The last time I preached on this passage from 2nd Kings, I asked some folks what they would do if they had to suddenly feed a bunch of people. The answers ranged from “order a bunch of pizza” to “buy out all of the pasta and sauce at the local convenience store” to cooking up giant buckets of chili and pots of lentils and roasting veggies and garbanzo beans. Feeding hungry people is a vital part of scripture, both in the Hebrew Bible and the Gospels. Today’s reading is about a time when a prophet, Elisha needed to feed a bunch of people. In doing so, he showed them something important about how God’s love works in the world.

     We are continuing to work our way through introductions to ancient biblical prophets. In a summer when there is so much political upheaval in our country, it seems wise to pay attention to those whom God directed to offer corrections to their own nations. The scholar Walter Brueggemann argues that the books of First and Second Kings are books that offer theological interpretations of Israel’s history from the time of Solomon’s reign over a united Judah and Israel through the eventual return to a separate northern and southern kingdom into the time of Judah’s defeat by Babylon. Elisha, the prophet in today’s reading tasked with feeding 100 people, was from the northern kingdom and successor to the prophet Elijah. In his description of Elisha, Dennis Bratcher describes the former farmer as “a man of wisdom and worker of miracles both on behalf of his nation in times of crisis and in the lives of individuals in time of need.” Miracles weren’t just for showing off. They were for showing people something about the nature of their God.

     If you are the prophet Elisha, and a group of a hundred people is sitting in front of you, people who are living in the midst of a famine, as the 100 people in this story are, you know that they need to be fed. And, because you are a prophet, you want to remind people of the love and compassion of God. Everything you do is an attempt to reconnect people with their covenant with God. That’s how the scholar Dora Mbwayesango describes Elisha’s work: reconnecting the people to their covenant with God. In such a case, if people are hungry, the most appropriate use of your God-given prophetic powers is to feed those hungry people.

     Importantly, though, he doesn’t do this miracle alone. Because he is a prophet and known to be close to God, a stranger brought Elisha an extravagant gift as an offering to God: twenty loaves of barley and many fresh ears of grain. Dr. Mbwayesango said that kind of offering is usually made to a priest at a sanctuary. This offering is also far more than was asked to be given to a priest (Leviticus 23:10-14). Elisha, who follows a caring and powerful God, knows what to do with extra, unexpected food: Share it. Even with the extra food, the other people in the story are pretty sure it won’t feed all 100 people. Elisha’s servant even worries that the people will fight over what little there is.

     While we know that scarcity can inspire people to all manner of conflict, Elisha was sure there would be enough food and told the servant, “Give it to the people and let them eat, for thus says the Lord, ‘they shall eat and have some left.’” Thankfully even though he was worried, the servant put out the food. And, all the people came. All the people ate. And, just like Elisha knew would happen, there was some left over.

     In just a few short verses, we get a lovely example of how the God we encounter in scripture is involved in the world. First, we have empowered people ready to respond to needs that they observe. God tasked Elisha with tending to the people. When Elisha paid attention to the people around him, it was clear how he could serve them. Second, we have faithful people who follow the best of their traditions, in this case, a man bringing food to a priest, even in times of famine. In challenging times, it is good to remain grounded in your values, and carry on traditions that are meaningful and useful. Sharing food with the priest ended up being both. Third, we have an example of a person who, despite having reasonable fears, chooses to act in the most faithful way possible. Though the servant was concerned that they wouldn’t have enough and that the people would respond to what they lacked with violence, in the end, he trusted Elisha and did what he asked. He didn’t allow his fear to stop him from trying to help those who needed it. May we all have an Elisha who won’t allow our fear to overwhelm our ability to be generous with what God has provided us.
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     The Divine creates and nurtures life in occasions like this, and connects us to one another by allowing us a part in this creative and loving work. This story from 2nd Kings shows us what covenant is all about: remembering the promises we’ve made to love our neighbors, working together for God’s purposes in this world, sharing our abundance, refusing to allow fear to stop us from helping each other, and, possibly most importantly, remembering how God has empowered us to be a part of the covenant. In writing about this text, Casey Thornburgh Sigmon notes that “God does not act unilaterally without human collaboration to bring life from death.” We do not have to see suffering and ignore it because none of us can address it by ourselves. Every day, the Spirit brings us the people and resources we need to take care of each other. May we hear the voice of the prophets that remind us that we are not in this world alone, and may we remember that the God who loved us into existence is with us when we extend that love, in concrete ways, to those who need it most.

