Reconciliation
The Last Sunday after Pentecost
November 24, 2019
Preaching Text – Luke 23:33-43
When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots to divide his clothing. The people stood by, watching Jesus on the cross; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”
One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.
Sermon:
The first sermon I remember hearing on this Gospel lesson was given by a wise old priest named Austen Williams. He was on the staff of the church where I served when I was a curate back in the mid-90s. He had been a prisoner of war during World War II and was the rector of St. Martin’s in the Field in Trafalgar Square for decades. This is what I remember from his sermon. He said something like, “Human beings are the only creatures who punish others for their sins over and over again”. We do it to ourselves – never forgiving ourselves for things we did years ago – and we do it to each other. It is hard to let mistakes and failings go. Then Austen compared this human tendency to this story in our Gospel lesson – which has been come to be known as The Story of the Penitent Criminal. The penitent criminal is the one who asks Jesus to remember him in his kingdom. And Jesus says, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Did you notice that the criminal does not obey the typical rules and necessary steps of forgiveness? He does not say sorry. He does not express contrition. He neither atones for his sins nor makes reparations to those whom he has harmed or stolen from. He just asks to be remembered. And Jesus tells him he will be in paradise – such is the expansive nature of God’s grace. This is reconciliation at its finest.
So, what does reconciliation mean? We know in accounting that reconciliation occurs by matching, comparing and having figures agree in an account or back balance. In theology it means no longer being estranged from God. So, in this case, the criminal can enter into the paradise of the life hereafter and live with God forever. In human relationships it can mean being in agreement with each other or being friendly. But it can also have a sense of being at peace with one another – whether the two parties agree or not.
A couple of weeks ago I went to a talk by Robin Sparkman, the CEO of Story Corps. It was part of a series of the Freedom Project at Wellesley College. The mission of Story Corps, in case you have not heard it featured on National Public Radio is, and I quote, “To preserve and share humanity’s stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world.” So basically, they record interviews between two people – two ordinary people. And the interviews are collected and stored at both Story Corps and the Library of Congress. When the interviews are shared on the radio, the 40-minute interviews are reduced to 2 ½ – 3 minutes. And the Story Corps segments are like a piece of art – beautiful, complete, and poignant.
There are all sorts of interviews. But the Story Corps conversation I want to tell you about this morning is a story about two very different people who found an ally in each other and had something surprising in common. It is from Story Corps’ “One Small Step” archive. The goal of One Small Step is “to break down boundaries created by politics and remember our shared humanity. To remind us that we have more in common than divides us and that treating those with whom we disagree with decency and respect is essential to a functioning democracy.” What they have found is that when two people from diametrically opposed positions sit down and talk with open hearts and minds, the levels of contempt that they have for each other decreases dramatically. As Robin Sparkman noted, it is hard to hate up close.
The title of the piece is “A Trump Supporter Finds a Surprising Ally at an Anti-Trump Rally.” I encourage you to listen to the piece in its 3-minute entirety if you have a moment. But to boil it down to the barest of details, Amina Amdeen was at an Anti-Trump protest in 2016 and she saw a young man, named Joseph Weidnecht, who was wearing a Make America Great Again hat. And she noticed that he was being surrounded by an angry group of protesters and she noticed that they were looking very threatening. One of the protesters snatched the MAGA hat off of Joseph’s head. And Amina said, at that point something snapped inside her – especially because she wears a Muslim hijab on her head, and she has had people try to snatch the hijab off of her head. She rushed toward the crowd and started screaming at them “Leave him alone! Give me [the hat] back.” And then after the mob left, Amina and Joseph started talking. And then this interview was recorded afterward about that experience. Joseph tells Amina that she is the only Muslim he has ever met. And Amina shares with him how she moved from Iraq when she was 10 years old, and how hard it was to be one of the only Muslims in her middle school. Then Joseph shares with her that he only went to public school for a year – and he got into three fights – all of which he lost – and that he was then homeschooled and consequently didn’t have many friends. And the conversation unfolds in this beautiful way with Amina concluding “I’d like for this [conversation] to encourage other people to engage in more conversations with people that [they] don’t agree with.”
I encourage you to go to the Story Corps website, or download their app. You could have your own story corps interview recorded and preserved. One warning – I encourage you to listen to some of the stories they highlight on the website with a Kleenex nearby because what you will hear will move you and inspire you and may well make you cry.
Sometimes it feels like we live in a
graceless age. It feels like there is
more scapegoating – more hatred- more vitriol in our current society. We seem to be a little short on giving people
the benefit of the doubt and we refrain from assuming the best in others. We
seem short on forgiveness, grace and mercy.
But I think back to Austen William’s sermon – and it seems that the
saying is true – plus ça
change, plus c’est la même chose
–
“the more things change, the more things stay the same.”[1]
On this feast day of Christ the King
– we are reminded of what Jesus’ kingdom is all about – it is about
forgiveness, love, and reconciliation – not only when it is easy – but also
when it seems impossibly hard. We are
called to live with open hearts and minds – we are called to be the Aminas and
Josephs of the world – people who see in someone quite different from
themselves something in common – their shared humanity and the need to be
respected, loved, valued, reconciled and forgiven. And we don’t have to do it alone – Jesus is
in the midst of every miraculous attempt we make in the journey toward His
kingdom. So, during the waiting of Advent, be on the lookout for those in your
midst who through you may have their hope in God and humanity restored and be
on the lookout for those who will do the same for you.
[1] Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr, 19th c French critic and journalist
0 Comments