The Church of St.
Paul & Incarnation, Jersey City NJ
July 28, 2019
Year C, Proper 12:
The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
Hosea 1:2-10
Psalm 85
Colossians 2:6-15
Luke 11:1-13
The Cheetah and The Dog
One
of the saddest consequences of sin is that any idea we come up with, any
invention we create, can be used at least as easily for evil as for good.
Take,
for example, the Internet.
I think we can all
agree that the Internet can be a nightmare.
People
can be so mean to each other online, posting the most horrible comments and
pictures, just really ugly, ugly stuff.
This
week I was looking at the nj.com articles about the two most recent homicides
here in Jersey City, two more young men whose lives were cut so short by gun
violence. Tragic. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of looking at the comments
posted by readers, many of which were just heartless and quite racist.
The
Internet can be dangerous.
We
can fall victim to scams. Children can be led into danger.
And,
since everything is now connected through computers, our whole country is at
risk from misinformation and sabotage, as we were reminded by the former
Special Counsel’s testimony last week.
But,
of course, the Internet can also be used for good.
It’s
great way to keep up with people we rarely, or even never, see in person.
For
example, thanks to Facebook, I learned that a woman I taught in high school “a
few” years back is now in the same doctoral studies program with my wife, Sue.
Small
world.
And, apparently, I’m
getting old.
And
then there are the adorable animal videos.
I’m
not usually an animal video person but the news has been so bleak lately that
I’ve been looking at them to cheer myself up a bit.
There
was one video recently about cheetahs and dogs, which at first doesn’t really
sound like such a great combination. But, it turns out that young cheetahs growing
up in captivity without their mothers are understandably anxious. So, to help
these young cheetahs relax, some zoos and animal shelters pair them up with…
puppies – puppies who do what puppies do, play a lot and slobber the young
cheetahs with unconditional affection.
So,
if you look online you’ll find these amazing pictures and videos of baby
cheetahs and puppies happily and peacefully playing together. And you’ll find
pictures and videos of adult cheetahs and dogs, who have known each other their
whole lives, sitting happy and content side-by-side. There are pictures of the
cheetahs carefully licking the dogs with their tongues, just like how our housecats
clean each other on the couch.
In
the wild, a cheetah would see a dog as… well, lunch - but here they are the
best of friends.
The
kingdom of God is like a cheetah and a dog who love each other.
And,
there’s another animal video that I’ve seen posted a bunch of times and also like
very much.
A
duck is quacking away and pacing by the side of the road, agitated, it turns
out, because her ducklings have fallen through a grate and into the sewer.
Fortunately,
some “good Samaritans” come along, figure out what’s going on, and carefully fish
out the ducklings one by one.
And,
here’s the part I like best: the mother duck keeps quacking and pacing until
every single one of her ducklings is rescued. It seems she knows exactly how
many there are and she worries about, and cares for, each one of them.
The
kingdom of God is a like a duck who doesn’t rest until each of her ducklings is safe
and secure.
I’m
sure all of you parents and grandparents in the room can relate to that duck, recognizing
that fierce love, that wave of panic when your child might be in danger, that
determination to do whatever is necessary to get your child to safety, that
relief when everything turns out to be OK.
Frankly,
I’m in awe of the love and sacrifice of parents – my own parents, of course,
who sacrificed so much for my sister and me – and parents here in our own
congregation who I see all the time anxious about their kids, determined that
they have the best shot at a good life – parents who manage to stretch limited
resources so very far – parents who even figure out a way to get themselves and
their kids to church on Sunday!
I’m
in awe of parents who leave their homeland, for many of our parishioners that
means an island in the Caribbean, leaving the comfort and familiarity of home
behind to come to a faraway and strange place like… Jersey City.
I’m in awe of
parents who travel that great physical and emotional distance, searching for
opportunity.
I’m
in awe of parents who sometimes send their kids away to live with other
relatives, for opportunities they themselves can’t provide – or parents who sometimes
leave for a while, all to build the best possible life for their kids.
I’m
in awe of parents who would never ever give their kids snakes and scorpions and
somehow always manage to find fish and eggs.
It’s
so beautiful, right?
It’s
us at our best.
But,
if we’re really going to build the kingdom of God, it’s not enough.
If we’re serious
when we pray “your kingdom come,” if those are not just some words we memorized
as kids and don’t give a moment’s thought to, if we’re serious about God’s
kingdom then we are called to even more – with the power of the Holy Spirit, we
are meant to share our love with people who we may not see as “our own.”
As
the people of God, we are called to love even more boldly and generously – to
love like, well, to love like the cheetah and the dog love each other.
I’m
in awe of parents but I’m even more in awe of people who offer that same kind
of unconditional love to kids who are not their own biological children.
We
have a few people like that in our own congregation, people who have opened
their doors and their homes – opened their hearts – to kids whose own parents
couldn’t or wouldn’t care for them – people who are not biologically related
but who love these kids as much as that quacking, frantic duck loved every
single one of her ducklings, no exceptions.
It’s
one thing to give fish and eggs to our own children but we’re called to give
fish and eggs to those who the world says are not our own but who God absolutely
insists are in fact our sisters and brothers.
In
today’s gospel lesson, Jesus is asked to teach his disciples how to pray.
The
prayer that Jesus offers is of course the most familiar of all Christian
prayers – and it’s a prayer that we can say on our own but is really meant for
us to say together because we ask God for these good things not just for me
but for us.
And,
so in a time when so many seem to have lost empathy for others, when we can’t
or just flat out refuse put ourselves in someone else’s shoes, we need to begin
by praying for one another and for our brothers and sisters out there, especially
those the world wants to throw away as nobodies or those the world tries to convince
us are our enemies – the kids hanging out on the street corners and the parents
home worried sick about them – the kids who are shivering in ice cold US
Government-run detention facilities warmed only by a flimsy aluminum blanket
and the adults who are roasting in other government facilities, packed in cages,
unwashed, and with not even enough room to lie down – the huddled masses
yearning to be free.
We
need to begin by praying for them but that’s not the end.
Just
like in the story Jesus tells us today, our “friends” - our sisters and brothers who so often we
are taught to fear – our friends are knocking on our door asking for help, and,
oh man, I’m already in my pajamas so it’s really not a good time, it’s really
inconvenient, and my pantry is pretty bare and opening my door and my heart sounds
kind of risky, and yet, and yet, and yet, God calls us to be as loving and
generous as God is loving and generous to each and every one of us.
And,
that kind of love is really possible thanks to the Holy Spirit.
And,
I don’t just believe that.
I know it’s
possible because right here I’ve glimpsed the kingdom of God when some of you
have lovingly opened your own doors.
And,
I also know that this kind of generous and surprising love is possible because…I’ve
seen the cheetah and the dog.
Amen.
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