Resources consulted while writing this sermon:
Walter Brueggemann, An Introduction to the Old Testament: The Canon and Christian Imagination (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2003)
Dennis R. Bratcher, "Elisha," HarperCollins Bible Dictionary, ed. Paul Achtemeier  et al (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1996)
Casey Thornburgh Sigmon: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-17-2/commentary-on-2-kings-442-44-5
Dora Mbwayesango: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-17-2/commentary-on-2-kings-442-44
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     It is challenging to write a sermon while the news rolls in of what looks to be an assassination attempt of the former President while he is on the campaign trail. Political violence is not new in our country, unfortunately. Most of the adults in the room were alive when someone tried to assassinate Pres. Reagan. Many remember the assassinations of Pres. Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X. Gabby Giffords was attacked while she was meeting with constituents in her home state of Arizona in 2011. A group of men plotted to kidnap Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer just four years ago.  Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul was attacked in their home just two years ago.

     We might even remember the attempted assassination of Teddy Roosevelt while he was campaigning in 1912. Professor Marcelius Braxton notes that Roosevelt was shot before his speech, ordered that his shooter not be lynched when he was immediately captured, and went on to give his speech with a bullet in his chest. He survived, carrying that bullet in his chest the rest of his life, but lost that election. Presidents Mckinley and Lincoln were not so lucky, both succumbing to injuries from assassins.

     Political violence is not new to our country. I barely scratched the surface by describing attacks on well-known politicians and activists. Attacks on union organizers, kids integrating schools, houses of worship, and people registering community members to vote are political violence, too, and have long shaped our shared lives as Americans. And yet, just because something happens regularly, that doesn’t make it right. Just because political violence continues to be a reality with which we much contend, that doesn’t make it an appropriate part of our political process. Even as our history shows us groups and individuals willing to deploy violence to shape our political process, if our goal is to have functioning democracy, we cannot rely on political violence to govern.

     The violence of last night could easily beget more violence in retaliation. Some people will benefit from violence. In a letter sent out last night, Common Ground USA, an organization that, among many things, works to address political violence, pointed out that those who deploy political violence want to “inflame tensions, sow chaos, and drive escalation of further violence.” That violence does not benefit humanity or, frankly, the world. That violence has not yet happened though. And, we do not have to let it.

     Here is what Common Ground USA reminds us. First, we have a choice. Each of us individually and all of us collectively. We can choose to pursue a shared political life with no tolerance for threats of violence, for harassment, and for violence towards activists and politicians. We can opt to develop the skills and relationships to make sure that our public spaces are safe enough for all American to gather, speak, and organize politically. They’ve got something called “The Peacemaker’s Toolkit” that I’ll share with the church in our Newsy Note. They offer up a definition of peace as “the presence of justice, belonging, and fellowship.” This is a peace that we can build, not something that just blooms out of thin air.

     When Common Ground USA talks about peace, they also note that this peace they believe we can cultivate usually has what they call “vital signs”:

• Safety- how safe do people feel in a community and what makes people feel safe
• Personal power- do people believe that they have the ability to create positive change in the community and are they taking steps to create those changes
• Unity- how much do people trust each other? Especially across difference? Do people feel polarized? Do some people feel like another group is a threat to their ability to be a part of the community?
• Trust in leaders- do people feel like their leaders and institutions actually take all people’s needs into account while making decisions? 

