Inspired by Exodus 32:9-14, Acts 8:18-24, Matthew 22:1-10
When I say the word, “grounded”, what is the first definition that comes into your mind? Did you flash back to an earlier time in your life when you made an error in judgment and were placed under house arrest by one or more of your parents? Perhaps, if you are an electrician or someone who understands these things well, you thought about the fact that grounding provides a safe outlet for excess current in an electrical circuit. Finally, you may have thought about when your life is grounded in knowledge, beliefs, meaning and purpose - how important that is to anchor your life and keep you from being blown off course.
It is this latter definition that I want to reflect upon today. It may be that you had parents and/or other important adult figures in your life who taught you important life lessons of how to be in the world. These mentors said things to you as you walked out the door like, “Remember who you are!” By this they meant that you were not just an individual with no tether to anything – you were part of a larger story. You were grounded in a family system and set of formational stories that went back generations and held great meaning. Your actions and choices reflected back onto the entire family both present and past.
Alternatively, you may not have come from such a family system, and you had to discover through trial and error what behaviors and teachings could ground you and keep you moving in a positive direction. Along the way you probably tried many other paths and discovered that they led to dead ends or otherwise were not helpful or life-giving. Since you are sitting here this morning, I’m going to assume that you are at least somewhat familiar with, grounded in and have chosen “The Way” of Jesus which leads to abundant life.
Our scripture readings for today contain stories about how our spiritual ancestors were not sufficiently grounded in their trust in the covenants of God and the things that happened because of that lack of grounding. Peter and John are sent to Samaria to follow up on the baptisms and miracles that Philip was doing. A sorcerer named Simon was following Philip and wanted to have the power to give the Holy Spirit to people. So, Simon offered Peter and John money to purchase the ability to inspire people. Peter told Simon the sorcerer that even though he had been baptized into the faith, his heart was not grounded in a right relationship with God and in fact he was bitter and full of sin.
The narrative from Exodus is the iconic “Golden Calf” incident at the foot of God’s Mountain. The Israelites were still a rag-tag group without a foundational ideology or theology. They were still figuring out who they were now that the were no longer enslaved in Egypt. Though God provided manna every morning and quail every night, though God went before them as a pillar of fire at night and cloud in the day, and though they could hear the voice of God from the mountain, they were still not grounded in a relationship with God. Because of this lack of grounding, they were prone to fall back into their old ways and as soon as Moses was absent for a bit of time, they convinced Aaron to make them a calf like they worshipped in Egypt. That lack of grounding almost cost them everything.
Jesus continues to speak in metaphor about the kingdom of heaven and in today’s reading compares it to a wedding banquet. The king (aka God) has prepared a lavish wedding feast for his son. Everything is ready and the king calls all those invited to come and eat. However, those who had been invited snubbed the king and did whatever they wanted to do, including killing the king’s emissaries. The king responded in kind and then sent his servants out to invite all the people they could find, good and bad, to come until the hall was filled. God will always find people to fill God’s kingdom – but we have to accept the invitation.
Three different scriptures from three different parts of the Bible that are all speaking to the same issue…on what are the people of God grounding themselves? This is an incredibly important question for our day and time as well, because the stories that ground us - that help us understand God, the world and our place in both, are what we fall back upon when we have to make life decisions. Look at the Israelites at the foot of God’s Mountain. They didn’t really have a grounding philosophy or theology when Moses went up the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments. Because they weren’t grounded in a belief and trust in Moses and God, they became anxious, and to relieve that anxiety they fell back into worshiping in the way they had in Egypt for generations. The lack of grounding faith and trust in God led them to sin.
What are the foundational stories that ground you? We all have these foundational stories that orient our decision making and our lives. Since most of you are baptized Christians, are you grounded in the baptismal vows of the Church? How about the teachings of Jesus? Perhaps the Ten Commandments or even better the Two Great Commandments of Jesus? Too often in our day, I find baptized Christians grounding themselves in a mixture of worldly ideologies and cliches with a sprinkle of Jesus thrown in for good measure. This amalgam leads them to make decisions a lot like the Israelites at the foot of God’s Mountain – they opt for worldly comfort and control instead of trusting in God.
All is not lost, however, we can all learn to love God and neighbor in a way that grounds us in a resilient faith and hope. Helpfully, Rev. Sam Wells unpacks the wedding parable in Matthew by focusing on the role that baptism plays in grounding our lives in God. He writes, “…Baptism is [meant] not just a ceremony with words and water, but also a new social location and putting the rest of one’s life in jeopardy in order to enjoy being at the wedding banquet. If you weren’t prepared to take steps to show that being at that banquet meant everything to you, then you’d best not be there.
In other words, making a difference has a particular connotation for Christians…It means that God has already made the difference that matters in Christ, and the crucial way we respond is to allow ourselves to be made different by that crucial difference. Baptism is the definitive moment when Christians say, ‘I am allowing myself to be made different by the difference made by Christ.’…Baptism signifies…being made different, being remade, being reshaped in accordance with the difference made by Christ. Simply seeking to make a difference in the world without first allowing oneself to be made different may be little more than respectable narcissism. The banquet is for people who know that the question that really matters is, ‘Have you been made different? Have you allowed Jesus to make a difference in you?...’”
This is the grounding that makes our lives special and important. It is not the careers we occupy, it’s not the wealth or education we amass, it’s whether or not our baptisms have transformed us into different people. Through our baptism we die to our old selves and then learn how to be something new. We put away our grounding in worldly wisdom and meaning and find our wisdom and meaning in the teachings of the Christ. The more firmly we are grounded in the teachings of Jesus the more we are able to put the things of the world in their proper place – and make kingdom decisions to feed the poor, house the unhoused, advocate for justice for all people, share our resources with those in need and give ourselves wholly to God and God’s will.
This is what Jesus is trying to teach us. All these parables, these metaphors about what the kingdom of heaven is like – he’s trying to ground us in the reality that the kingdom of heaven is here and now. Jesus is saying loud and clear, “Remember who you are and to whom you truly belong!” Jesus is saying remember and then go and live as beloved children and heirs to the kingdom of God. Jesus reminds us that through our baptisms we are incorporated into the continuing story of God, humanity and all creation. Jesus reminds us that we are all grounded in the two Great Commandments and it is our choice to live them out into the world, or to choose to worship a far inferior man-made image instead. When we are truly grounded in our baptism covenant and the Word made flesh, then our choices become crystal clear. Thanks be to God, amen!