Occupy...a Thought

Three weeks ago I met in a casual gathering with some fellow clergy persons (male and female) and the question came up about the "Occupy" movement and how we are talking about that with our congregations. We were seemingly almost to a person happily surprised that none of us had broached the subject, because none of us could name what it exactly is about. Except of course for one member who claimed that we should all should be self flagellating over the horrible treatment by police to protesters in Oakland...but I digress.

I took heart that except for my one colleague most of us were allowing ourselves to be in that uncomfortable liminal area, where we live into and leave ourselves open to what is going on; remaining uncomfortable but not feeling the need to "solve" something and instead remain non-anxious as we await to see what this is (big thank you to my clergy mentor who gave me Heifetz's book on Leadership). We did agree that even though no one can seem to name what the movement about except by the broad bumper sticker describing the 99% v. the 1%, that there was - to paraphrase Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - "something happenin' out there," and that this would eventually coalesce into something.

Imagine my further surprise when yesterday another clergy colleague had on his Facebook Page a portion of an interview by Keith (I'm the liberal version of Rush Limbaugh) Olbermann with...David Crosby and Graham Nash who, having visited and sung at some of the Occupy parks shared their thought...that they could not name what this movement is but it would eventually coalesce into something we would understand. Unfortunately seeming just as important to them was the fact that the park people knew all the words top the CSN songs...I guess that makes me a part of THAT 99% as well!

Yet in the interview with the duo I heard AND misheard two important points. In fact my mis-hearing was actually a lightbulb moment for me. First, what they actually said was, that this movement was happening and growing because "they" (meaning the 1%) had no one figure or group that they could silence - either by arrest, or assassination (referring specifically to "character," I hope), etc. Now, and second, what I misheard, was actually something profound...that the 99 are protesting because THEY have lost THEIR figure or group to blame. Rove, "W," and Cheney are gone yet problems that were apparent due to their policies still exist, and are being carried forward by the current administration...and they (the 99) for some reason do not go after Obama.

Funny. Obama and the Dems who spread the wonderful story that their campaign was possible by the record donations of people like me who sent $5-$20 (note for the record, I always financially support both candidates so I sent $$ to McCain as well...but I digress), but they neglect to admit that their largest donor base was a certain group...from where...nope not Main St.....but this place called WALL St. So the 1% overwhelming supported this candidate over the other and gave more money than each of us. But, though us moderates can complain, the far left do not dare. Darn it, they have lost their pin the blame on the "W" prez, so they have no one else...so they take to the streets in much disarray and confusion and just complain. About what, I am not sure?

That the wealthy have too many tax breaks. I agree. That they do not pay for a college education for the non-wealthy? I disagree. I mean if it was just about that, why were not the Oakland occupiers at Obama's recent fundraising dinner where the cost of each plate would have sent a number of them to a four year university? I digress again.

So we will see where this will coalesce. Like many I hope this brings some sharing of the financial wealth for all. If you run the biz, make your money, buy a house, have a yacht, and send your kids to college, but don't save up to buy a country...let your workers make a decent wage. For the 99% we need to also be mindful of what got us into this mess. This appears to be the first generation of folks who were pushed by parents to do every athletic sport, get straight A's and be in every club. The generation of kids who all got "first prize" because they showed up for each game. The one's who were promised, and had modeled by their parents, that everything will be given to you in life...because YOU are special.

Yes, we all are special. We all have gifts from God; from the lowest on the financial ladder to the highest, but we are called to share the abundance, not hoard it. A hard message to give in a country where the Atheists seem to be winning. Hopefully this movement WILL mean something to all, if not, to paraphrase CSN, we all may find ourselves "Wasted on the Way."

Live in Tension

I finally am getting it. We have become a society of children, who can leave our sandboxes and play in just the perfect ones. With Twitter and Facebook we can "invisible" those we do not agree with, ignore them, or cast them so far out of our reaches that through those avenues they will never see us again. Great! But is it?

I love the Episcopal Church because in it we live in tension. "Are you a low church or a high church?" "Are you conservative or liberal?" "Do you accept gays/lesbians or do you think it is a sin?" For all of those, if you asked members of the wider church you would get one answer..."yes." There are those I agree with and those that make me cringe, but we live in the tension which allows us to be exposed to the thoughts of those who disagree with us and to hear...really understand where they are coming from. Allowing ourselves to be challenged only helps us to live out our humanity. We might become firm in our previous understanding, and yet we might be changed.

