“Turn, Turn, Turn”

Luke 6:20-31

Nov. 3, 2019 

Sermon by Rev. Caela Simmons Wood

First Congregational UCC of Manhattan, KS

There’s something that seems so wrong about looking up the weather on my phone and seeing a “winter weather advisory” the last week in October. Not okay, right? The first snowfall this week made for some pretty (and pretty unusual) sights around Manhattan. Beautiful orange and gold leaves resting in a perfect circle under perfect autumn trees….right on top of a white blanket of snow. Pumpkins on your neighbor’s porch...cute jack-o-lantern faces shivering in the cold. 

Halloween in Kansas may be 90 degrees or 20 degrees, making it challenging to figure out in advance how, exactly to pick out costumes for the kids. Anything that can be layered is usually a wise choice. When it’s 90 degrees we sigh in frustration at the heat….but we know the days of sweating are coming to an end soon. And when we put long johns under our costumes and curl around mugs of steaming cocoa while trick or treating, we realize that summer is really, truly over. Winter is on its way whether we like it or not. 

It’s one of those times in the year when we become particularly aware of the passage of time. The leaves falling off the trees remind us of the cycles of life and death that mark our humanity and connection with the Earth. All Saints’ Day in the Church calendar centers our thoughts on those who have gone before us, showing us the kind of people we want to be. And, of course, as we turn the calendar page over to November we can’t help but think of Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years….all times when we look around the table and notice who is no longer present, the new lives that have been added to our gatherings. 

It’s a time of the year when we are invited to remember just how temporary this all is. Life is a precious gift...and fleeting. The psalmist speaks to us words of caution, “The days of our life are seventy years, or perhaps eighty, if we are strong; even then their span is only toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.” [1] It seems a bit pessimistic to say that our entire lives are toil and trouble, but, hey, it’s nice to know that even ancient people also had a tendency for hyperbole. The psalmist is right, though, our days are soon gone and we fly away. 

All Saints’ is a day for remembering this. Funerals are also times when we pause and remember that none of us are promised another day. They also encourage us look to those who have flown away and ponder the ways they teach us how to live. For these reasons, funerals are some of the most powerful experiences of worship I’ve had. 

I’m thinking back to some of the funerals I’ve been a part of this past year...and what I experienced in those moments of worship. I am remembering the service we had in this sanctuary back in April for Candy Russell. Candy was a dear friend to several folks in our church and approached me several years ago to see if I would be willing to preside over her memorial service. I learned so much from Candy in our brief visits about how to live. When we gathered for worship here, members of her weekly meditation group led us in a time of silence where the Spirit of Love and Light was THICK in the air. It was holy. And I’ll never forget the words Candy gave me as a gift as she was nearing death. She told me she knew that her passing would feel like “being enveloped in Love” and that she had been practicing attuning herself to the loving vibrations of the universe in preparation for that moment when she would fly away into Love. Gathering to honor her life was holy. 

And I am remembering, of course, gathering for worship here less than two months ago for Gina’s son’s funeral. I never had a chance to know Colton, who died unexpectedly at the young age of 30. But as his family and friends generously shared their memories, I was reminded of some of the things that matter most in life. Paying attention to one another. Giving of ourselves generously to help out a friend or a stranger. Laughing, loving, enjoying small moments of joy like when our favorite team wins a game. And I was reminded of the fierce strength of a parent’s love when I saw Gina give the most beautiful, heartfelt reflection about his life….we were all gasping with laughter as she told stories from Colton’s childhood. Gina’s presence was a gift to us all that day. And seeing our congregation surround her in love, I know your presence was a gift to her, as well. 

Funerals are a time for remembering what matters most in life. And that’s what Jesus is talking about in the Sermon on the Plain we heard just a few moments ago. There is so much to unpack in this passage...I would need a whole series to do it justice, so please forgive me if you still have lingering questions and let me know if you want to talk about it more at coffee hour. 

The highlights of important things to notice about this passage, though….it’s clearly meant to be a sermon delivered to people who are poor and marginalized to give them hope. This sermon also exists in Matthew, but it’s given on a mountain. In Luke, Jesus comes down among everyday people and they stand on a “level place” together. He begins with blessings upon those who are struggling...the poor, the hungry, the mourning, the abused, excluded, defamed. 

New Testament professor Matt Skinner says that the word “blessed” might be better translated as “satisfied.” [2] He goes on to say that we have to be careful with how we understand the “woes” that come next (“woe to you that are rich, etc.”). That word in Greek is not a curse...it’s more of a heads up, pay attention. Skinner says it’s a bit like the English “yikes!” Heads up, rich folks, you’ve already got it good. Pay attention, people will full bellies, you will also be hungry someday. Watch out, all of you who are laughing, sad moments are also ahead. 

One way to understand all of this, of course, is within the wider context of God’s preferential treatment of the poor. Just like Mary sings in Luke 1, “God has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly.” Given that the next part of Jesus’s Sermon on the Plain is about helping those who are abused figure out how to survive and thrive within oppressive systems, I certainly think this is a valid reading of the text. [3]

This week when I read Jesus’s sermon in the light of All Saints’ Day, I also found another level of understanding that was new to me. “Be satisfied,” Jesus says to those who are hurting….because it’s not forever. “Pay attention,”Jesus says to those who have it good….because that’s not forever either. 

In Jesus’s words we hear an echo of that ebb and flow that we see as the leaves fall from the trees….seasons come and go. New life follows death. The bulbs wait in the frozen ground for the thaw that will come when the days lengthen. 

My neighbor to the west has one of those beautiful orange trees that dropped most of its leaves this week. Those orange leaves remind me of the marigolds that are used in Día de Muertos observances. A patch of color against the gray sky...a reminder that we humans come and go, but love and beauty remain. 

Our neighbors to the north celebrated Diwali this past week, a Hindu celebration of light and gratitude as the days grow shorter. Their home is adorned with small lights and a garland of paper flowers. I’ve always thought that Diwali garlands look very similar to the marigolds used for Día de Muertos. Bright yellows and oranges and reds….which remind me, of course, of the orange jack-o-lanterns on my own porch. 

Inside each, a small, orange, flickering flame. Blazing brightly as the night closes in….a light that shines in the darkness and will not be overcome. 

It seems that people all over the world are trying to say similar things in different languages and cultures.

This is a season of gratitude. 

This is a season for remembering what really matters. 

This is a season for honoring those we love….those that are still here with us and those who live on in our hearts. 

This is a season for being aware of how fleeting and precious life is. 

And a season for knowing, really knowing, that when our time comes to fly away, we will be enveloped in Love. 

May it be so. 

Amen.