Direct in Thought, Word & Action

Preached by the Right Reverend Grant Lynn Ford at the Sunshine Cathedral on Sunday, September 4, 2005.

The Written Word

The Light of the Ages

Ezekiel 33:7-11

⁷“O.K., mortal one! I’m making you sentry for the house of Israel. When I give you a word of warning, then speak it to them. ⁸If I say to the ones who do wrong, ‘You’re heading for death!’ and you remain silent, that’s what will happen to them. But their blood will be on your hands; it will be your fault. ⁹However, if you speak the word of warning and they ignore you, then they’ll get what they bargained for. The responsibility is no longer yours; you’re ‘in the clear’.”

¹⁰“So, mortal one, give Israel this message, as though they were your own words: ‘We’ve done wrong; we’ve gone down the wrong path. Look where it’s got us. How can we live like this?’ ¹¹Then give them this word from me: ‘I’m the Fountain of Life. How could I take pleasure in anyone’s death — even those who by their actions have chosen it? Turn around! Quit going down that path; head in the right direction! Why walk in the way of death, O house of Israel?’”

The Light of the Master Teacher

Matthew 18:15-20

¹⁵“If someone close to you hurts you with their words or actions, go and work it out privately, between the two of you. If it works, you’ll save the relationship. ¹⁶On the other hand, if you’re ignored or rebuffed, then ask a couple of people to go with you to act as both support and as witnesses. Try again! ¹⁷If the person refuses to deal with the issue, then bring it before the whole community of faith. If the offender refuses to accept the counsel of the church, then that person must be considered an unbeliever, a thief who robbed another of good will and friendship.”

¹⁸“This is important! When you say ‘no’, doors slam shut in heaven. When you say ‘yes’, those same doors fly open. What you say has cosmic and eternal consequences! ¹⁹Understand the importance of this, because when two of you say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ — in complete agreement — the entire Cosmos, including my Celestial Parent, gets into the action. What you declare is going to happen! ²⁰And when two or three of you ‘connect’ because of me, I’m right there in the middle!”

The Proclaimed Word

I was not so much surprised as sadly expecting it when a spokesperson for the Religious Right declared that Hurricane Katrina’s destruction was God’s vengeance on New Orleans because it was to be host to one of the larger gay theme parties of the nation, Southern Decadence. When I head it, I asked myself again, “What kind of god do these fundamentalists serve? What kind of god would kill thousands of innocent people in order to cancel a party? What kind of deity would make thousands homeless just so New Orleans wouldn’t be home to a gay celebration?”

I must remind you that it is not the God of the Hebrew prophets. O yes, they breathed judgment on those who were greedy and selfish, and especially on the hypocritical and self-righteous. But Ezekiel speaks prophetically on God’s behalf (we heard it in our first reading): “I’m the Fountain of Life. How could I take pleasure in anyone’s death — even those who by their actions have chosen it?”

I’m not saying that those suffering because of Katrina chose their suffering. I will acknowledge that much of the destruction was caused because of unwise decisions: building a city so far under sea level, and then not providing appropriate levies and pumping systems. But the destruction was not caused by a God who was bringing judgment on anyone, even unwise city planners and politicians, much less gay party-planners. Nature takes its course. We in South Florida understand this only too well, and we don’t blame God or anyone else. Instead, we respond with compassion and caring, reaching out to the homeless, the hungry, the bereaved.

Would God choose to bring some kind of judgment on the pleasant little town of Slidell, Louisiana? My friend Rosemary Collier wrote: “My daughter Kathryn and her husband and four children lived in Slidell…until June of this year when Shane was transferred to Coronado CA. For this we are all truly thankful. Slidell is or was a small town just across the lake from New Orleans. The people there are warm and friendly and make great gumbo (which they freely shared) and have wonderful crawfish boils. Slidell was completely destroyed by Katrina. The survivors have been told that the town will be ‘opened’ on Monday so that they can return to areas that once were their homes to see if they can salvage anything. Many of her former friends and neighbors have been accounted for but not all. Please say a prayer for this town and all its people.”

That’s the kind of response that is appropriate and godly. We can pray for those who are suffering. We can share with those in need. We can be God’s hands and heart, reaching out at this time.

An African-American preacher quoted Jesus to our President: “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me…” Matthew 25:35

I’m proud of all the people of our Cathedral and our community who are doing something, not just talking about how awful things are. When Mr. International Leather called the Cathedral, wanting to work with us again as he and his friends did last year for Tsunami Relief, I was pleased that we could work together. He has contacted people all over the United States to make donations through our website. We’ll be working with MCC’s Region 7 Relief Fund and the International MCC Disaster Relief Fund. We’ll be reaching out to our church members in New Orleans, where the Roman Church was recently taking action to kick them out of their worship space. Now MCC is locating a relief office near New Orleans to help in efforts there. Efforts are also going on in Baton Rouge, in Mobile, and other places where there are existing MCC churches.

Every dollar you give will go to the relief effort. We do not keep a penny of it for administrative overhead, unlike many relief agencies. We’re doing this because we are the hands of Christ in our world. We will also continue to support efforts here at home to feed the hungry and help the homeless, many of whom suffered when Katrina came through our state.

Just a quick word regarding our Gospel reading today. Jesus makes it abundantly clear that we should be plain in speech and direct in our dealings with one another. It is so distressing when we play games with peoples’ lives, working up all kinds of drama, usually over little or nothing.

It’s quite simple, according to Jesus. Here is the first principle: If you have something against someone or think someone has something against you, deal with them directly. Don’t involve others; don’t start rumors; don’t be a bitchy queen. “Speak the truth in love,” says the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 4:15. He points out that this is the path to maturity, as individuals and as faith communities.

I know that sometimes direct dealing doesn’t work. That’s when Jesus suggests you take a third party along, and try again. Only when that doesn’t seem to work does Jesus say it’s time to involve a larger group, perhaps the entire church.

But we too often involve too many people too quickly. Email is our worst enemy in this regard. It’s so easy to write a nasty-gram and send it out all over the place.

Here’s a suggestion: When you write an email expressing a grievance, whether to one person or a group, hold that email for a day or two. When you calm down, you’ll probably be glad you didn’t send it. And we’ll all be happy not to have received it!

One other bit of advice Jesus gives to us in this practical lesson: Let your answer to life and all its challenges be simple ― yes or not. How much easier can it get? I know it’s not dramatic, it doesn’t stir the blood, it doesn’t show how smart or clever we are, but it’s sure a lot easier to deal with it later when we confine our response to yes or no.

It all boils down to this: KISS ― Keep It Simple and Sweet! When you do this, you not only spread joy around and pour the oil of peace on troubled waters, but you open yourself for all kinds of blessings.

And isn’t that a lot better that being clever and cute and unkind? You know what? It almost like…well, like being like Jesus. And that’s the truth!

The Final Word

It was Mary Botham Howitt, a 19^th century English poet, who said: “God preserve us from the destructive power of words! There are words which can separate hearts sooner than sharp swords. There are words whose sting can remain through a whole life.”

Let us speak words that lift up, not tear down, and radiate the life of Christ in our world.