“Imagine” (Romans 12:1-8)

Jesus had a dream.  Jesus dreamed of God’s kingdom.  When he spoke to the masses, he would tell them to “imagine” . . . imagine what could be.  It would be a place that is ruled by love and grace.  A place where all would be the children of God . . . siblings . . . loved and accepted for who God created them to be.  A place of peace and justice.  A place of plenty and no one ever went hungry or naked or left out.  There would be no more war.  No more division and separation.  No more prejudice.  No more hatred.  A place that Jesus often referred to as being out of this world.  He told Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world.” (John 18:36)  A place we would call heaven.  To this Jesus asked those who would listen to “imagine”.

From those in power Jesus was called a dreamer.

 

In 1971, John Lennon released his greatest hit as a singer . . . Imagine.  This song is considered by many to be one of the most performed songs.  Rolling Stone magazine ranks it as the number three song of the “500 greatest songs of all time”.  Over 200 artists have recorded or covered this song, including such stars as Madonna, Stevie Wonder, Joan Baez, Lady Gag, Elton John, and Diana Ross.  It was used as the theme song of two Olympics—the 2012 summer games and the 2022 winter games.  It is a song loved by many.

 

The lyrics asked the listener to imagine a new world . . . a world of peace, no materialism, no borders, justice, no hunger . . . a world where people live together as one family . . . caring for one another . . . building up and not tearing down . . . a place “where the world will be as one”.  A place that sounds a whole lot like the Kingdom of God that Jesus was asking people to imagine.  And Lennon knew what the response of the world would be . . . or at least those who were in power . . . and he acknowledges it in the lyrics: “You may say I am a dreamer.”

 

Lennon also knew that he was not alone . . . that there were others who dreamed and imagined as he did.  Thus, he encouraged others to come and dream . . . come and imagine what could be.  He did just as Jesus did.  He issued the invitation.  “You may say that I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.  I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will be as one.”

 

As you know, it is tough to go against the flow.  Jesus knew this.  Lennon knew this.  So did the Apostle Paul.  The invitation is to establish God’s kingdom . . . to bring about God’s new creation . . . to be as God desires us to be.  One family . . . God’s family.  Such a dream, such imagining is not of this world.  Thus, the apostle is telling those in the congregation in Rome . . . to dream.  To imagine.  And to realize that this will go against the world and what the world wants.  The apostle tells the people: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

 

Conformity is the act of matching attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to group norms, politics or being like-minded.  It is being like each other.  As much as we seem to attempt to be different and unique in our society, the more we are alike.  Always seems to have been that way.  We are homogeneous.  Birds of a feather flock together.  We work hard to be like one another . . . to fit in . . . to be one of the gang.  We want to be like everyone else.  That is the “American” way.

 

We are of the world.

 

Folk singer/songwriter Malvina Reynolds wrote a song in 1962 called Little Boxes.  It is song about the American idea of conformity.  The lyrics are:

 

Little boxes on the hillside,

Little boxes made of ticky tacky,

Little boxes on the hillside,

Little boxes all the same.

There's a green one and a pink one

And a blue one and a yellow one,

And they're all made out of ticky tacky

And they all look just the same.

 

And the people in the houses

All went to the university,

Where they were put in boxes

And they came out all the same,

And there's doctors and lawyers,

And business executives,

And they're all made out of ticky tacky

And they all look just the same.

 

And they all play on the golf course

And drink their martinis dry,

And they all have pretty children

And the children go to school,

And the children go to summer camp

And then to the university,

Where they are put in boxes

And they come out all the same.

 

And the boys go into business

And marry and raise a family

In boxes made of ticky tacky

And they all look just the same.

There's a green one and a pink one

And a blue one and a yellow one,

And they're all made out of ticky tacky

And they all look just the same.

 

 

That’s what it means to belong . . . conformity to the status quo.  And when we think about it isn’t that the truth?

 

To which Jesus challenges us to consider the alternative . . . God’s kingdom.  Challenges us to imagine.  Challenges us to dream.  To not be of this world, but to be of God’s world.  The Apostle Paul reiterates that same message to the people of the Roman church . . . “Do not conform to the pattern of this world.”  Instead, says the apostle: ” . . . be transformed”.  Be transformed so that God’s kingdom can be reborn.  Besides, says the apostle, none of us is the same.  God created each of us as individuals . . . unique and special.  Despite the diversity of who we are and what we bring to the table, together we can become one . . . one family and one Kingdom under a common love for God and one another.  Together—like pieces of a puzzle—we see the end product when we allow our common unity to come together to get the job done.  We put our pieces together to reach our goal.  We transform the world one step at a time to the reality of God’s kingdom in this time and place. 

 

Though we are different we have a “common unity” . . . that “common unity” makes us a community.  Only together the task can be achieved.  Remember the Margaret Mead quote I shared a few weeks ago.  She said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” 

 

Jesus tells us to “imagine.”

 

The Apostle Paul, similarly, call us to “imagine.”

 

John Lennon tells us to imagine.