One political leader right now is getting lambasted over "flip flops" but whatever happened to changing one's mind. In my own short lifetime I have been pro-gun and anti-gun, pro-life and pro-choice, pro-death penalty and anti (pro-life again), and none of these at a predictable same time! In fact I have been back and forth more than once over each of these issues. In fact if I was to be honest the Rachel Maddow talking point folks would disown me, as would the Rush Limbaugh fans. So I guess I am extracated by both to the middle...and that is where I want to be.

We keep talking about Main Street...you know what Main Street is to me? That is the place where my parents and I lived on Lemp Ave. in the San Fernando Valley. It was where I would come home during election season and find our neighbor, a republican, asking my dad, a democrat, to sign a petition. Dad politely refused, and Mr. Ramey politely went to the next neighbor...and they remained friends and neighbors! Wow! I will never forget the election night in 1980 when my parents had the Ramey's over for dinner and drinks while we all watched the election returns. When their candidate, Ronald Reagan, won over Jimmy Carter - congradulations, handshakes and hugs went around...and it was good!

Recently I read of a fan of actor James Gardner who refused to buy his autobiography, after picking it up and finding how liberal he was. The fan threw the book down (according to what I gather) and is no longer a fan. Again...wow! When did we turn into a society of Hatfields and McCoys (or Maddows and Limbaughs). What happened to thinking the other person is wrong, but still loving them?

It is time my friends to take it back. Not everyone is religious, but I am, and Jesus says to "love God and love your neighbor" (and for the lawyers out there...we learn through a parable that "neighbor" relates to anyone who crosses our path). I wonder what might happen if we all take that sound advice and stop seeing each other as the devil, and instead look upon us as the conversation that must take place so that society can move forward and thrive.

If we contine to "block," and "delete" ourselves we will finally be left...alone...standing before a mirror...and that is NOT a society.

Salt

I have never been a salt fan, and thus salt has never been a fan of me. I think, when I was about 9 years old, I had my fill, when I spent an afternoon with my friend Johnny downing little miniature canisters of Morton's Salt! Who knows where we got them, but like future AA meeting attendees we popped those mini tops and downed shot after shot after shot of salt.

I get it, salt brings flavor, but too much...outch!

Probably for that reason, though I will never be sure...I gave up salt as I got older. No, I did not become Mr. Whole Foods/Trader Joes (though realities of life/health keep nudging me in that direction today) I just discovered that if one did not add salt, they became sensitive to the flavor that was already there.

Cool! So my life has been going fine since my Morton's binge in the early 1970's, and the salt shaker on the many tables I have been fortunate to grace have been either decorations (a turkey, or Christmas Tree - depending on the time of year) or some other shape, including something that looks like it comes from a diner in my youth. Regardless, all salt has been to me is something that I pass around or across the table. I am sure salt did not care too much for me so we kept our to our respective selves.

Yet, now salt is making his move....yes, quiet as he has been for years, I was shocked when he snuck into Starbucks. Why have salt in Starbucks!? I do not know...but when my daughter asked for a caramel mochiato (and no, I do not order what I cannot spell) with salt...they gave it to her! "I'll have a Cafe' Mocha, Soy, No Whip, With a $100 bill as a cup holder" got me everything, except the latter item, as well as a weird look from the boy/girl at the register who is saving his/her money to become a girl/boy - but that is another story....

So, salt is back. Salt has left the vat of french fries at Mickey D's, and the tables across America and has now tip toed into Starbucks. I have now heard about it on ice cream....

Okay, salt...you win this one...you have successfully "shaken" me for once!

Sermon After Pentecost, Proper 10, July 10, 2011

Rev. Peter K. Ackerman
St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church
Proper 10, Year A
July 10, 2011

