Sermon: “Good Trouble”
I don’t usually make a big deal about the title of my sermons. Sometimes, my sermon title is an afterthought. But not today; and I want to tell you how I came up with the title of today’s sermon.
The title of the sermon is “Good Trouble.” Some of you will recognize that phrase as coming from John Lewis, the congressman and civil rights leader who passed away in 2020.
Congressman Lewis said: “Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful. Be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year. It is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America.”
It’s a good quote. And I’m happy that my sermon title makes a connection to John Lewis and his inspiring life.
But I was also inspired by two scriptures. The first describes the angel’s announcement to the shepherds; the angel said: “Don’t be afraid! Look! I bring good news to you—wonderful, joyous news for all people.”
That’s where the word “good” comes from in my sermon title. The birth of Jesus is good news for all people.
Then we have today’s scripture, in which King Herod hears the news about the birth of Jesus; and when he heard that news, “he was troubled; and everyone in Jerusalem was troubled with him.”
So, according to scripture, the news of Jesus’ birth was both good and troubling.
And that’s still true today. Today, the gospel still troubles those in power. Today, the gospel still troubles those who are obscenely wealthy. Today, the gospel still troubles nearly everyone who takes it seriously.
We’d rather focus on the good… that Jesus gives us life, that - through Jesus - our sins are forgiven, that - because of Jesus - we can live in joy and freedom.
All that is very good.
But Jesus also said some troubling things. And we should be troubled - like Herod and all of Jerusalem - if we take what Jesus said and taught seriously.
Because the gospel message is a message of good trouble.
Jesus said, “blessed are the poor.” That is a troubling statement, because who among us wants to be poor?
Jesus said, “the first shall be last, and the last shall be first.” That is a troubling statement, because who wants to be last in the world in order to be first with God?
Jesus said, “Love your enemies, and pray for those who harass you.” That is a troubling statement, just because it is so difficult. I mean, I think I could spend my entire lifetime just meditating on the fact that Jesus washed Judas’ feet. Or, I could spend my entire lifetime just meditating on the fact that Jesus, on the cross, offered forgiveness to those who crucified him. “Love your enemies, and pray for those who harass you, those who persecute you…”
I don’t think I could really preach that, without getting into trouble. I don’t think I could really preach that without getting in trouble with my own grudges and resentments, and my own sense of judgment.
I want those who have wronged me to be put in their place. I want them to be humiliated into submitting to what I know to be right.
But apparently, that’s not the way of Jesus. It’s not the way of wisdom. It’s not the way of hope, peace, joy, or love.
Over Christmas, I read the Book of Joy, which is basically the written account of a week-long conversation between His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. And in their conversation, they agreed that a person’s path to joy includes having compassion for one’s enemies; having compassion for them, praying for them, and wishing them joy and happiness in their life.
That’s a hard, troubling teaching. It’s so easy to lose our way, to get stuck on detours of resentment and animosity and anger and hate.
If this is the way taught by Jesus, it’s so easy to get lost.
Almost all of the Christians I follow on social media are quick to express their outrage over the injustice and corruption committed by so many of our political leaders. So many are quick to feign shock by the number of Americans who stand by politicians who suppress people’s rights and who do what’s best for big corporations while ignoring the needs of the people.
And yet, so few of the Christians I follow on social media ever express any kind of prayer or wish that the people they complain about find joy, find wisdom, find happiness.
It’s hard, isn’t it? How do we call people out for denying justice, for robbing the poor to feed the rich, and - at the same time - pray for them and love them and seek their happiness as well as ours?
We don’t want to love them. They’re evil. Why should we love them?
Because that’s the way of Jesus.
Following that path is hard. Knowing what is expected of us is troubling.
The wise men were following a path to Jesus. Scripture says their path was guided by the star.
If the magi really did follow a star all the way to Bethlehem, I’m sure they needed to keep checking the star, and keep checking their position in relation to the star, in order to stay on the right path.
We also need to keep rechecking our position in relation to where Jesus wants us to be.
Every day, we have to choose to follow Jesus. To paraphrase John Lewis, choosing to follow Jesus isn’t the decision of a day, a week, a month, or a year. It is the decision one needs to keep making throughout one’s life. Every day, we have to recommit ourselves to living the lives Jesus taught us to live. Every day, we have to reaffirm the commitments we made the day of our baptism or confirmation.
I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I’ve heard that people lost in the wilderness will tend to walk in circles. Somehow they think they are going in a straight line, but end up circling right back to where they started from.
But if they could fix their eyes on a star in the sky - Polaris, the north star, would be good, since it doesn’t move - and keep it at the same position in relation to them, then they won’t travel in circles. As long as they keep checking it and recalibrating.
That’s what we need to do. We need to keep checking with Jesus, and recalibrating our lives accordingly.
If we make a commitment to walk with Jesus, but we don’t take time on a regular basis to check where we are in relation to the star - check where we are in relation to Jesus - then we’ll keep circling back to our old patterns of resentment and animosity and anger and hate.
So, every day, we need to look up, and fix our eyes on the star.
Last year, on the first Sunday of 2020, I did something that I hoped would help us follow Jesus throughout the year. Each person received a wooden star with a word written on it, to help guide them through the coming year.
Little did we know then what a difficult year 2020 would turn out to be. I hope the word you received was helpful to you. I know my word was helpful to me; especially given all that has happened.
And the challenges we faced in 2020 have not disappeared just because we took our old calendar off the wall and replaced it with a new one.
So once again, on this Epiphany Sunday, each of us is going to receive a word to guide us through the year to come. It is my hope that that word will be for you like the star that guided the magi - something to guide you as you walk with Jesus in the coming year.
Since we’re not gathered together in person, I can’t give out wooden stars to you this year, but I can still give you a word. I’ll tell you how we’re going to do that in a minute…
My advice - once you get your word - is to find something to write your word on. You can write it on a post-it note and stick it on your mirror. You can use a sharpie and write it on a pebble that you carry in your pocket. You could even tattoo it somewhere on your body. (I’m not saying you should, but you could… just remember that next year, you’ll get a new word.)
Here’s how it will work: last year, I came up with 46 words, and I’m using those same 46 words this year.
(I remind you that “love” is not one of the words, because I believe that each of these words is a manifestation of love.)
So I have a list of 46 words, which I will post on our church instagram and facebook page, and I’ll include it in the next weekly email. And you can pick your own word...
If you want to keep your word a secret, and see if others can notice the change in you as you try to let that word guide and shape you, good.
If you want to share your word and maybe have someone help keep you accountable to that, that’s also good.
If you have small children, and you want to pick out a star that can help guide your whole family, do that.
Whatever you think will work for you.
All the words are good, and I think all can be helpful to you. That being said, there is nothing magic about them. While it certainly is possible that God could work to somehow give you a particular word that God wants you to have, the word you end up with is probably the result of chance. But still, it can be a helpful guide to you, if you ponder it, and meditate on it, and pray about it in the coming year.
And as you do so, you might want to ask yourself some questions. Like…
Do I need more of this in my life?
How can I remember to live out this word in love?
Is this something I need to work on, or is it something I am already blessed with but have taken for granted? Is this word a challenge, or an affirmation?
How is this a “good” word?
How can this word stir up some good trouble in my life or in the world?
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