     We can cultivate peace by being attentive to each of these vital signs. And, each of the vital signs impacts the others. People with low trust in leaders often feel like they have little ability to create positive change. People who don’t trust their neighbors don’t feel safe and don’t make the community safe for other people.
We’ve spent several Sundays this summer talking about prophets. Today’s scripture introduces yet another. Amos, like other prophets, was called up during a time of conflict in the nation, though it wasn’t a time of war per se. It was a time of deepening inequality. The book of Amos is addressing two significant culture issues of this era: 1) the increasing wealth of the elite of the both the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah that was being built on systems of mistreatment of poor people and 2) the looming threat of Assyria, which was itching to build up their own empire.

     What is likely of most use to us today is that Amos understands that faith in God not just to be about an individual person’s religious commitments, but about an entire community’s ethical behavior. Gregory Mobley, in his introduction to Amos, puts it this way: Israel’s covenant with God did not provide it with a special privilege to do whatever they wanted. The nation was required to live up to an ethical standard of justice and righteousness. In her commentary on this passage, Elaine James says, “God’s love demands righteousness, and breaches of God’s call to justice and love cause God grief.” Today’s reading is from one of Amos’ visions where he believes God is deeply aggrieved and ready to punish the nation. God says to Amos, “I will never again pass them by; the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”

     A plumb line is a tool that builders have used for literally thousands of years to make sure that what they are building is aligned properly so that it can be strong and stable. In Amos’ vision, God clearly states that the nation is out of alignment. What is also clear, perhaps not in today’s reading, but in other parts of Amos, is that it is possible to realign a nation, to become plumb, once again, with God’s priorities. As I observe a different nation out of plumb, I think the Peacemaker’s Toolkit could be actually be of use to those of us interested in realigning ourselves with love and justice as God demands. It’s not the only set of tools available to us, but it is a good one.

     At the time that I finished this sermon, the former president seems to have minor injuries from a ricochet of glass. He was well cared for by the team who ushered him off the stage. One rally attendee has been killed. Let us pray for the ones who mourn their loss. And, two more attendees were significantly wounded. Let us pray for their healing as well. I haven’t yet seen verified the identity of the shooter, who was also killed. Mostly, though, today, I hope that we can remember that we are not without power or without choices about how to respond to the violence that it out of step with our values. We may not totally be sure of our next steps, but we have instructions from God and a vision of peace that can draw us towards plumb once again. May God’s Spirit guide us in building a peaceful kindom of justice, belonging, and fellowship.

Resources consulted while writing this sermon:
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Marcelius Braxton: https://x.com/Marcelius_B/status/1812289008476553431
The information from Common Ground USA: https://www.sfcg.org/news/statement-on-violence-against-former-president-donald-trump-in-pennsylvania/

Elaine James: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-15-2/commentary-on-amos-77-15-4
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Gregory Mobley’s introduction to Amos in The New Oxford Annotated Bible: The New Revised Standard Version with Apocryphya, ed. Michael Coogan (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001)

    In the Bible, stories about the rise of prophets are often really stories about nations in turmoil. That is certainly true about Ezekiel. In her commentary on this text, the scholar Marjorie Suchoki outlines some of the turmoil in Judah that made the calling of a prophet necessary. This story takes place in an era long after the glory days of King David. Under David, the northern nation of Israel and the southern nation of Judah were united. Suchoki notes that unification had fallen apart under the rule of the kings who succeeded him. Then, the power nation of Assyria conquered Israel. Babylon would eventually threaten Judah with a similar fate, eventually forcing Judah to become a vassal state.

     Judah would rebel against Babylonian imperialism but would be also defeated. Our choir sings a lovely arrangement of Psalm 137, a Psalm written about the aftermath of that defeat. The first part of the Psalm goes:

By the rivers of Babylon-
   there we sat down and there we wept
   when we remembered Zion.
On the willows there
   we hung up our harps.
For there our captors
   asked us for songs,
and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying,
   ‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion!’

