Hentzi Elek

Sermon 14 Pentecost, Proper 20

Matthew 20:1-16

The Rev. Hentzi Elek

St. Alban’s Episcopal Church

Newtown Square, Pa.

September 18, 2011

Is God Fair?

Let us pray. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be always acceptable unto you, Oh Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.

            “You are never allowed to take a ride. Never, ever, ever. You are never allowed to get in the car with anybody. That includes your Mother.” Those were the final words that marked the three summers when I was ages 8, 9, and 10. Every summer day I walked the two miles from our home to the tennis courts, played tennis all day, and then walked the 2 miles back. Even when my Mother was going to play tennis at the exact same time, I still had to walk. No if’s. No and’s. No but’s. Those were the orders. Those were the rules.

            Many years later when our kids began to explore the world on their own, my perspective on my father’s strict rules began to change a  bit. Maybe my Father had been trying to fight the dominant child-centered culture that acts as though children are the center of the universe and all adults were created to serve those children. Maybe, my Father was trying to instill a sense of mental and physical toughness and discipline? Maybe he believed that the repetitive, non-negotiable routine of walking 4 miles every day, rain or shine would serve us well both as children and adults? Maybe he was worried about adults, whether they were friends or strangers, giving me a ride into the horrors of exploitation and abuse?

            I don’t know. But, I do know that today’s Gospel lesson reminded me of those three summers and the many, many miles of walking. I can hear my Dad yelling at me right now, even though he’s been dead 11 years. “ Hentzi, who do you think you are? I’m your Father. I’m in charge. And I make the rules. I don’t care if you think it’s fair or not.” Those words echo in my heart as I read over the words from Matthew, “ Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?” Sounds just like an angry parent putting a defiant, questioning child in his place.

             The landowner in today’s lesson is absolutely crystal clear. For this is what he says:  I’m in charge of what belongs to me. I make the decisions. I set the rules. Even if those rules seem capricious, unfair, and infuriating. If I want to pay the one hour worker the same as the three hour worker, that’s my right. If I want to pay the guy who works 8 hours the exact same amount of money as the guy who works only 10 minutes, that’s my right.

They’re my workers. My fields. My wages. Period. End of statement. And, what’s more. You all agreed to my terms. I agreed to pay some of you  ‘the usual daily wage,’ and others of you I agreed to pay you ‘ whatever is right.’ Notice, I said to some of you: ‘ I will pay you whatever is right.’ I did not say I will pay some more and some less. I did not say I would pay you what you think you deserve. And,  I never said that I would be consistent. I never said that I would pay you each according to how many hours you work or how many grapes you tended in my vineyard.

It’s not my job to be fair or just in your eyes. It’s my job and my right to do whatever I want however I want with what belongs to me. That’s  hard stuff. It appears that the workers, which would be all of us, have little say with management, which would be God. It would appear that God’s in charge, and we simply have to play by God’s rules. That makes God seem awfully dictatorial. We’re used to freedom, and liberty, and independence. We’re used to the ideas of free speech and fair wages for fair labor that are negotiated between the boss and the worker. That’s the way the United States works, at least, in its best self. But, it’s not the contract God makes with us. And, it’s easy to confuse our human agreements with relationship with God.  

The contract God makes with us is this: God promise to love us unconditionally and absolutely. God promises to always be with us and to never abandon us. God promises to shower all of us with love and compassion with justice and mercy whether we seemingly deserve those blessings or not. Hence, Jesus forgives the criminal on the cross who seeks out God in that last second confession. And Jesus forgives those who murdered him.

Our side of the contract is that we agree to partner with God. Our side is that we try and love God with our whole heart, body, mind, and strength- committing to God with everything we’ve got. Our side of the agreement is to try and recognize the presence of God in each other and then to love each person we encounter just as God loves us. Our side of the covenant with God is to try and make our world a better place right here and right now. And God promises to equip us and accompany us on this most sacred of journeys.  

It’s never too late to become one of God’s workers. Never too late to join God’s team. Never too late to play in God’s orchestra. Of course God wants you to be a lifelong member, but signing on early doesn’t get you extra brownie points. And signing up, even right up to the last minute, doesn’t diminish your reward or get you punished. The rewards of being part of God’s kingdom are a joy and peace which far surpass even our most fruitful imaginations.   

God’s unfathomable wisdom and extravagant compassion and generosity go way beyond our comprehension. Today’s Gospel lesson could be about salvation and the invitation of salvation being open even to the late, lazy laggards in our midst. Today’s Gospel could be a Godly reminder that God sees worthiness and holiness in all of us and that God has a place for all of us in God’s kingdom.

May this faith give you great, great hope! Amen!

Sermon on 10 Anniversary

September 11 Terrorist attacks

Matthew 18:21-35

The Rev. Hentzi Elek

St. Alban’s Episcopal Church

Newtown Square, Pa.

September 11, 2011

Sin and Forgiveness: September 11 Revisited

Let us pray, “ Gracious God, help us, we pray, in the midst of things we cannot understand, to believe and trust in the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, and the resurrection to life everlasting. Amen. “

            It was a balmy spring day in Khartoum Sudan East Africa in the year 1986. That means it was only 100 degrees rather than the normal 120 degrees temperature. Some Muslim extremists had hijacked an  American airplane and killed a bunch of people in Egypt. Rumor had it that the terrorists were Libyans. So, in response, President Regan launched a massive bombing attack on the cities of Tripoli and Benghazi in Libya. Then, in response to the U.S. attacks on Libya, death threats were issued against Americans living in Muslim countries, and Sudan was a Muslim dominated country.

