The Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time/Twenty-First after Pentecost (C), November 3, 2019—Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4 and Luke 19:1-10

Picture of Zion National Park's Watchman by Carol Sumner, 

Road Scholar participant, 2016

Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4

Still

“Look at the proud!

Their spirit is not right in them,

but the righteous live by their faith.”

Yep. Still good news!

Scott L. Barton

Keep Watch

On the plane,

I watch the man

Across the aisle

Reading the magazine

With at least one gun

Pictured per page.

Some of the headlines,

Mostly ads, read:

American exceptionalism

A smoother way to shoot

Clinton and Shumer are one election away from taking your guns

Stop any threat dead in its tracks

I worry about this kind of vigilance.

It purports to trust in oneself;

But if truth be told,

The trust is really

In all you can buy

To keep you safe -

Ever bigger, ever faster,

Ever smoother, ever prouder.

Look at them, says Habakkuk;

Some spirit is not right.

But wait for it. Wait for it.

Wait for the exception,

Trust the one who comes to you,

Live like no one will let you down,

Watch for grace for all

That'll knock your socks off.

Scott L. Barton

(2016)

The oracle that the prophet Habakkuk saw. 

O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, 

and you will not listen? 

Or cry to you “Violence!” 

and you will not save? 

Why do you make me see wrong-doing 

and look at trouble? 

Destruction and violence are before me; 

strife and contention arise. 

So the law becomes slack 

and justice never prevails. 

The wicked surround the righteous— 

therefore judgment comes forth perverted.

I will stand at my watchpost, 

and station myself on the rampart; 

I will keep watch to see what he will say to me, 

and what he will answer concerning my complaint. 

Then the Lord answered me and said: 

Write the vision; 

make it plain on tablets, 

so that a runner may read it. 

For there is still a vision for the appointed time; 

it speaks of the end, and does not lie. 

If it seems to tarry, wait for it; 

it will surely come, it will not delay. 

Look at the proud! 

Their spirit is not right in them, 

but the righteous live by their faith.

+ + +

Luke 19:1-10

Zacchaeus Was a Wee Little Man

Zacchaeus was a wee little man:

We loved to sing that song!

With finger wagging, "You come down!"

We knew we all belonged

To Jesus, who, to us might come

Someday, though we were small!

These days, much taller, would he still

To my house make a call?

And if he did, would I be so

Astounded that he came,

I'd change my ways, perhaps give more?

And he would change my name?

Or is this scene all by itself

A parable of grace,

Since those who'd like to know this God -

No matter time or place -

Will find Christ even more inclined

To knock upon their door,

For he insists! Not just observed

Will he be anymore!

This God e'en now, across the years,

Would still with us consort,

For faith, you see, is not a climb,

Or some spectator sport;

To be a "child of Abraham,"

Means you have been restored

Not by your efforts, but by love,

Which is its own reward.

Scott L. Barton

(2013)

[Jesus] entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”

The Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time/Twentieth after Pentecost (C), October 27, 2019 - Joel 2:23-32 and Luke 18:9-14

Michelangelo Buonarroti: The Prophet Joel 1508-1512, Sistine Chapel

Joel 2:23-32

Lord of the Harvest

O children of Zion, be glad and rejoice,
The LORD has poured down for you, rain;
The wine vats and threshing floors all will be full,
And no one will be put to shame.
There soon will be plenty, and all satisfied,
The LORD still does wonderful things;
I'll say it again: no one need be ashamed,
The praises of heaven you'll sing!
Now grace comes to all—even slaves will receive!—
The women and men, young and old
Will see, after judgment, the spirit come strong;
Such harvest will surely unfold!

Scott L. Barton

O children of Zion, be glad
and rejoice in the Lord your God;
for he has given the early rain for your vindication,
he has poured down for you abundant rain,
the early and the later rain, as before.
The threshing floors shall be full of grain,
the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.

I will repay you for the years
that the swarming locust has eaten,
the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,
my great army, which I sent against you.

You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
and praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has dealt wondrously with you.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.
You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,
and that I, the Lord, am your God and there is no other.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.

Then afterward I will pour out my spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams,
and your young men shall see visions.
Even on the male and female slaves,
in those days, I will pour out my spirit.

I will show portents in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lordshall be saved; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.

+  +  +

Luke 18:9-14

Remedy for Chest-Thumping

It is surprising, is it not,
How righteous we can stay?
Shenanigans in Washington
Are just Exhibit A
Of how some folks perceive themselves
As better than the rest,
While calling out, "Full speed ahead!"
As if, alone, they're blessed
With knowing what is right and good!
But they are justified
—As we—when knowing all we have
The Lord our God provides!
This might change how we see ourselves,
And all the world, as well,
When it's no longer "me" or "us,"
Since faith in God propels
Our looking out, not in!  That is,
These days, God's mighty deeds
Will show, when taxers and those taxed
All know it's love we need.

Scott L. Barton

[Jesus] also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Bonus poem - Hymn for 10/20/19

Better Than a Calm Façade

              MELITA

(Eternal Father, Strong to Save)

A Hymn for October 20, 2019 

   based on Luke 18:1-8

It's quite all right to bother God!

That's better than a calm façade,

Or resignation of your lot,

For Jesus says the one who's got

The gumption not to knuckle under

Lives with real faith and wonder.

God’s justice, always, God intends,

Although we may not comprehend

The schedule! Thus, the widow's might

Is in her cry the judge make right -

Which teaches us to fight despair

By voicing what becomes real prayer.

The universe’s moral arc

Is long, but let us all now hark

To Christ, who by love God did send,

Since justice toward that arc still bends; 

Now work and pray, and cry and plead,

For God forsakes not those in need.

Scott L. Barton

The Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time/Nineteenth after Pentecost (C), October 20, 2019 - 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5; Jeremiah 31:27-34; and Luke 18:1-8

John August Swanson: Celebration

Luther Seminary Fine Arts Collection, St. Paul, Minnesota.

2 Timothy 3:14-4:5

The Cure for Itching Ears

How did this ancient author know the time in which we live?

This “having itching ears” describes so many who now give

Their hopes for greatness over to the tellers of big myths

With which our godly heritage of grace for all conflicts.

Oh, preacher, simply tell of Christ, who came the world to save,

Whose fearless love could no more end with cross, or then the grave

Than any love his followers would dare to live these days,

And thus not point to self or tribe but sing the maker’s praise!

Scott L. Barton

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you: proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.

+  +  +

Jeremiah 31:27-34

What We Might All Know

In time to come, there'll be no blame,

One generation to the next;

To save one's pride, none will inflame,

Claim by another tribe they're vexed;

But each one will, within their heart,

A common humanness believe;

Such is the covenant for which God yearns,

That we perceive, conceive, receive.

Scott L. Barton

(2016, revised)

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of humans and the seed of animals. And just as I have watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring evil, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the Lord. In those days they shall no longer say: “The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” But all shall die for their own sins; the teeth of everyone who eats sour grapes shall be set on edge. The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.

+ + +

Luke 18:1-8

Better Than a Calm Façade

It's quite all right to bother God!

That's better than a calm façade,

Or resignation of your lot;

For Jesus says the one who's got

The gumption not to knuckle under

Exhibits real faith and wonder

That justice, always, God intends,

Although we may not comprehend

The schedule! Thus, the widow's might

Is in her cry the judge make right -

Which teaches us to fight despair

By voicing what becomes real prayer.

Scott L. Barton

(2013)

Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my opponent.’ For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”