Daniel had a dream

"No! No! No!"

"Yes! Yes!  Yes!"

Daniel was a wise prophet who always prayed to God and kept God's laws.  When God called on Daniel, Daniel always said, Yes!  Yes!  Yes!  When foolish kings tried to stop Daniel from acknowledging his God, Daniel always said, No!  No!  No!

One night, Daniel had a dream and he wrote it down.

The waters were stirred up by a mighty wind and four great horrific beasts rose from the deeps.  No!  No!  No!

One was like a lion with eagles' wings that walked like a human on two feet.  No!  No!  No!

The second was like a bear with three tusks in its mouth.  No!  No!  No!

The third was like a leopard with four wings of a black bird and four heads.  No!  No!  No!

The fourth was terrifying and dreadful beyond description, exceedingly strong.  It had great teeth that were devouring and breaking and feet that were stomping and crushing.  It had ten horns and spoke arrogantly.  No!  No!  No!

The four beasts took dominion over the land and ruled it with terror.  No!  No!  No!

As Daniel watched the Ancient of One, dressed in pure white with hair like wool,  took his seat upon a great throne.   From the Ancient One radiated fire and light.  The Ancient One was attended by thousands and tens of thousands who sang praises and bowed down before him.

The Thousands and tens of thousands bowed to the Ancient One and said, Yes!  Yes!  Yes!

The Ancient looked out over the thousands and tens of thousands attending him.  The Ancient One said, Yes!  Yes!  Yes!

The Ancient One looked out over the sea and all creation and said, Yes!  Yes!  Yes! 

The Ancient One held court, opened the books and sitting in judgement said, Yes!  Yes!  Yes!

The Ancient One looked to the beast that had risen from the deeps and said, No!  No!  No!

As Daniel watched the great beast was put to death and the beast cried out, No!  No!  No!

But the thousands and tens of thousands cried out, Yes!  Yes!  Yes!

Dominion was taken away from the other four beasts and the beasts cried out, No!  No! No!

But the thousands and tens of thousands cried out, Yes!  Yes!  Yes!

As Daniel's dream continued, he saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven.  And he came to the Ancient One and was presented before him.  He bowed to the Ancient One and said, Yes!  Yes!  Yes!

To him was given dominion and glory and kingship.  His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed.  And the thousands and tens of thousands said, Yes!  Yes!  Yes!

Daniel was trouble for the visions terrified him.  So he approached on of the attendants to ask him concerning the dream and he said, "As for these four great beasts, trouble and pain, power and suffering, wealth and greed, oppression and hunger will come and go from the earth.  Kingdoms and empires, dynasties and alliances all come to an end.  But God's love is forever and the holy ones of the Most High shall rule forever and ever, without end."

And the thousands and tens of thousands say, Yes!  Yes!  Yes!

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

Jesus had been teaching about the Kingdom of God.  Mostly he had been teaching how the Kingdom of God was nothing like what people assumed it was like.  It wasn't a place that one could "get into"; Jesus said it was already among us.  There were no signs that would tell us when it was coming; we wouldn't understand the signs if there were.  We would long to see the Kingdom of God, but it wouldn't appear to us, but then when we least expected it, we would be there.  Jesus asserted that we must, like the persistent widow, pray always and never lose heart.

Jesus noticed that some of the people listening to him were very self assured.  The Pharisees thought that because they followed all the rules from the Bible exactly the way they read them and that because they were direct descendants from Abraham, they didn't have to worry about the Kingdom of God.  The Pharisees thought they were righteous enough and didn't have to listen to Jesus.  But they treated other people, poor people, uneducated people, people who were not as religious, and people who had different ethnic and religious backgrounds with contempt.

So Jesus told this parable:

"Two men went up to the temple to pray.  One was a Pharisee and the other a Tax collector.  The Pharisee knew he was well respected.  But everyone hates a Tax Collector.

"The Pharisee stood aside and prayed aloud, 'Lord, I'm so glad that I am better than other people…"

"While the Tax collector prayed, 'Into your hands I place my life, O God; to you, I give my soul.'

"The Pharisee prayed out loud, 'Lord, I'm glad I'm not like thieves, rogues or adulterers!'

"While the Tax collector prayed, 'Into your hands I place my life, O God; to you, I give my soul.'

"The Pharisee prayed out loud, 'Lord, I'm glad I'm not like this worthless Tax Collector who takes money from Jews and gives it to the Romans while pocketing a large cut for himself!'

"While the Tax collector prayed, 'Into your hands I place my life, O God; to you, I give my soul.'

"The Pharisee prayed out loud, 'Lord, I'm glad I'm not like other people who are gluttons and drunks and have no self-control; I fast twice a week!'

"While the Tax collector prayed, 'Into your hands I place my life, O God; to you, I give my soul.'