 

Imagine what could be.  The world that Jesus calls us to be is not of this world.  Let us not sell ourselves short as the followers of Jesus . . . children of God . . . created in the image of God.  God deems it good this kingdom we are called to create.  Let us not be insulted if the world around us calls us “dreamers” for we are “dreamers”.  We are like the one who leads us . . . the one who walks with us.  We are not the only ones.  Like Jesus, let us invite others to join us and realize the dream that someday we can live as one . . . the Kingdom of God.

 

Imagine.  Amen.

 

“Even Dogs” (Matthew 15:10-28)

Groucho Marx was a wonderful humorist with a lot of great one-liners.  One of my favorite Groucho Marx lines comes from a time in his life when his friends insisted that he join the exclusive Friars Club . . . so he did, but he never participated in the club or its activities.  After a year Groucho sent a letter of resignation.  In the letter he stated, “I don’t want to belong to any club that would accept me as one of its members.”  From there it became a comic gem.

Our scripture reading this morning begins with Jesus telling a gathered crowd to “listen and understand.”  He then proceeds to tell the crowd that words matter.  What comes out of one’s mouth matters because they reveal intentions, feelings, and the state of one’s heart.  Jesus says, “But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person . . .”

 

Now the whole basis of this little lecture comes as a response to an argument about dietary practices . . . basically about what is acceptable to eat and what is not.  Such a debate is trivial as far as Jesus is concerned . . . a waste of time.  What is more important are the words that come from one’s mouth.  “These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”  Words have meaning . . . words have power . . . words express attitude and beliefs.

 

I find it interesting that this incident takes place right before Jesus has little confrontation with a Canaanite woman.  Having set the parameters of the importance of words, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.  There he encounters a Canaanite woman crying out to him to heal her daughter who is possessed.  Jesus ignores her pleas.  His disciples tells him to send her on her way.  Finally, he speaks with bluntness to the woman: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” 

 

Of course, the woman is Canaanite . . . not of the Israelites.  So, the words he speaks are received harshly by the woman.  She pleads with Jesus to help her.  Jesus is even more blunt with his words: “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”  Stunned, the woman does not argue, but instead she replies: “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

 

Even dogs . . .

 

Do you remember the prelude to this story?  Remember how Jesus spoke of the power of words . . . how the words that came from one’s mouth could defile?  With the woman’s retort, Jesus is confronted with his own words.  He is remised of the words he has spoken to this woman . . . the harshness of the words, the dismissal of their meaning . . . all so different than what he was preaching and teaching.  They lacked the grace and love he so sorely wanted his followers to be about.  He was stood up in his tracks and he recognized his need for remission.  Jesus proclaimed to the woman and those who were present: “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.”

 

Instantly the woman’s daughter was healed.

 

Words are powerful and great care should be taken in how they are used.  In this story we see the human side of Jesus.  Confronted by someone outside of the religious standards of the Jews, Jesus is practically flippant in his dismissal of the woman and her request.  She is not “one of us”.  She does not belong.  She is not worthy of the master’s time and effort.  That is why the disciples ask that she be sent on her way.  And Jesus falls into that trap.   In no uncertain terms that is what Jesus proclaims.  His words cut to the bone . . . blunt and cutting to the point.  The woman does not belong.

 

But doesn’t that go against everything Jesus taught and preached?  Doesn’t that go against the miracles that he performed?  Doesn’t that go against his message of loving God and loving others?  Sure, it does!  And he gets it when the woman challenges him about “even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”  Jesus is confronted with the words that he preaches and teaches by the words he had just spoken.  God’s grace and love is for all.  It is not only for a certain group.

 

In his confrontation at the start of the story . . . the one about the teachings of the Pharisees about what is acceptable to eat and what is not acceptable . . . Jesus goes against the popular understanding of the religious who are in control and power.  He tells them that they are wrong, but more importantly he confronts their willingness to spew out hatred in the words that they speak to defend their religion.  They are divisive words . . . words meant to divide, separate, and exclude others.  He warns them that they should watch out for what they are saying.  Jesus’ words were not meant to separate and exclude, but to bring in and include.

 

Even dogs . . .

 

We are living in a time that as the followers of Jesus we need to conscious and aware of the words that we speak.  Are the words we speak words of love . . . are they words of grace?  Are the words we speak inviting and inclusive bringing others in, or are the words we speaking separating, dividing, and excluding others?  We should watch what we are saying because others are watching.  Remember . . . words are powerful, and we should be careful in how we use them.  They can hurt, that can separate, and they can destroy—even kill.  Thus, the warning from Jesus in our reading this morning.

 

Words are powerful . . . they convey meaning, purpose, and beliefs.  They let people know where we stand.  People judge us by the words we speak.  Someone once said, “It is hard to convince people that a God they can’t see loves them, when a church they can see doesn’t seem to like them.”  Ask the Canaanite woman . . . words are powerful.

 

In our reading this morning we witnessed a powerful lesson.  Words are powerful and because they are powerful, we should use them wisely and carefully.  Especially when it comes to our faith and sharing our faith.  Let us say what we mean and mean what we say.  Let us hear the prayer of the psalmist who proclaims: “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in they sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14, KJV)  May that be our prayer too.  Amen.