathe a little easier.

Actually, I think the word ‘repent’ is a dinosaur in religious language. It has lost it’s meaning. It has lost its value to those who seek the kingdom of God. Some say repentance is turning your life around. And it is. But something else initiated the turn around. People don’t turn their life around on willpower alone. More is needed.

Maybe a clue comes in the story following Jesus’ call to ‘repent.’ Someone comes to the poor tree’s rescue. Look! Up in the sky. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No. It’s the Gardener. He mediates between the fruitless tree and the owner of the vineyard. Grace… undeserved and unsolicited. Will the tree wake up and accept the gift? Does it need to? Or will Living Water from the Cloud in the sky dissolve it and bring it to the root of the tree’s problem?

Stay tuned to see if the tree responds……or if a weenie roast is about to happen.

PWM, Daily Planet reporter