     The Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, opted to punish the Judeans by hauling the upper-class people and artisans away to exile in Babylon, leaving the poorest people in Judah. Ezekiel, who would become a prophet for his people, is among those exiled. The people who were taken have been away from their homes for five years. The temple has been destroyed, but God is still speaking to Ezekiel, even in exile.
Ezekiel the book is written in first person, as though the prophet is speaking directly to the listeners. In chapter 1, Ezekiel the prophet describes how he, when he was thirty years old and living by the river Chebar, began to see visions of God. Casey Thornburgh Sigmon, in her commentary on the text, notes that the Hebrew word “kebar” means “joining.” She also invites us to consider what it could mean for Ezekiel to receive these visions and this calling to become a prophet, a calling that often sets you apart from your community, next to a river that reminds them of the power of coming together. What would it mean to be reminded of “joining” if you are people who have been violently separated from your nation?

     Though prophets are set apart, perhaps the name of this river is pointing to one of Ezekiel’s, and God’s, great hopes: that those who have been taken can one day be reunified with their people and their land. The rest of chapter one is the first of many fantastical visions Ezekiel receives. There is wild weather, wild, shining, winged beings with multiple faces (both human animals) and wings and legs like cows. There were these wheels... you can see them in the cover art on today’s bulletin... turning and turning. There was a sparkling dome and divine thunder and a rainbow and “the appearance of the likeness of the glory of God.” It is among the wildest visions of any prophet in the whole Bible. I encourage you to go back and read it all for yourself. All of that vision has such an emotional impact on Ezekiel that he falls on his face. Which, frankly, is fair.

      We meet Ezekiel on his face in fear and trembling. God tells him to get up. Marjorie Suchoki, in her commentary, argues that this is an important moment for reasons beyond the obvious- God isn’t just talking to Ezekiel. God is offering a measure of care for one who has been subjugated. Suchoki points out that God doesn’t ask Ezekiel to show respect by cowering.  Ezekiel is functionally a prisoner of Babylon. Powerful people often expect abjection and deference from those whom they have captured. Notice that God is not repeating the expectations of the ones who have taken people against their will. In inviting Ezekiel to rise of his own accord, God is reminding him of his own power. Suchoki says, “If Ezekiel can rise and stand before God, cannot he rise and stand before his captors?” And, Ezekiel does rise, with the help of Spirit.

     Spirit, “ruach” in Hebrew, also means “wind” or “breath” as Sigmon reminds us in her commentary. She argues that Spirit is somewhat of a character in Ezekiel, empowering, inspiring, and connecting the prophet to his God. In this sense, Spirit is breathing new life into Ezekiel, and energizing him for the work ahead. As you look at the world around you, where could you use some of this Spirit that carried Ezekiel into his great prophetic work? Where do you witness a nation disconnected, disjointed, and straying from God’s call to love and justice? How might the Spirit in this moment to be leading us to a time of restoration? What might Spirit help us stand up to do?

     I appreciate that God tells Ezekiel that the people might not listen. When doing something as confounding as trying to get a group of people to change their ways, it is good to have the appropriate expectations. Some people simply won’t listen. Entire governments may opt to ignore the truth, even when it is clearly and correctly lined out in front of them. It is not easy to change the course of a nation, or even part of a nation. But, it’s not impossible. If it were, God would not send prophets. Ezekiel shares with us an important reminder: you may not convince the nation to change, but you still are called to push them towards justice and righteousness. Whether or not they change, they should know that there has been a prophet among them.

     Ultimately, Ezekiel accepts God’s call to speak to his people. And he will tackle some significant questions throughout his time as prophet. Stephen Cook outlines some of the questions in his introduction to Ezekiel in the New Oxford Annotated Bible: Has God abandoned Jerusalem and the Temple? Does the suffering of the people of Judah have a purpose? How should the people understand their tragic history? Cook argues that the most important question is “how can God now move on with God’s people, in a transformed and renewed state?” Because the violence of the exile forever changed the people. Trauma will do that.

