Game Night: Monopoly (Hometown Edition)
Author: Kathryn Johnston
January 26, 2025
Luke 4:14-21
Then Jesus, filled with the power of the
Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding
country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.
When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the
synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the
scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found
the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he
has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim
release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the
oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” And he rolled up
the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the
synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, “Today this
scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Welcome to Game Night!
Not
the event, but the sermon series.
During COVID our family bubble, which included, me
Martha, Will and Martha’s oldest – Edward – engaged in a game called Betrayal Legacy. This game was designed to take place over several sessions, so
every Sunday afternoon we would gather to play and Mom would come over to
spectate and knit.
Every time we played the game, we built on the
decisions and the card decks that had been created during the previous times we
had played it. Every week was a different chapter that concluded, and also
continued into the next week, while also building out the overall story of the
game. This went on for months. By gathering every week
with a common invitation, we built up our multi-generational community; even
welcoming in Lucy when she returned to the fold for a few weeks. Every week we
focused on a different part of the story, building to the “big finish” all
while keeping in mind the game’s overall message. It was a lot like church
(minus the haunted mansion and wide array of demon ghosts).
Our sermon series, based on the lectionary, drops
us off fairly early in the Jesus game. This is Luke’s version of the Jesus
story so the directions on how to play will include ample portions of social
justice and mercy and other things that can get pastors, priests, and bishops
in trouble.
We’ll follow this Game Night theme all the way up
to Lent, and throw in some fun fellowship activities along the way to help us
get in the spirit of games and other fun things. First up is wearing our
favorite game jerseys on Super Bowl Sunday, February 9th.
As anyone who has sat through someone attempting to
explain the rules of a new game knows, learning new ways of doing and
understanding things is hard. Throughout this sermon series we’ll explore the
challenge of learning how Jesus wants us to play the game, and how ultimately
we are all winners.
Game on.
Luke 4:22-30
All spoke well of (Jesus) and were amazed at
the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, “Is not this Joseph’s
son?” He said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb,
‘Doctor, cure yourself!’ And you will say, ‘Do here also in your hometown the
things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.’” And he said, “Truly I
tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown. But the truth
is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was
shut up three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the
land; yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath
in Sidon. There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet
Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.” When they
heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. They got up, drove
him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town
was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. But he passed through
the midst of them and went on his way.
The best “sermon” I ever heard on this passage from
Luke was by now President of Princeton Seminary, Jonathan Walton. At the NEXT
Church National Gathering in 2018, as part of his keynote entitled Be Suspicious of Praise, Dr. Walton read this passage about Jesus in front of
his hometown crowd, and wondered aloud if this might, in fact, be the fourth
temptation that Jesus faced in the Gospel of Luke.
You see, the chapter opens with Jesus being tempted
in the wilderness. It continues with Jesus speaking to those who knew him best.
How tempted was Jesus to hold back on what he knew to be true, just so the
hometown crowd wouldn’t think less of him?
If you’ve played Hometown Edition of Monopoly then
you know it can be a little disorientating. It plays like the Monopoly that you
grew up playing, but it looks a little different. More problematic is when you
are playing Monopoly with a different set of house rules than you are used to.
Everyone has their own way of playing the game.
Remake the rules at your own risk.
This passage in Luke emphasizes that Jesus is a
good Jewish boy who has come home and honored the Sabbath by going to the
synagogue (like he always does). From what I’ve read it even seems within
reason that he would have stood to read. Commentaries point out that any male
present could ask or be asked to read and/or speak. Scholars also seem to agree that Jesus had
freedom to choose the text.
It all seems to be going well. Everybody was
familiar with where they were and who Jesus was. They thought they understood
the game, they knew the directions – and then Jesus brought in his own house
rules.
One house rule (not an actual rule) in Monopoly is
when players place all the fines and taxes on the “Free Parking” square rather
than giving them to the bank. Then when someone lands on “Free Parking,” they
get the money. This means that someone who is almost out of the game can be
back in it – and can even take the lead.
If that’s not you – it’s infuriating.
Jesus is in the Temple and introduces his own house
rule: those you think who are out, are in. Like the widow. Like Naaman the
Syrian. God is for all, not just a few.
Jesus tells those who know him the best - those who
taught him the game: “You’re doing it wrong. Your old rules no longer work.” He
is telling those who are rigging the game; those who are stacking the deck –
this isn’t how God wants you to play.
Those aren’t the rules.
Tell me… on your family game nights, how does such
a statement go over?
Is it
a calm reaction?
