By Faith We Follow
This Gospel passage has never been a go-to favorite of mine. I happen to love my mother and mother-in-law. I don’t like the thought of division. I don’t particularly like conflict. But Jesus is not, of course, advocating for division. Instead, he is describing what happens in our world, our communities and even, sometimes, in our closest relationships.
In the Gospel, we get a picture of the human side of Jesus – stressed by injustice, oppression and pervasive sin – which is everything that goes against God. Jesus sounds frustrated that – despite all of his teaching to follow the Truth, the Word and the Way of God – people do not listen. They/we cling to the false security of Empire, possessions, comfort and status. And this breaks Jesus’ heart.
The Guthrie production of Cabaret portrays Berlin in the days before and after the Nazis take power. Prior to the takeover – the first act – no one is worried about anything. Eat, drink and be merry! And they are. If people had been paying attention they might have seen what was happening. But – in the play – no one was paying attention. They were comfortable – and oblivious to the world outside of their own little circle. They were just having fun. They assumed those other things “won’t affect me.”
But in the second half, we see that oppressive governments affect everyone. I won’t give away the way the show portrays the story – but you know the history. When the Nazis took over the country, people who didn’t “fit” the criteria of the day were killed or deported. In this case it was the Jews who were rounded up and sent to concentration camps; those who were considered “other,” or “queer” were also sent away and/or killed. The show ends with an ominous note.
When we put on this musical at Armstrong High school years ago, I wondered, how could the Germans not have seen? How could they have said nothing? Done nothing? Of course, there were some who did. Bonhoffer is our Lutheran hero. But other Lutheran pastors and parishioners said nothing. They got along to get along.
Today, my heart breaks every time I hear stories of the children of Gaza starving because parents can’t access food – and when they do manage to get to the distribution site – they are in danger of being killed.
“The United Nations reported that since May more than 800 people have been killed while trying to access food from distribution sites run by the “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation,” the new organization sponsored by Israel and the U.S.” It makes me wonder – why are the authorities attacking their own aid sites?
The Lutheran World Federation general secretary Rev. Dr Anne Burghardt expressed deep concern. She said, “We cannot look away as children are starving and people are unable to safely collect water from aid points,” she said. “Our humanitarian colleagues [the workers who are trying to help] are suffering alongside the rest of the population.” Many of them are hungry, exhausted, and struggling to carry out their duties to care for others…“One of them told us: ‘We see the toll in each other’s faces – our bodies thinning day by day since the ceasefire collapsed. The hunger is no longer invisible.’ ”
My heart breaks – as it should – with any news of injustice. But even more than other places, Gaza has a special place in my heart.
I will never forget the care that I was given by a family in Gaza. St. Olaf used to send a group of students and a teaching professor and guide every year to live in Jerusalem for a semester. For our Thanksgiving break, we decided it would be great to do something with the students from Berzeit University of Jerusalem. They wanted to go “home” to Gaza. So we boarded a bus with them and headed to Gaza where we were divided into “couples” and sent to our host homes. My friend Joe and I were hosted by an extended Palestinian family. I joined the men for dinner, sitting in a small room with mats on the floor and with one small TV in the corner of the room playing American cartoons. I think they were trying to learn English.
But it was after dinner that my heart warmed. I was invited to the women’s sleeping quarters. It was a small roomwith mats on the floor covered with warm blankets and filled with shy giggling girls, mothers with little ones and older women. I felt at home with them and fell asleep surrounded by these new “sisters” whose language I could not understand – except for the giggles.
That house has been destroyed. I don’t know what happened to the family. But they – like all the other families – have either fled the country, been killed or, if they tried to return are starving to death.
It was also at Gaza that I first came to understand how deep and how treacherous and divisive the conflict is between the Israelis and the Palestinians as half of us were invited to – unbeknownst to us-- participate in an illegal rally and the other half of the students were hidden away to “protect” them from the Israeli soldiers. All of the students – American and Berzeit made it back safely to Jerusalem after some lengthy negotiations by our leader but I suddenly realized that the conflict wasn’t academic or abstract. As Jesus said, conflict will happen – over faith, over land, over freedom as well as all of the tweedled beetle battles of our everyday lives.
We know how to tell whether or not it will rain or be a sunny day. Today we have technology and satellites to help us predict the wind, sun, rain – and lots of other variables too. But we still do not know how to interpret the present time.
Responding to the world around us seems overwhelming at best. It is tempting – like in Cabaret – to just ignore the noise of the news around us. But we do so at our peril.
Instead, we need to choose where we stand. Friends in Christ, let us stand with Jesus.
But wait. Where is Jesus standing?
+ Jesus is standing at the food lines in Gaza and in Crystal. + Jesus is standing with the Palestinian Christians in the rubble of their bombed church and with the Palestinian Muslims at their burned down mosque. And, Jesus is also standing with Jewish people whenever antisemitism rears its ugly head. Jesus is standing at all of those places right now.
+ Jesus doesn’t take ordinary sides because the power of sin is pervasive. Instead, we always find Jesus with the oppressed, the vulnerable and those in need. And that is where we need to be too.
Our lesson from the book of Hebrews reminds us that this has always been a challenge for people of faith. However, he encourages us to look to their example, and to hold fast to their example of faith – despite the challenges that came.
He writes, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely,” Notice this image for “sin.” It is like a cold wet pair of jeans that have been soaked through by a freezing rain and are stuck to you so tightly that you have to literally peel them off your body. Sin –everything that goes against the love of God – needs to be stripped away.
In its place, you are invited to the warmth of God’s love.
And so, as the the letter to the Hebrews proclaims, “let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us” – as if you were running in the Olympics with the great cloud of witnesses in the stands cheering you on. Let us join them in “looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. Heb 12:1-2
This is the gift of faith to which God calls us – the faith that – despite the challenges -- looks to Jesus to show us to Way, to proclaim the Truth and to give us – and our neighbors – Life with Christ Jesus.
Jesus, Savior, give us courage to stand with you by the side of those who are oppressed, vulnerable and in need. Grant us the faith to follow where you lead. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
August 17, 2025 + Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran + Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane
1 https://www.oikoumene.org/news/especially-in-times-of-global-crisis-we-need-international-and-ecumenical-organisations