     The power of Ezekiel’s work with the people reminds us that to be changed does not mean to be separated from God. But, it might mean reorienting yourself towards what Sigmon calls in her commentary “God’s vision of flourishing and justice.” Challenging times demand changes in our posture, clarity of mission, and a willingness to embrace divine visions that seem impossible under the current circumstances. Ezekiel shows us that there is value in doing what we are called, even when we’re not sure of the reception. May the Spirit be with us as it was with him. And, may divine wheels carry us into God’s future of loving righteousness.

Resources consulted while writing this sermon:
Marjorie Hewitt Suchocki, “Proper 9 [14]” Preaching God’s Transforming Justice: A Lectionary Commentary, Year B Featuring 22 New Holy Days for Justice, Ronald J. Allen, Dale P. Andrews, and Dawn Ottoni- Wilhelm, eds. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011)
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Casey Thornburgh Sigmon: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-14-2/commentary-on-ezekiel-21-5-6
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Stephen L. Cook’s notes on Ezekiel in The New Oxford Annotated Bible: The New Revised Standard Version with Apocryphya, ed. Michael Coogan (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001

     It is a curious time to be talking about money publicly in a Christian church in the United States. For one thing, our country currently has an active and powerful Christian Nationalist movement that is insisting that our government be shaped and guided by fundamentalist Christian theology. They particularly want to give more power to fundamentalist Christians to use the government to limit access to reproductive healthcare, ignore on-going systems of racism, and exclude LGBTQ people from basic civil rights.
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     Secondly, just this week, the US Supreme Court issued one ruling that dissenting justices argue paves the way for government officials to take bribes and a second ruling in which six justices argue that it is not cruel and unusual punishment for the government to imprison and fine people who do not have homes and sleep outside when there are no shelter beds.  “Should we be allowed to use our money to pay government officials to do what we want” and “is it ethical to criminalize homeless” are actually significant moral questions about how we use money and how we treat people who have and don’t have it. Those of us who are Christians should look to our faith to guide how we think about and act with money. While Jesus never told his followers to create a nation where only Christians have rights, he did tell his followers to share money and food with those who don’t have enough, and he told that one rich guy to give away all his money.
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     It is the responsibility of each generation of Christian to figure out how to put those instructions into practice. Today’s reading from one of Paul’s letters to Corinthians is part of Paul’s attempt further develop a Christian financial ethic. Notice that has nothing to do with punishing those who don’t have money and everything to do with those who do have money sharing it.

     You might remember that in my sermon from a couple weeks ago, I mentioned that the book we call Second Corinthians is probably excerpts from multiple letters Paul sent to the church in Corinth. Sze-Kar Wan, in his notes on 2nd Corinthians, argues that chapter 8 may be one letter asking for the church in Corinth to take up a collection for the church in Jerusalem and chapter 9 is a separate letter, possibly to a different church that the Corinthians got a copy of, that is also asking for a collection for the church in Jerusalem. Wan notes that the collection has multiple purposes: one, it is to help people in the church who don’t have enough money, and two, to show unity between the poorer Jerusalem congregation and the wealthier Gentile congregations in other parts of Rome.

     It’s like Paul is saying: Remember, Christians are supposed to share money with those who need it. And, in sharing money, we can build trust and relationships that span our differences in wealth, ethnicity, and regional identity. In order to better instruct the church in Corinth, Paul brings up the generosity of the churches in Macedonia, specifically the Philippian and Thessalonian churches. That happens in the first part of chapter 8. Something hard has been happening in the churches. We’re not told exactly what it is, just that it is “a severe ordeal of affliction.” And, yet, in spite of great difficulty affecting their congregations, Paul still describes them as abundantly joyful and overflowing in a wealth of generosity, despite being quite poor themselves. He says “For, as I can testify, they voluntarily gave according to their means and even beyond their means, begging us earnestly for the privilege of sharing in this ministry to the saints...” They understood that in giving themselves to God, that also meant that they were to give of their means to others, specifically the also impoverished church in Jerusalem.