The Moveable Seed

Back when I was starting out as a Production Assistant, I was working freelance in making television commercials. I was hired by one company and on the day before filming began they asked me to go up, early in the morning to the rooftop of the Million Dollar Hotel where we would begin shooting the spot the next morning. My purpose was to stand in the same place every half an hour and take a picture of the roof so that the director could understand which direction the shadows from the hotel’s giant sign, which rose above the rooftop, would travel. I was to arrive at 7am and take four pictures, one every half an hour for two hours. Easy enough.
Thus, as instructed I checked in with the desk clerk and found my way, via elevator to the roof level, and as instructed I went through the doorway and onto the roof. So far so good, until I realized that once the door closed behind me, that it was locked, and I could not open it up from the outside. I was basically trapped. I took my pictures, but used the time in between to try to figure a way out; a safe way out. Except for a rickety looking emergency ladder, which to get to meant taking a small leap downwards, there was no good option for me but to wait.
So I took my four pictures, and some additional ones until suddenly the door to the roof opened as a hotel maintenance person came out to do something. Imagine my elation. I was free! With my new found release I was able to get back to the rest of my day. That feeling of movement from a place where one is trapped to an area where goodness abounds is shared within our Gospel reading this morning.
Jesus tells us about a sower who scatters seeds extravagantly on the ground, and those seeds find themselves in varying conditions which relate to their ability to take root and grow. Some are carelessly strewn about upon ground where there is not soil. Others are in conditions of partial soil where they can begin to sprout, but never quite have enough room to go any further, while we are reminded of the good and abundant soil where roots can anchor, nutrients can feed the organism, and the plant can grow and flourish.
Jesus explains that this parable is an example of our own spiritual journey. Like the seeds we may find ourselves in various types of soil throughout our lives. From this we may get the understanding: “if I spend time in worship, reading and prayer; if I concentrate on living out what Jesus teaches me; and if I positively respond to the movement of the Holy Spirit and more then I am putting myself into that fruitful ground and because of that all that I am, and all that I do will have the opportunity to flourish.
Likewise, we can say that if someone pays no mind to their spiritual welfare, if they ignore any sense of a moral compass because it does not feed their individual desires, and simply ignore the needs of anyone else in the world, that person can be considered to be not on the best ground.
One trap we can fall into is the if we take this parable so literal that we come to the conclusion as seeds that we are stuck where we are, and there is no way out of the ground we happened tossed upon. Like being locked onto a rooftop, feeling helpless and trapped in our life is not a good thing, and our lectionary this morning helps us to see the grace that abounds.
In his letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul reminds us that we are more than an immovable seed; in fact we are more than just merely trapped in our humanity. Paul writes: “…you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you.” This is the grace that we can celebrate today. We are more than flesh, bone, and blood; we are adopted by God, loved by God, and given the opportunity to bask in the Good soil that contains God’s Word and Sacraments.
Returning to our Gospel, it will be helpful to understand that a parable is meant to hearken in them a sense of understanding for the hearers of the story. As author and Episcopal Christian Educator Jennifer Gamber put it is “(parables call) to mind our own experiences” (Your Faith Your Life, Jennifer Gamber, Morehouse Publishing, 2009, p.42).
So the use of the seed and ground imagery in this story is to assist us in understanding what it is like to be in areas of our life that feed spiritual growth and action as well as those locations that do not. Can you imagine areas in your life where the location does not allow your faith to take root and grow? Are there areas that have potential, but due to you, the circumstances, or the location that God’s fruitfulness gets choked off? Are there areas in your life, in addition to your parish, where the ground is good for the kind of grown God calls in and around you?
The good news is that the parable does not ask us to be immovable; the story does not suggest that we are stuck where we are. Instead as humanity we have the choice and the ability to move us to the best area we can for God to work in us and through us in this world. As always, the model of how to do this can be found in Jesus’ action in the reading this morning.
In the opening of our reading we are told that Jesus is sitting beside the lake, but the crowd was so great we can imagine that, with him on the ground, surrounded by so many people only a few could see and or hear him. Thus his message would, like the seed on so-so soil, would not spread to too many members of that group. Jesus does not allow what he has to say to be choked off, so what does he do? He moves his location; he puts himself on a boat in a lake. He goes to a place where all of the multitude can see him he goes onto the water where the natural acoustics of the water allow the gathered to hear him, he adjusts his location ever so slightly to that the seed of information he scatters falls upon the abundant and has the potential to bear good fruit.
The Good News this morning is that we do not have to feel trapped in our lives as we can follow Jesus’ example and make whatever necessary course corrections to guide us to the good soil. With God we are not trapped on a figurative rooftop unable to get out and to be of any use. With Jesus a door is always open for us to go through, the doorway is always available to take us to those locations Christ can take root, bear fruit, and bring forth God’s holiness into the world around us that needs it so badly.

Amen.

