There was a television comedy about an army hospital in the the Korean War. Some of you may have heard of it. It was called M*A*S*H.

One of the characters was a Catholic priest serving as a chaplain to the unit.

There was an exchange between the priest, Father Mulcahy, and a psychiatrist, Dr. Freedman: They’re talking about the psychiatrist’s success, and Freedmen says

Maj. Sidney Freedman: Sure. I’ve sent dozens of kids back to the front and they’re fine now.

Father Francis Mulcahy: It hurts to think you might lose even one, though, doesn’t it?

Maj. Sidney Freedman: See, when Pierce or Hunnicutt lose one, he’s out of his misery.

But when I lose one, I’ve lost a mind.

Father Francis Mulcahy: When I lose one, I’ve lost a soul. Well, I guess it’s all in how you look at it.

You may not be surprised that I have a number of friends who are clergy. And even among my more confident friends, there’s a bit of concern about where we’re leading people.

I think that’s healthy. If you’re driving, you want to periodically check whether you’re on the right route. If you’re driving a bus, it’s even more important.

Let’s go to God in prayer.

God of wisdom, may the words that I speak, and the ways they are received by each of our hearts and minds, help us to continue to grow into the people, and the church, that you have dreamed us to be.

Amen.

The last verse of today’s Gospel reading is

“Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.”

– Luke 6:26 – NRSVue

Saying what the people want to hear is a sure way to popularity. Saying what the people need to hear risks… consequences.

Pastors often try to thread the needle here: If they push too hard, people leave the church, or they ask the pastor to leave. If they don’t push enough, they’re not really being effective.

I ride a motorcycle, which has a manual transmission and a clutch, and my previous car had a manual transmission as well. So I like to think of preaching as getting a vehicle with a clutch to move: Ease on the accelerator and ease off the clutch. Too much accelerator and the vehicle leaps forward, and maybe “bucks,” faster and slower until it settles down. Too fast letting off the clutch and the engine dies.

Push too hard on encouraging the congregation to move forward and they may quickly take up tasks and just as quickly be exhausted. Hand the congregation too much to do without encouragement and they may quit.

The Bible is full of stories of people turning against the prophets, with terrible consequences for the prophets and the people. But listening to people who just tell you what you want to hear isn’t that great either. And maybe it’s not best to just be popular.

So who does Jesus say is blessed?

• Those who are hungry.
• Those who weep.
• Those who are hated, excluded, reviled, and defamed.

Those don’t sound like blessings.

But those people are on the Jesus side, on the God side.

• Who are not so blessed?
• Those who are rich.
• Those who are full.
• Those who are laughing.
• And of course, those who are popular, just like the false prophets.

As a pastor in the United States, I’m not supposed to take a position for or against any politician or party.

But I can take a stand for or against policies. And I take exception to those who are rich when they restrict aid to those who are poor. I condemn those who are full who take food away from those who are hungry. I rebuke those who are laughing, especially when they laugh at those who weep. And I take a stand against those who are popular when they hate, exclude, revile, and defame those on the margins of society.

So what can we do?

We can all be prophetic voices.

When our representatives in government are on the wrong sides of these issues, we must contact them: by phone, by email, by postcard, by letter, by any means at our disposal.

And I’ve heard arguments about the best ways to do these things: that postcards are better than letters because they don’t have to go through as many checks for added substances; that email is bad because just gets deleted, but also that email is good because it gets counted; that calling is bad because you can’t get through and that it is good because staffers hear real people.

The one thing I have heard consistently is that just copying-and-pasting the same talking points is not as effective as writing or saying something from the heart.

What I do know is that contacting representatives is better than not contacting representatives, no matter how you’re doing it.

But what if your representatives are already on the same page as you? What then? Contact them anyway. You can bet those who disagree with them are contacting them.

Imagine if you were advocating for Dalmatian puppies to not be made into coats. And you got ten letters a day saying you were wrong.

That might get you down after a while.

But what if you also got twenty letters a day from people who said “save the puppies!”

What if it was 100 a day?

We talk a lot about how to give to help our neighbors, but serving our neighbors is not just giving money to charity, or buying food items for the pantry or Food for People.

It’s also taking a stand for a nation – and a world – where they need for charity is decreased.

It’s taking a stand in favor of diversity, so that many people are represented. It’s about taking a stand in favor of equity, so that people who had less advantages at the start may have the same opportunities as someone who started with great advantages.

It’s taking a stand for inclusion, so that people’s voices may be heard. It’s taking a stand for accessibility, to remove barriers that prevent gifted, talented, and dedicated people from participating.

It’s about taking a stand for our neighbors in other lands who are in need of food and medicine.

It’s about taking a stand for justice.

My challenge to all of us this week is to speak up. Speak to those who represent us in government. Make a case for what we believe is right. Persuade those we disagree with. Encourage those we think are on the right path.

Let’s be prophetic voices, not just for us, but for our neighbors.

Even for our less popular neighbors.

Maybe especially for our less popular neighbors.

Amen.

Let’s sing number NCH 498 Jesu, Jesu, Fill Us with Your Love

* Scripture quotations marked NRSVue are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. https://www.friendshippress.org/pages/about-the-nrsvue

* Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James version of the Bible.