Or is
it the reason why your family can no longer play Monopoly on game night
anymore?
Another game that not all families are able to play
is Settlers of Catan or Catan or “wait, do you need sheep or are you giving
sheep.”
I was only a few games into my introduction to the
world of playing Catan when it looked like I was finally going to pull off a
victory. I am not a natural board gamer, so I tend to be a little slower to
pick up on strategies and the unwritten rules of a game. In Catan you need 10
points, and I had 9. I knew that rule. I knew that I had the right cards in my
hand to win on my next turn. The rule I forgot was that if someone rolls a 7
and you have 7 or more cards in your hand, you have to give up half of your
cards.
Game on.
I was all ready to win this game on my next roll,
and the person before me rolled a 7. They told me me that I had to lose half my
hand, and most likely the game, and because I don’t remember that rule and felt
like the people I was playing with just made it up - I absolutely LOST it.
First, I declared that is not a rule and everyone
is lying. Then I fake quit. Then I walked away still grumping and grousing and
thankfully managed NOT to flip the board like a petulant child.
Which is good.
Because friends, I was 51 years old.
Not my proudest moment. I sat down. I apologized. I
lost the game. I didn’t like the rules, but that wasn’t any reason to behave
like a child. And I hope you would expect more from me as a leader.
This week, many of us heard or read these words
from a sermon:
“Let me make one final plea, Mr. President.
Millions have put their trust in you and, as you told the nation yesterday, you
have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask
you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now. There are
gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and
Independent families, some who fear for their lives. The people who pick our
crops and clean our office buildings; who labor in poultry farms and meat
packing plants; who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the
night shifts in hospitals. They…may not be citizens or have the proper
documentation. But the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay
taxes and are good neighbors. They are faithful members of our churches and
mosques, synagogues, gurudwaras and temples. I ask you to have mercy, Mr.
President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents
will be taken away. And that you help those who are fleeing war zones and
persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here. Our God
teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we were all once
strangers in this land. May God grant us the strength and courage to honor the
dignity of every human being, to speak the truth to one another in love and
walk humbly with each other and our God for the good of all people. Good of all
people in this nation and the world. Amen”[1]
It was powerful.
But honestly, when I first read about it, the
sermon was mentioned in the 5th paragraph in a news article about
all of the inaugural activities. It wasn’t until a 78 year old did the social
media equivalent of flipping over the game board that her words really started
to get attention.
As someone who has in the past received some heat
from preaching the Gospel, I read up a bit more about Bishop Budde. The
Presbyterian Outlook reported that she had decided to focus on three values
she believes are important for national unity: honoring the inherent dignity of
every human being, honesty and humility.
But as she watched the inauguration and the
executive orders that were signed immediately after, she realized she needed to
add something else.
Her words: “I found myself thinking, there’s a
fourth thing we need for unity in this country — we need mercy. We need
compassion. We need empathy. And after listening to the president on Monday, I
thought, I wasn’t going to just speak of it in general terms.”
Scripture tells us that after Jesus upset the crowd,
he passed through the midst of them and went on his way. May it be the same
for Bishop Budde as she makes her way through the days, weeks, and months
ahead.
To be clear, I recognize that our government is not
bound to Christian principles. I also realize that although there are
significant trends in this congregation, we are not all of one mind when it
came to the election and therefore we are not all of one mind when it comes to
our understanding and opinion of this now current administration. I am
attempting to speak softly, and as you know I am from New Jersey, so that is
very hard for me.
The Constitution addresses the dignity, worth, and
safety of all persons: citizens and non-citizens alike, within our borders and
beyond them.
Scripture does the same.
Scapegoating at risk communities is not just wrong,
it’s against God’s rules.
My encouragement to all of us, myself included, is
to lean on this ultimate rule book of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Admittedly,
conversation in our home town, around familiar tables can be the hardest – but
you know the rules.
Love God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, with all of your might.
Love your neighbor as yourself.
And how do we love God? How do we love our
neighbor?
By
feeding them.
By
giving them something to drink.
By
clothing them.
By
caring for them.
By
welcoming them.
I don’t make the rules.
Bishop
Budde doesn’t make the rules.
The people in the hometown synagogue didn’t make
the rules.
Jesus came for and loves everyone. We are called to
do the same.
Them’s
the rules.
Game. On.
In the name of the Creator, and the Christ, and the
Holy Spirit. Amen.
[1] The Right Reverend Mariann Budde. Taken from her sermon at the interfaith
prayer service. Washington National Cathedral. January 21, 2025.
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