Sermon: Sunday, July 3, 2011: Proper 9, Year A. "The Yoke is the Easy Solution"

Reverend Peter K. Ackerman
St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church
Proper 9, Year A
July 3, 2011

Bill Figtzhugh is an author of fiction who usually includes mystery, adventure and large doses of humor in his books to good effect. One I particularly enjoy has as the protagonist; a Hollywood hot shot ad executive named Dan Steele who vast amounts of money on himself faster than it comes in and has become a success by skirting the edge of legality and morality. Dan is not all bad, however, especially when it comes to family. When his twin brother, a Roman Catholic priest comes back to town after contacting a serious illness while serving oversees, and with no insurance to speak of, Dan, creative thinker that he is, comes up with an idea. Dan decides to temporarily exchange identities with this priest-brother so that his sibling can receive the health care he requires under Dan’s excellent medical insurance policy

Of course this means that for a brief period, Dan must dress up in his brother’s clerical outfit so that this illegal act is not discovered by the insurance company (hence the book’s title…”Cross Dressing”). Of course problems do ensue. First there appears a former employee whose million dollar idea had been stolen by Dan and who is now out for murderous revenge on his once boss. Second, in the midst of this development Dan’s brother, the priest, dies in the hospital. To avoid being killed, and so he is not charged with fraud from the Insurance company, Dan fully immerses himself into his brother’s clergy identity in order to escape from his past errors. Thus the protagonist definitely has the burden of problems that he caused by his past decisions, but at the same time there is a solution to his difficulties right in front of him.

Our New Testament readings this morning remind us that there are problems that come forth from our humanity, but there is also a solution. The apostle Paul, in his letter to the Romans, this morning comes right out and owns what any of us can. He is human. Because of this, he is sinner. I am human. Because of this I am a sinner. You are human and thus you are sinners.

Paul, wonderful pastor that he is, does not just state the obvious problem about humanity falling into sin, but directs us to the solution, which is our relationship with Jesus Christ. Paul remarks in this letter that sin is anything that directs us from being centered in God and becoming self-serving instead of God serving. Think of it, according to Paul, sin is not just stealing, or committing a crime, but it is also in not caring for creation and for not loving your neighbor.

Thinking of sin in those terms really opens up the examples of how we serve ourselves instead of God. For instance, as we enter onto the ramp of one of the freeways around here, there are the times when the driver of a car realizes that he has to move over to get into the correct lane. The driver is one lane over from you and he does the correct thing; he signals and tries to move over into the correct lane, in front of you. What might you do? Might you not let them in, speed up a bit, and pass them up letting the driver continue to fend with their problem? Through this example we can recognize one of those ordinary events where we make a choice to serve ourselves and our needs or put God first, by loving our neighbor.

As Paul says, it is hopeless if we are going to be a people who only rely on serving our needs. Again, he gives us the antidote for the problem by reminding us that we can correct our course towards the road of the heavenly kingdom through Jesus Christ. The same Jesus who welcomes us in the Gospel this morning with the reminder “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Think about that. Jesus invites us always to live out our baptismal relationship with him. Jesus did not just die on a cross, he did not just rise from the dead, he did not just ascend into heaven, but he also opened up the path, the choice and the ability to lead us away from sin and to eternal life.

The added imagery this morning is that we are not left to our own devices. Jesus is willing and available to link up with us today. Like oxen sharing a yoke around our neck with his, Jesus is there to partner with us if we are merely willing to submit ourselves to that kind of Godly servanthood.

With Jesus, his burden is light. This means that in following Christ we can do so as who we are right now, today, in this moment. Being yoked with Christ does not mean that you have to carry a huge black leather bible around with you everywhere you go…you can if you want to, though! Following Christ does not mean that you have to sidle up to one political ideology, and following Christ does not mean you have to take a particular stand on a social issue. Following Christ means that we will be guided through OUR experiences, and through OUR lives, and through OUR worldviews and be shown how, with those, with us, we can serve God and not ourselves. Change may come upon us, certainly, but that will happen in God’s time in God’s way.

In the plot of the novel I shared with you there are the typical twists and turns and yet in all of this Dan Steele the sharp ad executive never quite loses some of the larceny aspects of his personality, but he does discover that a change comes over him as he continues to wear a clergy collar, and he begins to find some redemption in his life and he begins to no longer live to serve himself and his desires.

