Homily fo Proper 14 C, August 8, 2010

Homily for Proper 14 C
August 8, 2010

My sisters and brothers, we must be prepared, you simply can’t know when you will meet the Lord!

As Bill was approaching mid-life, physically he was a mess. Not only was he going bald, but years of office work had given him a large pot belly. The last straw came when he asked a woman co-worker out on a date, and she all but laughed at him. That does it, he decided. I'm going to start a whole new regimen. He began attending exercise classes. He started working out with weights. He changed his diet. And he got an expensive hair transplant. In six months, he was a different man. Again, he asked his female co-worker out, and this time she accepted.

There he was, all dressed up for the date, looking better than he ever had. He stood poised to ring the woman's doorbell, when a bolt of lightning struck him and knocked him off his feet. As he lay there dying, he turned his eyes toward the heavens and said, "Why, God, why now? After all I've been through, how could you do this to me?"

From up above, there came a voice, "I’m sorry Bill. I didn't recognize you."

Our first reading today introduces some of the prophet Isaiah's most famous themes. He poetically dramatizes God’s detest of empty worship. If people will not live by the divine ethic, there worship is hypocrisy. Specifically Isaiah calls us all to: seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, and plead for the widow. In our modern way of speaking he is telling us to care for and champion people who have been pushed to the margins of society. Isaiah speaks mostly to the rulers or nobles of his day, but also to the entire populous. All share responsibility to right injustice and callousness of their day, as we do in our day.


The author of Hebrews uses the Abraham “Father of the Nation” to illustrate the importance of faith in and faithfulness towards God. Earlier he has urged his readers to recall the time after they were baptized. They had endured many hardships: public abuse, persecution and plundering of your possessions. He urges them to be like Abraham and not abandon their confidence in God. Christ will come again; keep your faith in him.

From Luke we heard Jesus urge us to not be afraid of God’s judgment or the day of our death. All who strive to live by God’s plan are beloved by God and need not fear God. We are citizens of Heaven. Jesus nuances God’s ethical call in different ways than Isaiah but they are deeply complimentary. We are to avoid an over-attachment to possessions and share what we have with the needy. We are also to emphasize your relationship with God, integrity with God is lasting, but wealth ends with the grave. In short, be loyal and prepared servants of the Creator.

These readings pick up where our readings from last week leave off. Last week we were called to keep our priorities straight, not letting the demands of this world blind us to our place in the next. Now we hear more details about what that really means. 1, live by God’s ethical standards not those of this world; 2, keep the faith through good times and bad; 3, don’t be afraid of the end (God truly does love you) rather be prepared for the end!

My sisters and brothers, let us take this to heart, not fearing our final day but using each day simply and honestly to be ready to meet the one who made us and cares for us.