Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?* And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore do not worry,
At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He asked them, ‘Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.’
Jesus told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.’
Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, ‘Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?’ But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, ‘Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax.’ And they brought him a denarius. Then he said to them, ‘Whose head is this, and whose title?’ They answered, ‘The emperor’s.’ Then he said to them, ‘Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’
Jesus was always observant of what was going on around him. The scenery, current events, the things of life shaped his teaching. He would reference the Torah, but mainly life was his text.
I have often stated that one of the problems with being a preacher, especially during the high holy days (Christmas, Easter) is that we only have a couple versions of the same basic story. I have often complained that what I need is new material!
It came recently.
Like many in the world I was obsessed with the travails and travel of the Ever Given, the massive container ship that got crossways in the Suez Canal, blocking global shipping for nearly a week. Several times a day I checked on the plight of this ship, wondering if it was floating, would it break apart, how would they ever get this ship unstuck.
I am sure that part of my obsession was historical. When we lived in Charleston I would watch these huge ships make their way to a port only about 2 miles from our house. On foggy nights we could hear the sounds of their horns as they made the turn to head back to sea. We would watch them as they made their way beneath the bridges, wondering if this was the time they would hit it. (They never did)
But the Ever Given got stuck!
Which got me thinking sermonically. That is what preachers do! As I watched the saga I came up with a whole series of Ever Given Sermons. I will probably never get to preach them, but at least I want to share my thinking.
Suez, We Have a Problem
The Ever Given got stuck, literally, in the middle of the Suez Canal, the busiest shipping channel in the world. How? Was it human error? Was it the wind catching the tower of containers, transforming them into a giant sail pushing the ship awry? Maybe a combination?
It is easy to look for blame when things go wrong, even in our own lives. Maybe it is enough just to recognize that something is not right, that we are stuck. Where are you stuck in your life? In your relationships? In your faith?
Maybe it is just stopping. The religious word is metanoia—going a different direction.
Stuck in the Middle With You, and You, and You, and You……
What happens when a ship larger than the Empire State Building weighing over 200,000 tons gets stuck? A massive traffic jam! At one point nearly 300 ships were anchored, waiting to see if and when they might be able to transit through the Suez Canal. Others took the long way around, diverting around the Cape of Good Hope adding miles and dollars to their trip.
We never get stuck alone. What happens to us affects countless others, in our families, our communities, our world. When we get stuck with old angers, hostilities, prejudices, assumptions it causes others to just stop, wait, or change course.
It Takes a Village, and a Navy
I have been stuck on a sandbar before, only mine was in a sailboat. There is nothing like feeling the breaks on your boat to make you realize you are in BIG trouble! And then you realize no matter how independent and strong and wise and capable you are, you are going to need help. And lots of it!
There was a tortilla of tugboats that pulled and shoved and pulled. There were a calvary of bulldozers and diggers. There was a navy of divers who inspected. All of them working together to solve this problem. They had to because the whole world was watching and waiting.
There are times when we need to realize that we just can’t do it on our own. As Kate Bowler said recently in a podcast, “We are a group project.” We really do need a village to raise our children and us.
A Rising Tide…
It is true. A rising tide does raise all boats. Even a 200,000 ton container ship. Thousands were working to get her floating again, but in the end it was a Spring Tide that raised her just enough…
A natural occurrence? Good luck? An Act of God.
The answer is where we rest our soul. It is where we place our faith. The answer reveals our god. Or God.
Just some thoughts from the Gospel of Ever Given. Maybe it will open our eyes and ears to the gospel of Jesus that is always before us.
Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.