Today, Jesus Christ invites us to grasp our baptism life in a palpable way. We do not have to wear clergy collars around our necks (well…okay, two of us here do), we do not have to wear big crosses, we do not have to thump big heavy bibles in public. What we are invited to do is easy. Jesus invites us (to paraphrase The Message: modern day bible translation) "to walk with him, and to work with him. You do not have to actually physically wear anything special, and he won’t lay anything heavy or ill fitting on you." Perhaps today is the day, my brothers and sisters for you to take take the next step, and if need be, to allow Him to relieve you of your burdens. Sin may be the problem, but Jesus offers the solution. His yoke is easy, my friends, and his burden is light.

Amen.

Sunday July 3, 2011 - Proper 9, Year A

Sermon June 26, 2011. Proper 8, year A

The Reverend Peter K. Ackerman
St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church
Sunday After Pentecost, Proper 8, Year A
June 26, 2011

Gotta Serve Somebody

“You may an ambassador to England or France/ You might like to gamble, you might like to dance/ You may be the big heavyweight champion of the world/ You might be a socialite with your long string of pearls/…but your gonna have to serve somebody/ It may be the devil, it may be the Lord/ but your gonna have to serve somebody”

Some of you may recognize this as the lyric from Bob Dylan’s song “Gotta Serve Somebody.” When I was in high school I went to a Bob Dylan concert during what is known as the singer’s “Christian” period. It was an interesting period to see this performer in concert, because all he did was sing songs from his newly released Christian themed album “Slow Train Coming” and the yet to be released follow up “Saved.”

This took many Bob Dylan fans by surprise as they paid for concert tickets and heard these handful of songs without any previous greatest hits like “Just Like a Woman, “Blowing in the Wind, and more. Happily I saw Dylan in concert some years later with my wife Marie, but I still like the concert I saw by the then born again singer even with his preaching in between songs. He sang live the lyrics I quoted earlier – “it may be the devil, or it may be the Lord, but your still gonna have to serve somebody.”

I wonder if Dylan got the idea of this song from the Epistle from Paul that we heard this morning. In this letter to the Romans Paul makes the metaphorical point that if one is not a slave to God, then they have no choice but to be a slave to sin.

Thus, Paul appears to argue, if one must go into servanthood, might the better choice be to become a servant of God, for the good of humanity, for the good of the coming Kingdom and for the good of one’s soul? “You gotta serve somebody…it may be the devil, it may be the Lord, but you’re gonna have to serve somebody.”

Paul encourages his readers to make the right choice, the good choice, the Godly choice. In writing to Romans Paul is reminding them that with Jesus’ sacrifice “the way” has been opened for them, and for all, including us, to follow the Godly path. No longer is the worldly way the only way. No longer do we have to be dragged down the road of cyber and substance addictions, abuse, intolerance, general rudeness and more. Where are you pulled into world slavery? What binds, and confines your soul? Paul reminds us, that there is another way, another path, God’s way.

Throughout our days we are continually invited to take a certain path when a fork in the road presents itself. Which one do we take? We know which one we should, but perhaps many of us get along fine trying to straddle both roads yet I was reminded this week that this does not serve God either. As an author I was reading this week (Sawnthea Monroe – in Feasting on the Word, Year A, Vol.3, p. 186) pointed out humorist Dave Berry once said “a person who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter, is not a nice person.” One cannot be a “nice person” and not be nice. One cannot straddle the path of good and evil. One cannot serve sin and God. Yet we try to straddle these paths in our lives.

Likewise Jesus, from our Gospel this morning echoes Paul in the sense that he wants us to go “all in” onto the figuratively Godly path of our lives. “Whoever welcomes you, welcomes me. Whoever welcomes me, welcomes God.” If we put the idea of “welcome” into the “have a nice day” category as a saying on the mat at the front door of our home we lose some of the power of what Jesus invites us into. The sense of “welcome” Jesus refers to is the “action” variety – of service. To paraphrase then he is saying to us “whoever serves you, serves me, and whoever serves me, serves God.”

While Paul reminds us that we have the choice to serve someone, Jesus speaking to us through his disciples this morning reminds us that this choice is a relational one. A choice that strengthens our relationship to others, and thus strengthens our relationship to God, and God’s relationship to us. In 1979 I heard a rock star sing – “it might be the devil, it might be the Lord, but you’re gonna have to serve somebody.” This morning Paul directs us again towards “the way,” and Jesus shows us how to get there, by the use of the word that helps us to live the journey. Welcome, brothers and sisters….Welcome!


Amen.

