"Dressed for action" Sermon for 11 August 2019

Sermon for Sunday 11 August 2019

Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Jerusalem

The Rev. Carrie Ballenger

Luke 12:32-40

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Alex, preparing communion for the congregation

Are you dressed? Are you ready?

As the parent of two boys, I can’t count the number of times I would call out to them asking this very thing: “Are you dressed, guys? Are you ready for school?” only to find them 15 minutes later, flopped on their beds reading books, shoes off, sometimes pajamas still on, clearly neither dressed nor ready.

Are you dressed? Are you ready?

This is the question posed to us this morning, for we heard how in today’s Gospel reading, Jesus says to those who want to follow him: “Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks.”

Now, most of us know how to dress for many different occasions. We know what to wear to work, and what to wear on a date. We have Sunday dresses and we have Saturday pants we would never wear in public. We’ve been taught how to dress for success, and there was even a long-running television program devoted to telling us “what not to wear”. But what does it mean to be “dressed for action” as a follower of Jesus? What does it mean to be ready for when the master himself arrives at the door and knocks?

Scripture says we can know neither the day nor the hour of Jesus’ return. At the end of today’s parable, Jesus mentions that “if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into” which I take to mean that if we did know when Jesus was coming—we’d probably mess it up. We, falsely assuming we are masters of this house, would probably lock the door to protect our stuff.

Still, at Tuesday morning prayer and Bible study this week, our little group chuckled about a refrigerator magnet one member owns which says: “Jesus is coming: Look Busy!” And we decided it would be fine if Jesus returned on any Tuesday morning about 10:30 a.m., because we think he’d like what he sees. After all, we look good on Tuesdays. The rest of the week we might not look our best, but on Tuesday mornings we feel dressed to the nines in prayer, in hymns and in Scripture study. We look alert on Tuesdays. We look ready.

But listen, prayer and song and Scripture are only part of a disciple’s wardrobe. In fact, being outfitted like that alone is like preparing to leave the house with no pants on, half-dressed.

Being fully dressed for action, as a follower of Jesus, also means putting on a sturdy pair of shoes.  

We need a good pair of shoes, because we’re not only concerned with what to wear when Jesus comes again, in the last days. Disciples are to be dressed and ready for when Christ comes to us today: as a refugee, as an immigrant family, as a prisoner, as the oppressed and the occupied. Just as in Jesus’ parable the master comes home at an unexpected time—in the middle of the night, or near dawn—Christ is at all times coming near, always arriving at our door, and disciples are to be dressed for action, with lamps lit, shoes on. Ready to meet him. Ready to serve him. Ready to love him.  

“Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes” says the Lord.

And this means blessed are we when we’re ready to march, as members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America did at the churchwideassembly this week in Milwaukee, marching in support of immigrants.

Blessed are we when we stand in solidarity with the occupied and oppressed—not just for one day, but for the long haul—as so many Israelis, Palestinians, and internationals of good conscience have been doing here in this land for more than 50 years.

And blessed are we when our shoes have a good steel toe—because sometimes being dressed for action means being ready to kick out and stomp down the evils that lurk both without and within us, evils which defy the Gospel of love: White supremacy. Gun violence. Religious hatred. Xenophobia. Greed. Indifference.

“Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks” says Jesus.

Dear siblings in Christ, are you dressed for action? Are you ready?

And now that I’ve said Jesus wants us dressed for some marching and protesting and evil-stomping, I want to read you again the next verse from the morning’s Gospel lesson:

Jesus says: “Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them.”

Now, leaving aside the problematic “slave” and “master” language for a moment, notice that in this parable, when the master arrives home from the wedding banquet, he doesn’t put the servants of the house to work right away.

Instead, he sits down at the table, and invites the servants to sit with him.

And he serves them dinner.

Hear that again: When the master comes—when Jesus returns—he first sits with the servants at the table.

Which makes me think: Maybe being dressed for action, maybe being ready for Christ’s presence among us, maybe being ready to follow and serve him and those be loves, means first being dressed for dinner. Ready to be fed and nourished. Ready to listen.

Now, for those of us with abundant privilege, this dinner with Jesus might look like putting down the protest signs for a moment and listening—really listening—to the voices of those who rarely get a chance to speak: the refugee, the immigrant, the differently abled, the religious or racial/ethnic minorities in your community.

But, if you are one of those who is rarely allowed a seat at the table much less given a chance to speak, dinner with Jesus may look like finally being heard. Like finally being fed. Like finally being loved for who you are.

Either way, hear again this Good News: When the master comes to the house after the wedding banquet, when Jesus arrives at the door of our broken lives, he sets a table and pulls up a chair and invites all to eat with him.

Are you dressed for dinner? Are you ready?

There was no banquet, but there was a wedding on Thursday morning right here in St. John chapel. It was an unusual wedding. I didn’t know the couple until a few days before. They were from two different countries and two very different cultural backgrounds. None of the bride’s family could attend. There was an urgent need to schedule the ceremony as soon as possible. I didn’t know the whole story, and could see life was not easy, but I could also see they loved each other very much.

It took a few days to get all the proper paperwork together, but we stood together right here on Thursday morning—Pastor Fursan from our Arabic-speaking sister congregation, the bride and groom, three witnesses, and me.

It was about 91,000 degrees in this chapel.

For this reason, we were hurrying a bit through the liturgy. No procession, no music, just the basics.

Still, Pastor Fursan said some lovely words about marriage, including the interesting advice to “sleep next to one another but leave room for the wind” which I admit made me think more of flatulence than the Holy Spirit. But it was a lovely thought anyway.

Vows were said. Prayers were said. A kiss was shared.

And then it was time for communion.

Honestly, I had been thinking we could skip it. These folks didn’t seem too “church-y” and the family members with them were Catholic, so I assumed they wouldn’t accept it.

And…we were so, so hot.

But Pastor Fursan held up the bread and prayed in Arabic. I held up the chalice and prayed in English.

And then together, we served the newlyweds the Body and Blood of Christ, their first meal as a married couple. The family members, too, held out their hands.

And it was as if time in the chapel slowed down. A hush came upon us. Suddenly, no one was in a hurry. Suddenly it didn’t matter that it was hot, or that the circumstances of this union were less than ideal.

Jesus had arrived.

Bidden or not bidden, God is present

And I was struck again, for the umpteenth time, how mind-blowing it is that Christ is always coming to be among us. Whether we invite him or not, whether we’re dressed for dinner or a wedding, for a hike in the woods or a march on Washington, the Risen Christ is always coming alongside us. 

Sometimes he comes as the voiceless immigrant, the child of a teen mother born in Bethlehem. 

Sometimes he comes as the wrongfully convicted, publicly executed alongside two criminals. 

Sometimes he comes as the convicting and trouble-making Holy Spirit (Remember, “always make room for the wind”, says Pastor Fursan).

And sometimes, he comes as the long-awaited master of the house, the host of the meal. He comes to us at the table, the wine of wisdom and the bread of teaching, the very presence of the Divine in, with, and under earthly food and drink.

Beloved by God:

Are you dressed? Are you ready to receive him? Are you ready to love, to serve, and to follow?

Are you ready for dinner?

The Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour. Thanks be to God! Come quickly, Lord Jesus.

May the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.