| Baptism
of the Lord January 8, 2006 |
Church
of the Covenant |
God And the City
Jonah 3-4 selected
Revelation 21:9-11, 22-26
Text Luke 9:51
"As time drew near for Jesus to be taken up he made up his mind and set his face toward Jerusalem.”
“Oh
beautiful for spacious skies,
where patriots’ dreams see beyond the years.
Where sparkling cities gleam, undimmed by human tears."
But our cities don’t gleam much if they ever did. The trouble is, neither do we dream anymore. Instead, they rot and decay, bringing tears to the eyes of all who love them and many who work at street level, while those who broke power too often rise high to comfortable offices where their view of the city is one of socialized development costs and privatized returns.
Most of the privileged live in removed neighborhoods with a highway system that was once seen as “the ribbon tying our land together,” which in truth allows us to speed above the ghettos to work and home again without reflection. The only places that gleam in many cities today are the coffers holding the coins of betrayal spread upon the desks of public self-servants.
If we ask, “What does the Bible have to say about cities?” we have to admit that the early Hebrews and many of the later prophets took a pretty dim view of them too.
“Come let us build a city and a tower with its top in the heavens. Let’s make a name for ourselves.”
Sounds like some of the “Fortunate 500" to me. Clearly what the folks of Babel had in mind was a once-and-for-all edifice reflecting that most fatal of all human inclinations, living independently from God. Babel wasn't the only biblical city to prove that God is not mocked.
Ezekiel lamented over Tyre, “You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. All who know you are appalled.”
Jeremiah lamented over Babylon, “Opulent city, standing by great waters, your end has come. Worthless now is for that which the nations toiled and people wore themselves out for nothing.”
A city by the water, maybe we are getting too close to home.
Such a dim view is easy to come by when you read Michael Roberts, who in December writing for Inside Business wrote,
“The most poorly covered election since democracy came to Cleveland; a blanket of apathy not only over the unfortunate, but for the privileged as well.” He goes on, “Growing public cynicism has promoted civic leaders to urge a more positive view of where we live, but feel-good campaigns can’t achieve much when citizens watch selfishness, corruption, and total disregard for those who are served.”
From rigged school attendance figures destroying a school board’s credibility to bloated superintendent salaries; from head start programs for the poor providing lavish living for its leaders, to politicians on all levels serving only themselves as they posture enough to accumulate pension time viewing government reform as some kind of Asian flu.
This sounds like the story of Nineveh. She was the New York, the Bangkok, the Rio of Jonah’s world. But Cleveland wouldn’t have been far behind Nineveh on the rating scale of cities. She was a conglomeration of peoples’ self-interest, perversions, and privileges. Every city has its unique flavor, but all have common characteristics. Every urban center, despite its culture, institutions of higher education, seats of law, and hubs of healing, is too-often a soulless place giving encouragement to everything there is to fear and offend.
Some years ago I was in a major city when a young man shoved a religious tract in my hand. There was a large evangelical group having a convention and to pave the way, a forward guard was out to save souls. After a quick look – the tract didn’t require much in-depth reading– I asked the young fellow what were his intentions.
“We’re bringing God’s word to the city,” was his reply.
“What is God saying,” I asked.
“Everyone here is going to hell if they don’t repent,” said the young man.
“What about God’s love,” I asked.
“Look mister, all I know is that cities are the devil’s playground. Now I have to get rid of these handouts so I can join my friends for dinner,” replied the young prophet.
Jonah had about as much motivation for mission to the city as that young man did. The only joy he took was the privilege of announcing that all the Ninevites were going to hell, and he couldn’t wait to see it happen. The people were beyond God’s reach and they deserved the misery that was of their own making. The world would be a better place as soon as urban removal was completed. As for that handful of inhabitants who might be okay, they could get vouchers for their kids and grab their bootstraps, because the gated communities were waiting.
When we look at our Bible’s cities, they don’t come off well, but not all the news is bad. Isaiah and early Christians like the writer of Revelation, saw them as symbols of hope, that God would one day provide, the world would know another way to live, and cities were points of vision. That too is this story of Jonah. It lays out our responsibilities as God’s agents.