5 Easter, Year A - Sermon

The Choice
I remember in Southern California one interesting day where the weather was just right, and if one timed it perfectly they could be in the snow and on a warm beach during the same day. So, there I began my day after a drive up to the Angeles Forest where there was snow. A little over an hour or so later I drove down the hill, stopped to change from winter wear into summer wear and by lunchtime I was at the beach working on my tan.
The climate was so perfect that I could choose a day in the snow, a day at the beach, a little of each. It was my choice, and I made it. If the choice was yours, what would you have done?
Choices have been one of the themes we can mine from our Easter Gospel readings the last few Sundays. Two weeks ago the disciples recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread, and had a choice; to remain in their saddened state over the earthly death of Jesus or to have a renewed spirit. The chose the latter and shared the news; reinvigorated by their witness the immediately share their experience with others.
Last week we were provided the parable from the Gospel of John reminding us of the image with Jesus as the Good Shepherd, offering his followers the choice to follow him ever closer towards the gate, to be led astray, or retreat.
This morning the disciples are faced with a choice in a time of fear. The reading takes place before the crucifixion but offers us a glimpse at what all followers wrestle with. As they grasp the understanding that Jesus will be leaving them upon his death they afraid. What will they do without him? Jesus reminds him that he and God have great love for them and that they need not be worried. They are together now, and because of that experience they have what it takes to continue his work. Also, they will again one day be reunited with him; in God’s heavenly kingdom they will be together. In short, he is telling them to not worry. Their fear emanates from the idea that they will lose Jesus. “Perish that thought,” is what he seems to be telling them. They WILL be together again. Yet the question hangs in the air, during that time of separation what will they do with it. They have a choice. What will they choose to do?
That question is yours as well. What will you chose? What will you do with your time here on earth? Like the disciples we have the opportunity to learn from Jesus, to visually recognize him in the world around us and breaking of the bread, as well as opportunities to hear his voice. We see, we hear, we learn. With that we have the choice to respond? What might that be?
In the Acts of the Apostles we see what the apostle Stephen does with his choice. He follows Jesus to the point that the end of his life echoes that of the Christ. Like Jesus, proclaims God, like Jesus Stephen is persecuted, tortured and put to death. Finally, like Jesus with his dying breath, Stephen asks God to forgive his persecutors. Stephen’s choice is to follow and imitate Christ.
Now, of course I am not advocating that we become martyrs here. Christian martyrdom was tied into the culture in the day for someone like Stephen who dared to live out his faith so fully. Though we are encouraged to also follow Christ faithfully, most of us will not be so threatened by our faith.
That is not to say it is easy being a Christian today. For instance, when Billy Graham was hospitalized a few weeks back I discovered this via an article on the internet. As many news pages have today there was a comment section below and I was saddened by the lack of angry diatribes against Graham and against Christianity. One in particular called him a carnival barker cheating people out of money and those who followed him a bunch of rubes. Now we all can probably think of carnival barker, flashy televangelists, but even the most skeptical people who looked into those types of preachers find Billy Graham to be the real thing.
I share this as probably a mild example of the temperature that Christians face out in the world today. It is not easy. We may not be killed for our faith, but it still is not easy to share our faith. It is not easy, but through our Gospel this morning Jesus reminds us that he is with us, and thanks be to God he waits for us, and what we do as we learn from Jesus until the time we are reunited with him is our choice. We do have a choice.
So does Saul who is quietly featured in our reading from the Acts of the Apostles. We only get this early glimpse of Saul as the crowd warms up to bring harm to Stephen as they go from one stage to another they throw of their coats as they prepare to get down to business. What is Saul doing? If we only look at this section of the reading we might answer “nothing.” He is just standing there. But the transformation accomplished by the men throwing of their coats might be the symbolism of the transformation to come soon when Saul has his conversion and becomes known as Paul.
We can be assured, however that Saul is not an innocent bystander. In fact the next chapter of Acts shows Saul hungrily going after Christians and bringing harm to them. Perhaps the dramatic appearance with the coats at his feet symbolizes to us the idea I remember once reading from Bishop Desmond Tutu, that in the face of cruel oppression if you stand by and do nothing, you implicitly give the oppressor permission to act.
Thus Paul reminds us that in the midst of living out our faith in whatever why we choose, we have a choice. The choice to the choice to recognize the Jesus in our midst, the choice to follow his voice, and today we are reminded that we have the choice to act accordingly, or, even with our inaction to allow oppression to continue.
The choice is ours my friends….the choice….what are you going to do with yours?

Amen