St. Paul’s Church in
Bergen & Church of the Incarnation, Jersey City NJ
August 12, 2018
Year B, Proper 14:
The Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15,
31-33
Psalm 130
Ephesians 4:25-5:2
John 6:35, 41-51
God the Baker
If
you’ve been here in recent weeks, you know that we’ve been tracking the
highlights and, more often, the lowlights in the life of the man remembered as
Israel’s greatest ruler: King David.
We’ve
heard the story of David and Bathsheba – how David took the married Bathsheba
for himself and arranged for the death of her husband, Uriah the Hittite.
And,
last week, we heard how David was forced to face his terrible sin and to
recognize that he and those close to him will endure harsh consequences because
the king had taken who and what he wanted.
There will be discord
in his kingdom and there will be strife in his own family.
Which
brings us to today’s rather disjointed and probably pretty confusing Old
Testament reading, which focuses on one member of David’s family: his handsome
and ambitious son, Absalom.
The
ugly drama in David’s family has continued – it’s really bad and I’m not going
to get into details here, but if you want to know more take a look at Second
Samuel, Chapters 13 to 20.
In
a nutshell, Absalom killed one of his brothers (with good reason, but, still,
murder is murder) - which led to a falling out with his father.
Absalom
went into exile and then leads a rebellion against his father, aiming to
overthrow him and make himself king.
Absalom
almost succeeds, but in the end the forces loyal to David defeat Absalom’s
troops, and, contrary to the king’s orders, as we heard today, Absalom is
killed.
After
he receives the news of his son’s death, we’re told that King David was deeply
moved and wept:
“O
my son Absalom, my son, my son, Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O
Absalom, my son, my son!”
Over
these past couple of Sundays, in addition to hearing about David’s life, we’ve
also been hearing a lot about… bread.
(In
fact, at this point I think we’re starting to run out of “bread hymns”!)
It
started two weeks ago when we heard the story of Jesus feeding the multitudes,
starting with just five loaves and two fish.
And
then last week, we heard what happened the next day when the crowd woke up,
maybe with rumbling stomachs, and went looking for Jesus – went looking to be
fed by Jesus once again.
Jesus
tells them not to work for the food that perishes but for the food that endures
for eternal life.
And
then Jesus makes the bold statement:
“I
am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever
believes in me will never be thirsty.”
And,
that’s where we pick up today.
Bread.
I’m sure you’ll be
shocked to know that I don’t know much of anything about bread. I’ve never
baked my own bread but I’ve sure eaten a lot of bread baked by others!
Obviously, “somebody”
has to gather the various ingredients we need for bread – “somebody” need to
gather the wheat or other grains, the yeast, the salt, and the water, mix it
all together and then bake – not too short and not too long – and then, if
everything goes right, “somebody” produces delicious bread that smells and
tastes so very good.
When
we turn from our stomachs to our souls, God gives us all the ingredients we need
to be bread for the world – and, on top of that, God even does all the baking.
So, unlike flour
and yeast who get no say in the matter, all we really have to do is be
open – to say yes to God, and God the baker takes it from there.
And, for us, Jesus
of Nazareth – Jesus the Son of God - is the supreme example of perfect
openness.
God the Creator
gave Jesus all of the ingredients he needed to be the bread of life – to be
bread for the world.
God gave Jesus the
ability to love and listen, to see and heal, a conscience, and an ability to
sacrifice all that he had in service to others.
And, because Jesus
was faithful and obedient – because
Jesus was fully open to God - God was able to bake the most amazing bread in
and through his life, death, and resurrection – bread that continues to feed
us, right here, right now.
And, since you and
I are the Body of Christ in the world today, God the baker has given us
all the ingredients we need to be bread for the world.
All we need to do
is be open to God.
Which, let’s face
it, is not so easy – and, we might even think is impossible for seemingly ordinary
people like us.
I know I think
that way more often than I care to admit, and that’s one of the reasons I like
to read and learn about holy women and men who have been so open to God – so
open to God that God was able to bake the most amazing bread in and through
their lives.
For example, this
past Thursday was the seventy-fifth anniversary of the death of Franz
Jägerstätter.
Franz
was born in 1907, in the Central European country of Austria.
He
suffered terrible loss early in his life – his father was killed during World
War I.
As
a young man he seems to have been kind of wild, fathering a child out of
wedlock (unusual and scandalous in that time and place), loving to ride his
motorcycle and even leading a gang whose members got arrested in 1934 for
brawling.
Eventually
he settled down, first becoming a miner, and then after he got married, he
became a farmer.
Thanks
to the example and encouragement of his his deeply religious wife he became a
very pious Roman Catholic.
So, it looked like that was going to be the
shape of his life: a simple ordinary man, going about his business, devoted to
his wife and three daughters, and also devoted to his Christian faith.
But,
unlike most ordinary or even extraordinary people, after Austria voted to unite
with Germany, Franz spoke out publicly against the Nazi regime, which he
recognized as satanic. And, although he had served for a time in the military,
ultimately he refused to serve in what he determined was an evil cause.
In
1943, he was called to serve in the military again, but he refused to take the
loyalty oath to Hitler and was imprisoned.
Trying
to convince him to change his mind, his local bishop pointed out that many
other Catholic men had left their homes, their families, to go and fight and
sometimes die in the war.
Even
his own priest urged him to just take the oath and to serve, quite reasonably
urging him to think of his wife and children, who would suffer if he was imprisoned,
or worse.
But,
despite all the perfectly sensible pleas to be reasonable and responsible,
Franz with his deep openness to God, stood firm. He wrote,
“I
have considered my family. I have prayed and put myself in God’s hands. I know
that, if I do what I think God wants me to do, he will take care of my family.”
On
August 9, 1943, Franz Jägerstätter was beheaded and his remains were cremated.
(For
the record, his wife Franziska and their daughters survived the war and, in
fact, his wife lived to be 100 years old.)
As
I think about the remarkable life and sacrifice of Franz Jägerstätter, I’m
struck by the fact that he did all of this as a “nobody.” as a seemingly ordinary
person whose life certainly mattered to those who loved him but whose death
would be barely noticed beyond his home.
Franz
gave away his life fully aware that it would make no difference to the Nazi
regime or to the outcome of the war.
And,
sure enough, he was quickly forgotten by almost everyone – until twenty years
later when a sociologist happened to stumble on this incredible story and began
to share it with the world.
Today
he is in line to become a saint of the Roman Catholic Church and his story
continues to spread, inspiring countless others who find themselves trying to
be faithful Christians while living under oppressive regimes.
Thanks
to the profound openness of Franz Jägerstätter to God, God the baker has been
able to create the most amazing bread out of his life and his sacrifice,
feeding countless people through Franz’ deep faith and through his willingness
to give away his life rather than collaborate with evil.
Today’s
stories provide quite a contrast, right?
On
the one hand, there’s the blood-soaked, bitter, and regretful lives of David
and his son Absalom. They had all the blessings, all the advantages and
luxuries of the world, and yet no peace.
And
on the other hand, there’s Jesus the Bread of Life and there’s also Franz
Jägerstätter, good bread for our own time.
We will probably never face as stark a choice
as Franz Jägerstätter did.
Though,
you never know.
But,
no matter our circumstances, we are the Body of Christ in the world
today.
And,
God the baker has given us all the ingredients - the ability to
love and listen, to see and heal, a conscience, and, yes, the ability to
sacrifice – all the ingredients necessary to be bread for the world, right
here, right now.
All we need to do
is be open to God.
Amen.
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