     With their example in mind, we begin our reading today, which is Paul’s specific instructions to the church in Corinth. Paul is an interesting and skilled author. It is wise, particularly for those of us familiar with his work, to remember that. He is making specific choices in his writing in hopes of inspiring action in those who hear the letters read at church. And, he realizes that if you brag on someone a little bit, they can be more likely to do what you want them to do: “Now, as you excel in everything- in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you- so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking.” The “we” here is Paul and Titus, his co-worker who likely delivered this letter. And, the “generous undertaking” is the collection for the Jerusalem church.

     He grounds his request in his understanding of Jesus: Jesus was one of great power, who became poor in order to live and serve among humanity. Jesus’ followers are empowered by his generosity and sacrifice. What we are called to do with this power, what he calls being “rich,” is to be generous and make a sacrifice in return. Now, one of the grossest injustices a church can do, to this day, is manipulate very poor people into giving away the little bit of money they have to support the lavish lifestyle of a pastor and staff of a congregation. That is not what Paul is doing here, even as he praises the struggling Macedonian churches for their generosity.

     Carla Works notes that this collection for Jerusalem was a huge undertaking and the Corinthian church. It’s taken them a year to do it. Paul says “it’s time to finish what you started last year and “complete it according to your means.” If a believer wants to share what they have as a sign of their faith and their commitment to care for the whole Body of Christ, even if they can only share a little, the small offering is still welcome and a sign of deep faith. “[T]he gift is acceptable according to what one has- not according to what one does not have.” Paul calls for a fair balance in giving, which will result in a fair balance within a church. No one will have too little on which to survive, and, no one will be burdened by the distraction of protecting the money they’ve hoarded.

     This isn’t a one-sided relationship. The Jerusalem church has a responsibility to care for Corinth, too. Jerusalem will support Corinth when they are in need as well. That’s what it means to be church: to tend to one another and to be honest about our needs with one another. Now, I know this reading is mostly about crafting a financial ethic to guide relationships among Christians. The news stories I brought up early in my sermon weren’t only about relationships among Christians. There are Christians, and have been for a long time, who mostly want to define the public face of Christianity as only being about constraining human sexuality, coercing people into Christian practice, and denying racism. At the same time, Christian Nationalism is largely ignoring calls for financial justice and mutual care, and, most of the time, rejecting any national policies that look like the generosity described in this reading from 2nd Corinthians.

     Paul doesn’t mention generosity to those who aren’t specifically in the church in this passage, but Jesus talked about generosity to the broader community all the time. Just one example is Matthew 25: 31-46, where he said that a nation will be called righteous if it feeds the hungry, tends to the hurting, is gracious to the imprisoned, clothes the naked, and welcomes the stranger. I believe that Paul’s interpretations of Jesus’ teachings around generosity that he was using to help churches be connected to one another can also help us to be good neighbors to people who may never step in our doors. What kind of Christians would we be if the generosity we practice within our community doesn’t extend beyond the doors of the church? Actions that we perform over and over again in one setting will shape our behavior in others. May the generosity we share with our siblings in Christ teach us how to be generous with all the people of this earth. And, may Christ’s abundant love show us how to take care of each other’s greatest needs.

Resources consulted while writing this sermon:
About the Supreme Court Cases:

• https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-public-corruption-bribery-89774f1e3cd6f1a353718b7ce3ff18a0
• https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/us-supreme-court-ruling-will-worsen-homelessness-crisis-groups-warn/ar-BB1p57Xk

Carla Works: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-13-2/commentary-on-2-corinthians-87-15
Sze-Kar Wan's introduction to 2nd Corinthians  in The New Oxford Annotated Bible: The New Revised Standard Version with Apocryphya, ed. Michael Coogan (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001)