            Hence, the next day I fled Sudan, looking over my shoulder every few minutes. Anxiety was through the roof as we took our forced three week vacation in Ethiopia and Kenya. Would they find us? Would they get us? Could we pretend to be Canadian? What was going to happen? It was terrifying and surreal. Up until that point I had always felt safe as an American, but no more. There were people targeting us just because we were American.

            15 years later, on the morning of September 11, 2001, I was living in the Rectory at St. Francis Episcopal Church, just 8 miles down the street from Langley and the CIA Headquarters. I still had 2 more weeks in Northern Virginia before I moved up to join you all here as your new Rector. Sara and the kids had already moved up here. Our Virginia house was completely empty. On the morning of September 11^th the sole possessions of the house were a mattress, a lamp, a book, a television, and that’s absolutely it. Oh, and there was one 6 pack of beer in the fridge. That’s it. Not even crackers. Nothing. By noon the road in front of our house was at a standstill. All of official Washington had evacuated, including the CIA, and it was an 18 mile traffic jam with nobody moving.

            For the next two weeks I couldn’t sleep at night. Fighter jets patrolling Washington flew back and forth and back and forth, and the old Rectory farmhouse shook, and rattled, and groaned as if a nonstop earthquake was fighting the shaky house. My Virginia parishioners were in shock and terror, and I remember once more what it felt like to feel  unsafe, vulnerable, and in mortified shock.

            September 11, 2001 exploded our sense of peace and safety. Threats, and anxiety, and terrorism became the new normal. It was ghastly and unbelievable, but it was not the beginning. The 1986 evacuation of Americans around the world was my beginning. The Bombing of Pearl Harbor was my Mother’s beginning. The election of Hitler in the early 1930’s was my Father’s beginning. Each of us has a beginning when we realized the world is not a safe place. Each of us has a time when we realized that being American does not inoculate us against the sins and dangers of our world.

            September 11, 2001 reminded us of the ubiquitous power of sin and the awesome need for forgiveness. The darkness of sin and evil murdered 3000 people on September 11^th.  But, the powers and temptations didn’t start or stop on that horrible day. 10 years later, 900,000 people have been killed violently and senselessly in Iraq and Afghanistan. 3000 people killed on September 11^th and then another 900,000 and that number grows every day. For thousands of years humans have sinfully attacked and murdered each other in wars, in terrorism, and in daily crime. And with every death, God has cried.

            God wept for all of us on September 11, 2001, and I’m sure God has  been weeping over every one of those 900,000 and all, anywhere in the world who have  been killed. There’s no logic. There’s no explanation that really makes any sense. The best I can come up with is that one of our manifold sins is a failure of imagination. It’s easier to fight ( box in air ) than to come up with peaceful, non-violent, creative solutions to our conflicts.

            The September 11^th terrorist attacks feel unique and unbelievable to us, because we’d been happily ensconced, in a wonderful, safe, terror-free bubble. But, in the history of the world, September 11^th was just one in a long line of violent, unspeakable, tragedies.

            Remember that the murder of Jesus on the cross wasn’t unique in the ancient world. Jesus was just another guy who died a violent, senseless death. Imagine how angry and sad God must have been that first Bad Good Friday. Imagine how tempted God must have  been to wreak unspeakably horrific revenge on humanity. But, no, instead, God gives us Easter, the gift of New Life, the transforming of sin and death, and the amazing power of forgiveness.

            That’s the ultimate Christian witness. We are all sinners. We all can be cruel, insensitive, and even harmful. Yes, we here at St. Alban’s are not actively killing other humans, but many of us look the other way as our tax dollars do. We have enough bombs to kill everybody in the world, dozens of times over. Our retirements may depend upon our stocks, and those stocks may be invested in companies that sell guns on our streets and in conflicts around the world. Don’t you think that makes God cry? Doesn’t that infuriate God?

            But, the wonderful thing about God is that God forgives us. And, God equips us to forgive each other. Forgiveness doesn’t mean stupidity or ignorance. It doesn’t mean recklessly trusting those who don’t deserve your trust. No, Forgiveness is the ultimate sign of wisdom, the recognition that our survival depends on our ability to forgive each other, over, and over , and over again. How many times? 70 times 7 times. 490 times- and that number represents an infinite amount.

            Forgiveness does not mean that you like the person or want to spend time with the person who has injured you. Forgiveness means that in your heart, you no longer wish that person ill. Forgiveness transforms rage and revenge. Forgiveness does not erase the need for justice, but it tempers the passions that can distort and abuse justice.

            I don’t know why we hurt each other, but we do. I don’t know why horrible days like September 11, 2001 happen, but they do. I don’t know why we all keep sinning even though we all profess to love.

            But, I do know. I do believe with all my  being that God empowers us to start each day, each moment anew with new life and new possibilities. We are equipped to love and to forgive ourselves and the world around us. And that potential is a wonderful sign of hope!

Amen!