Sermon
When I find myself noticing times when everything is just right – nice cool breeze, not a huge gust of wind; warm weather, but not too hot; I call those times Baby Bear times. What a nice day. It's a Baby Bear day. That last hike I took – far enough to enjoy all the beauty but not so far that I couldn't make it through. That's a Baby Bear Hike. And of course there's the actual baby bear experience – when a meal is not too hot and not too cold! A Baby Bear meal. Baby Bear spiciness; Baby Bear shade of a color, not too light or too dark; Baby Bear temperature of bath water, not too hot or too cold. A road trip, a long distance but not exhausting; a party, enough guests but not a crowd; the size of my patio – perfect!
The last line from today's text says, “The one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had little did not have too little.” This, is a Baby Bear approach, with a twist.
My Baby Bear approach to a balanced experience in life, only benefits one person, me. Paul's concept of this perfect balance refers to the balance between oneself and another, or one's own community and another. Paul's concept happens within relationships. In theological terms, this is called Apostolic Economics. David Tiede writes, “Apostolic Economics are grounded in scriptural convictions about wealth: “the earth is the Lord's and all that is in it” (Psalm 24:1). Humans are empowered as managers of the abundance of God's earth. Whether they gain wealth by skill or stealth, their stewardship has accountability.”1 Stewardship with responsibility and accountability.
In the specific line I referenced, Paul is again doing his version of textspeak and mentioning one verse that conveys the meaning behind a much larger story. Paul's readers would have recognized Paul's reference from Exodus 16:18, the part of the Exodus story when God promised to send bread from heaven while they were in the desert. God told each to gather what they needed every day, but only enough for one day. When they finished gathering, Exodus 18 says, “But when they measured it with an omer, those who gathered much had nothing over, and those who gathered little had no shortage; they gathered as much as each of them needed.” The lesson from Exodus for us and for Paul's readers is that God will sustain us. Money, food, connection, shelter – whatever sustenance we need, will be provided.
What has gone so wrong with that formula? Why are there those in need, if God's sustenance will be provided. Why are there those without shelter; without food; without safety? It seems as though the Exodus system has failed.
What Paul reminds the readers in today's text as he asks the Corinthians to fund his mission, is that the system only works if there is a balance. Paul says, “the gift is acceptable according to what one has—not according to what one does not have. I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you…” In other words, forget what you have learned about the biggest donor gets the best prize, the most recognition, greater status, wins the race. Paul continues, “…but it is a question of a fair balance between your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance.”
The message from the text for today, this day, in this time, is that we are stewards of each other. Today's lesson is about relationships as God's grace. In order for God's manna to sustain us through the desert, we need to be sure that “The one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had little did not have too little.” Not too much, not too little. A Baby Bear approach.
Paul was overcoming boundaries when he asked the gentile church in Corinth to help fund the Jerusalem church. As gentiles, the Corinthians wouldn't have been allowed to have a seat at the table at a Jerusalem church function. But Paul reminds them that even those who differ need each other.
When I was in training for chaplain work, one of my mentors said that when I attend grand rounds, the meeting of the entire care team in a certain hospital department, I should get there early and be sure to pull up a chair and sit at the table. I don't know how it works everywhere, but where I was, all the doctors would sit at the table, and a few others. The care team made up of physical therapists, speech and swallow therapists, social workers, and nurses were all in the room. My mentor wanted to be sure the chaplain sat at the table, not in a chair somewhere in the crowded room. She wanted us to be a part of teaching others that the spiritual lives of the patients were an equally important part of the care team. The idea of having a seat at the table wasn't just a metaphor.
I invite us to think about the tables where we sit. Is it a table at your home? Maybe it's in a book group. A table at your place of employment, or in a class. Maybe it is just a metaphorical table – a group of friends or colleagues, or the same commuters on the bus every day. Now that you can picture yourself at that table, look around you and see who is there with you? Your family or origin or your family of choice? Your peers? Is everyone there like you, same race, same culture, same age, same level in school, same gender, same sexual orientation? Now ask yourself how you feel at that table? Are you comfortable? Do you feel any tension? Do you feel as though you can be yourself at that table?
As stewards of one another it is important that we have what Diana Butler Bass calls a neighbor centered life. Her Sunday Musings for this week is a powerful reminder about how to be with one another even when we don't want to. Many of us have been shaken to our very core. Our emotions take us to places we never thought we would go, and we find ourselves shocked at our thoughts. She writes, “The neighbor-bound life doesn't force positive emotions and deny negative ones. Instead, to see one's self in relation to others rearranges our emotional life and how we act on what we feel.”2
Our society is in an upheaval. Our country, state, cities, neighborhoods have been through so much throughout the entire history of this relatively young country. I understand that there have been a lot of growing pains and a lot of crises in the past. The juxtaposition of the gun control freedoms that have just been granted at the same time as the abolishment of the rights of women to control their own bodies and make private and difficult family decisions with their partners or families, is outrageous. The expectations for more reversals of long fought for rights is nerve wracking. The inequalities of our society are screaming at us and those with more are yet again given a broader menu. Are we so insecure and frightened of each other as a nation that we'll do anything to separate, instead of do anything to connect? If we stick to our tribes and don't consider others we are doomed.
I think the greatest hope we have to remember the Table where everyone is welcome, where everyone has a seat. The Lord's Table is God's grace for everyone.
I think it's perfect that today is Pride Sunday, and San Francisco's parade is happening today. We at Bethany proudly celebrate the community that courageously endured so much pain, experienced being turned away in almost every facet of their lives, and fought and persisted to claw their way to the table. The LGBTQI+ community has taught us so much about how to be proud of ourselves just as we are, without apology. Only when we feel welcomed, as we are, can we begin to have the freedom to engage with society on equal footing. As so much of that has been destroyed recently and this week, let us boldly help others to have a seat at God's Table and experience the same gift of grace that we have received. So that the one who has much does not have too much, and the one who has little does not have too little.”
Let us pray,
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1 David Tiede, Emeritus Professor-New Testament, Luther Seminary, Saint Paul, MN for Working Preacher
2 Diana Butler Bass Sunday Musings