The story of Nineveh summons God’s people to tell the inhabitants of the city that we are here “ready to expose not God’s anger, but God’s love. We are here not because God seeks to judge, but because of God’s desire for all of us to live life’s fullness. Of course, God knows our self-destructive ways regardless of where we reside, but God wants everyone to understand their responsibility to the whole. He wants us to know that if the city dies, the heart dies, and the body will quickly follow. There are no transplants available and the only pacemakers are those grounded in unconditional love.
Most of society’s ills are magnified here in the city. Yet forget not that it was in the city that God chose to enter the world. It was on the marginal edge of the city where garbage gathered, where his title had to be written in multiple languages, the kind of place where cynics talk smut, thieves curse, and soldiers gamble. It was there, (dare we say here?) that God was put to death. Yet it was here that God’s true nature is revealed in all its brilliance. It is for that reason alone we are summoned to say loud and clear,
“God cares about even the most alienated.”
“God cares about government and housing.”
“God cares about crime and education.”
“God cares about vacant store fronts and dirty streets.”
“God cares about public servants who abuse their privileges.”
Truth is God cares so much God sent servants to do something about these things. That’s why God placed a bunch of people in the middle of a place called University Circle, between “town and gown,” so that we can use our resources, talent, tradition, and influence on behalf of this city and those marginalized within for whom God clearly has a preference.
Jonah was a good religious type. He was about criticism, condemnation, finger pointing, and judgment. He could have easily been one of those lovely Christians who like to freeze doctrine rather that warm and widen their hearts. He was like a lot of Americans today who worry more about what divides us than about what connects us. He didn’t understand that God's unconditional love represents a state of perpetual danger, because it never plays it safe.
When God asked, “Shouldn’t I be concerned with Nineveh?” Jonah’s flip reply was, “In forty days and these folks will get what they have coming.” But there was a problem. It seems after hearing the message the people of the city from king to commoner began to think, “If God can wipe us out maybe God is big enough to give us life.” And banking on that they took a risk for the future and God, who never enjoys suffering, changed directions. Everybody was ecstatic except Jonah. Now what does that tell us?
A lot of you know of 4th Presbyterian Church in Chicago. The same architect designed both of our buildings and my friend, John Buchanan, has helped that congregation become one of the great influences in that city. When that church, sitting on the “gold coast,” decided its life depended not on the privileged, but on the ghettos, it became truly a church with a future.
It undertook a fourteen million dollar renovation project that included computer rooms and a library for their tutoring program and they sought grants for community service. “When the church searches for God’s call,” said one of the elders, “you find lots of ways to make ministry happen.”
I stand here today and say to you, “That needs to be our vision! Our tutoring program is wonderful, but imagine if we could add to it by teaching trades to minority young people who are shut out of union apprentice programs. Imagine bringing together Habitat and Home Repair Resources to give on-sight training. Imagine if we could promise college scholarships to those youngsters who achieve academic excellence. University Circle Incorporated has announced a billion dollar investment for this area, but will any of those funds reach those on the fringe of this circle of hope?
What might Case Western do for our city’s schools? Someone recently said to me,
“Throwing money at schools won’t make any difference. It’s only when our kids go to the city schools those things will change.”
What if our neighbor university started a revitalization of this community that included public education for all children like Temple in Philadelphia? What might all of us within this circle of responsibility who have resources and influence do to attract a housing movement back to the city? On January 29th University Circle Incorporated will be a part of our adult study and you might ask them some of these questions.
I am well aware that many of our members make personal and corporate decisions that reflect their faith and commitment to this city. This church has long invested in this community even when it was not popular or beneficial and I know we can’t be all things to all people. But the time has come for Jonah to get his hands dirty again and every person in this congregation has something to contribute to that effort. To paraphrase Desmond Tutu; “If you are neutral you have chosen the side of the oppressor or the problem. If an elephant has his foot on a mouse’s tail, you may say it’s not your problem. You may be concerned for the poor mouse, you may feel sorry for it, and lament its condition, but the mouse won’t appreciate your concern.”
God’s mercy, God’s steadfast love, and God’s desire is for all God’s children to realize their full potential. Let us not forget that while Jesus’ followers were afraid, cautious, hesitant, and mindful of the great obstacles and cost of following, that didn’t stop the incarnation of God from making up his mind and turning his face toward the city. So let us now follow the same road map into the future.
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