"The Pharisee prayed out loud, 'Lord, I'm glad I'm not like people who are cheep and selfish and do not honour your presence: I give a tenth of all my income to the Temple!'

"While the Tax collector prayed, 'Into your hands I place my life, O God; to you, I give my soul.'

"It is the Tax Collector rather than the Pharisee who is in right relationship with God.  Because those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted."

The Widow Said

Jesus had just told Pharisees that they will not know when the Kingdom of God is coming.  It would come, not with things that could be seen, because it is already among them. 

Then Jesus told the disciples that the day would come when they would long to see the coming of the Son of Man, but they would not see it.  Jesus told them that everything would seem just as always: people would eat and drink, get married and have babies, work and plant, build and sleep and suddenly, without any warning, everything would be different.  Some people would see and some people wouldn't.  This made the disciples anxious and frightened.

So Jesus told them this parable.  He said,

"You must do as the widow did.  The widow said:

I will pray and trust in God.

"In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people.  In that same city, there was a widow.  The widow wanted justice against her opponent so she went to the Judge.  But the Judge wouldn't listen to her.  And the widow said:

I will pray and trust in God.

"So the widow returned to the judge day after day.  And each day the judge refused to hear her case.  And each day the widow said:

I will pray and trust in God.

"Day after day after day the widow returned to the judge.  And day after day after day the judge turned her away.  And day after day after day the widow said:

I will pray and trust in God.

"This went on for a long time.  The widow making her plea, the judge refusing her and the widow saying:

I will pray and trust in God.

"Finally, the judge said to himself, 'Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.'

The widow rejoiced and said:

I will pray and trust in God!

"Listen to what the judge says," said Jesus.  "And will not God grant justice to the chosen ones who cry out day and night?  Will God delay long in helping them?  I tell you, God will quickly grant justice to them.  And yet, when the Kingdom of God comes, will God find people who pray and trust in God?"

And so when we are feeling fear and doubt, anxiety and injustice, frustration and oppression, may we have the faith the widow had, may we do as the widow did and may we pray as the widow said:

I will pray and trust in God.

A Sign from Heaven

When I say each of the following words, you respond with the appropriate response. 

 

Crowd: "Grumble, Grumble, Grumble"

Jesus: "Teacher! Rabbi!"

Sign: "Slow Down: Proceed with Caution!"

Bread: "Mmmm, Yum!"

Moses: "Holy Moses!"

Manna: "What's that?"

Heaven: "Alleluia!"

A sign from heaven.  After eating their fill of bread and fish the crowd went looking for Jesus.  When they found him on the other side of the Sea, the crowd said to Jesus, "Rabbi, when did you come over here?"  Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you,  you are looking for me, not because you saw a sign, but because you ate your fill of bread.  Do not work for food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life."  The crowd said to him, "What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you?  Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'Moses gave them manna from heaven to eat."  Then Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you Manna from Heaven, but it was my Father who gives you true bread from heaven.  For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."  The crowd said to Jesus, "Sir, give us this bread from heaven always!"  Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life.  Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."

A Song of Great Sadness

Today we hear a sad song from the book of Lamentations about at time when the city of Jerusalem was conquered and her people were taken away into exile.  So the city itself is depicted as grieving.  But in the distance, we can hear the echo of a promise remembered.  When I say, "We remember…" You recite the response printed in you bulletin.  At first we will whisper it as a tiny echo from a long ways away, but as we repeat it we will get louder each time until we say it loud and confidently at the end.

A city that once was full of people, now sits lonely on a hill!  How like a widow she has become, she who was great among the nations.  But we remember...

The steadfast love of God never ceases; God's mercies never come to an end

She who was a princess among the provinces has become a servant.  She weeps bitterly in the night, with tears on her cheeks, among all her lovers, she has no one to comfort her; all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they have become her enemies.  Judah has gone into exile with suffering and hard servitude; she lives now among strangers and finds no resting place; her pursuers have all overtaken her in the midst of her distress.  But we remember...

The steadfast love of God never ceases; God's mercies never come to an end

The roads to Jerusalem mourn, for no one comes to the festivals; all her gates are desolate, her priests groan; her young girls grieve, her lot is bitter.  Her foes have become her masters, her enemies prosper, because the Lord has let her suffer: she would not care for the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the sick and she embraced politics, gold and deceit rather than the love of God.  But we remember...

The steadfast love of God never ceases; God's mercies never come to an end

Her children have gone away, captives before the foe.  All her majesty has departed Jerusalem.  Her princes have become like stags that find no pasture; they fled without strength before the pursuer.  But we remember...

The steadfast love of God never ceases; God's mercies never come to an end

God's mercies are new every morning; God's Faithfulness is great.  The Lord is our portion.  We hope in God.  The Lord is good to those who wait for him and to the soul that seeks him.  It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of God.   And we remember...

The steadfast love of God never ceases; God's mercies never come to an end