One Wish

I wish that being a Christian was easier... I wish there was only one Christian denomination... instead of more than 30,000... I wish that we all took the words of the prophets to heart... and that it was easier to lean into... THY will be done... instead of MY will be done... I wish we accepted the fact that there are any different pathways to God...

But mostly... I wish I found Aladdin’s magic lamp... you know... the one with the genie... and the first wish I’d make... is that every time I made a wish... I’d get one more wish... so I’d never run out of wishes... and I'd wish that there was no such thing as White Christian Nationalism... and that televangelists would stop insisting that Christianity was right and all the others religions were wrong... or that their denomination had the inside track about what God said through scripture... in fact... I'd wish that God spoke to us through highway billboards... and that every elected official read every one of them... so we'd all know what was of God and what wasn’t...

I’d wish that we thought of ourselves less often... and of others more often... I’d wish we experienced that what unites us is stronger than what divides us... I'd wish that our long term vision wasn’t so terribly myopic... and that we were in it for the long haul... I’d wish that instant karma was a thing... so we could see without delay... how what we do... affects ourselves and each other... I'd wish that people were able to protest peacefully without the National Guard being deployed... I'd wish that no one was deported without due process... and those who took them off the streets showed their faces... I’d wish that our noses would get longer when we lied... or... like in the movie Liar Liar... that I could wish everyone into unrepentant truth telling...

I’d wish that when someone wronged anyone else... especially when they knew better... that they’d feel exactly how that person felt and would just... stop... doing it... I’d wish every person was able to speak their truth... and tell their story... and name their feelings... without everyone else jumping in to try and fix them so they could feel better about themselves...

I’d wish that every police officer’s body camera worked perfectly every time... and that every bullet fired at them... or fired in every mass shooting or drive-by shooting or robbery or case of domestic violence or murder... would just circle back around 180°... so word would get out that guns were pretty much useless for that kind of thing... and that weapons of mass destruction... or any kind of destruction... would simply disappear into the center of the sun...

I’d wish that every person was able to earn a living wage... and that everyone was able to access heath care... and that no pre-existing condition could ever be excluded from their coverage... I’d wish that we were all so empathically connected... that every misogynist man... knew just exactly what it felt like to be a demeaned woman... or to be objectified sexually... and that the rest of us knew what it was... knew deeply what it was... to experience racism... or poverty... or illness... or hunger... or homelessness... or addiction... or homophobia or transphobia... or xenophobia... or Islamophobia... or anti-Judaism... so that we'd finally get serious about economic and social justice... and that we understood that budgets are moral documents...

But the truth is... it’s no more up to me to be in charge of making these wishes... than it is for anyone else... because we're all in this together... and we are called to discern these things in community... and reach as much consensus as we could... because whether we’re Christian or not... we are all tied together in unfathomable ways... connected in ways that transcend religious labels... it's just that some of us know it... and some of us don’t...

And I don't think that Paul’s letter to the Galatians could be any clearer... God is not mocked... we reap what we sow... individual choices... and national choices... have consequences... we can't plant wild grapes... and expect cultivated grapes to grow... and Paul calls up short those who think they can make it look like they’ve changed on the inside... when all they’ve really done was change on the outside... that’s why he says it doesn’t matter whether you’re circumcised or not... what matters is whether or not... all of us... are becoming the new creations that Jesus seeks...

And so Jesus sends the disciples out to encourage them... the first sending was in Luke 9:1-6... when Jesus called the twelve together... and sent them out to proclaim the kingdom... and cast out demons... and heal... this second sending... is for them to be his representatives... to pave the way as it were... to make sure there’ll be a fitting welcome... in all the places he intended to go...

Jesus tells them to carry nothing... just bring Jesus’ Word... and his peace... ] and if they're received... stay... and if not... go... but let those people know... plant the seed that God’s kingdom had come near to them... and it’s they who chose to reject it... it’s they... whose own shortsightedness prevents them... from more fully realizing who God created them to be...

Disciples of Christ minister Anna Watkins wrote that today's texts from Isaiah and Luke are decidedly fleshy... this closing text in Isaiah tells of a coming restoration of Jerusalem and her people... and uses the metaphor of a mother’s body and her nursing child... the consoling breasts... the sure hold of her comforting arms... the joyous bounce on her strong knee... there is a closeness... an intimacy to this comfort... which the prophet hoped to convey...

And while today's Gospel isn't as obviously about the body... the thread is still there... this text is about a band of disciples testing out their sea legs of faith... and as these disciples are instructed not to pack any bags... they go equipped only with the Gospel and the hope of hospitality... they will depend on those they meet to care for their bodies and provide for their food... shelter... and safety... and they are encouraged to enjoy whatever is offered by their hosts... but they are not expected to stay where they're not welcome... they're not expected to endure suffering... but what is expected of them is vulnerability... a reliance on God's' grace and provision to aid them as they journey in faith... and as a result... they experience the strength... resilience... and capacity of their bodies to manifest the power of God while they welcome and heal others...

And like the disciples in that generation... and in every generation since then... we have experienced increasing degrees of wholeness... but it takes time... Psalm 90:4 reminds us that for God... a thousand years are like yesterday... sometimes it's two steps forward and one step back... and that's because the decisions and choices we all make... interact with each others' like ripples on a pond... and sometimes theirs help carry ours along... and sometimes theirs cancels ours out...

And so... in the long run... I really don't need Aladdin's lamp at all... because we already own what we need to accomplish all that God desires for us... it's a gift called free will... we just need to choose it... and use it...

As Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe wrote just three days ago... The Episcopal Church was once the church of presidents... but it must now become an engine of resistance... because we are being faced with a series of choices... between the demands of the federal government... and the teachings of Jesus... and [ really ]... that is no choice at all.

But if I could make just one wish... it would be for all of us... to pray... that God guide us to perceive what is right... and grant us both the courage to pursue it... and thegrace to accomplish it... Holy God... make it so... Amen.