This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on Sunday September 27, 2009, the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Esther 7:1-6, 9-10, 9:20-22
Psalm 124
James 5:13-20
Mark 9:38-50
While having nothing to do with the episode, the title for this sermon is taken from the Peabody Award winning final season episode of the FOX television series “Futurama.”
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen
Have you ever thought of yourself as an evangelist? You know, an evangelist, someone who shares the good news of Jesus Christ with people who don’t know the gospel. That’s all the word evangelist really means, someone who shares the good news. It has nothing to do with having a TV show or a restaurant in Branson. Have you thought of yourself as someone who tells others about Jesus?
I imagine shockwaves just went through your body because speaking out loud, whether in a crowd or one-on-one, frightens us. There is an old Jerry Seinfeld joke that says that in a study of fears, the fear of speaking in public was rated higher than the fear of death. This much is true. So the comic concludes most people would rather be the person in the box than the person giving the eulogy. Again, humor conveys truth in a way plain facts cannot.
Very few of us warm to the word evangelism. It seems to either make us feel guilty because we're not doing it, or turn us off because there's no way we would ever want to do it. Evangelism seems completely foreign to us and that is not only true about our congregation, it is a nationwide dilemma.
A very large study has just been done on evangelism in churches like ours. The conclusive finding was that the vast majority of people would rather go get a root canal than talk about, much less do, evangelism. For the last forty years, most, most churches have been in decline. It seems we’ve developed literally a life-threatening aversion to evangelism.
Right now, at this very minute, you may want to put your fingers in your ears and sing “na, na, na.” Anything to drown out the “E” word! Why do so many of us have such a visceral reaction to evangelism? There are all kinds of reasons why not much evangelism is happening in most congregations. Here is one of my reasons. I don’t want to be anything close to the stereotype that comes to my mind when I think of an “evangelist.”
I don't want to have the cheesy theme park, or the horrible suit, or fake hair, or bilk people out of their money. Nor do I want to offend people by pressuring them with rhetoric about where they'll spend eternity after death.
Besides that, I wonder sometimes how I can tell people what they ought to believe. I have enough trouble in my own life. I'd rather just do the best I can, being the best child of Christ I can, and hope that is a good witness to others. Life in Christ is about life before it’s about death.
After all, St. Francis of Assisi said, “Preach the gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.” I do fine talking faith language with you here at church. You are my people. We speak the same language, but when I’m with people who aren’t churchgoers, words fail even me. When I flounder, I pray words aren’t necessary.
Maybe that’s better anyway; we should act as Jesus would have us act than speak as we think Jesus would have us speak. In our gospel reading today, we have an example of someone who is doing evangelism the old fashioned way, without words, and it isn’t one of the twelve disciples.
Those of you who know my cinematic tastes know that I love mobster movies, and one of my favorites is on AMC tonight, “Goodfellas.” Based on the Nicholas Pileggi book “Wise Guy,” “Goodfellas” is the story of the rise and fall of three gangsters over three decades. Ray Liotta plays the central character, Henry Hill; the man whose life the book and movie are based. In one scene, Liotta explains what it means to be a part of something as a member of a crew, a family.
He talks about how one wise guy introduces someone to one another wise guy in a social setting. He says that when one wise guy introduces somebody to another wise guy, one of the things he can say is “He’s a friend of mine.” That means that he’s just a guy; maybe a neighbor, but nobody special, not someone who is connected. The other way to introduce someone is to say “He’s a friend of ours.” This tells the other wise guy that this is someone who is connected someone who is a part of a crew; someone who has made his bones, taken a pinch. This way he says that this is someone who is connected to the same thing we are.
Jesus said to John and said to the twelve, “Whoever is not against us is for us.”
Jesus says this to the twelve about the someone who was casting out demons in his name; Jesus says, “He’s a friend of ours.” Jesus tells the twelve that this someone is one of us, a goodfella; or if you will I guess that would make him a Godfella.
“Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me.”
Jesus tells the twelve that this someone, this person casting out demons in His name, this one is a friend of ours.
So what does this mean to us? And what does this mean to us doing evangelism?
First, it reminds us of the teaching from John’s gospel, Jesus has “other sheep that do not belong to this fold.” He brings them along and they listen to the sound of his voice too. In a way, by acknowledging that this man is not one of the twelve and that he is a friend of ours; Jesus tells his disciples that this man who they do not know is a sheep from another fold, a brother from another mother. Implicitly, Jesus tells us as his disciples that there are folks who we may not recognize as his disciples that he does.
In “Experiencing God,” Henry Blackaby teaches disciples of God everywhere that the place to go to seek Jesus is where he is all ready at work. To become a more effective disciple, find where God is working and work there. We as a congregation have done this, and continue to do it annually. Loaves and Fishes Food Bank of the Ozarks is one of the most effective ministries in the county. No place in Carroll County does more to support the feeding of the poor than Loaves and Fishes.
Daily we join this ministry volunteering time, talent, and treasure. Annually, we join this ministry providing school supplies to hundreds of children who need them. Every dollar we spend on school supplies for the kids is a dollar their parents, or just as likely single parent, can spend on utilities or rent.
Another thing our gospel reading tells us is that we must be wary with whom we associate. Bear with me, this is a sort of a round about thing. The first thing we have to know is that in the time of the scripture, body parts were often used poetically to represent different social groups. So when we read that it is better to cut off your hand or your foot or to tear out your eye; Jesus was not meaning that we should literally maim ourselves. It is more likely that Jesus is telling us that there are people that we need to cut out of our lives. Maimed socially probably; maimed physically no. We are better to be rid of a person who separates us from participating in the life and work of Christ’s body than it is to follow them.
As the apostle Paul reminds us all, “Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many.” When we combine knowing the body has many members with knowing there are sheep from other folds with knowing that some of the members Jesus described in this passage should be cast away; we can come to this conclusion: There are folks we should associate with and folks we should not. The hallmark of those we should associate with returns us to the fact that whoever is not against us is for us. Whoever works for the kingdom of God are our brothers and sisters, we shouldn’t associate with those who don’t.
Perhaps there was some sort of code, like the hands to be cut off were those who did things that were not godly, not for the good of the body of Christ. Perhaps the feet were leaders who led people to poor choices, choices that move us from the work of God. Perhaps those who were the eyes were who saw were prophets. The eye to be torn out could be a false prophet. This is purely my speculation; it might also have at most a grain of truth; but this saying is more than the heavenly benefits of self-mutilation. This saying of Jesus tells all of his disciples we must be discerning of the company we keep.
Our reading from James puts another spin on this though. James reminds the people of God that if whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save a sinner’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. To me it seems James changes the focus, just a little bit, from what was written in Mark. James’ epistle reminds us that we are called to help bring back the lost sheep to the flock. Jesus tells us that we must not follow them, but we are called to live a life worthy of them following us back to the fold.
So what is a little church in Berryville, Arkansas to do? We are not to live lives of Thoreau’s quiet desperation; we are to live life boldly as the children of God giving water to quench the thirst of the world weary for the Word and work of God. We are to be the salt of the earth; we are salt for God’s all creation.
Salt is used for two things, salt preserves and enhances. We are to do these things, we are to preserve and enhance the life of the world in the name of God. Yes, this sounds like a huge undertaking, one that we cannot possibly achieve on our own, and you are right. And that is why, to coin a phrase, we need to think globally and act locally. Or in words that may seem holier, we are to work toward the kingdom of God in the eternal life granted by our Lord Jesus in this time and place knowing that when the word goes out it does not return unanswered. We never know how the living word returns.
An example of that can be found on that little thing we call the internet. By the grace of God, we have someone in this part of the body of Christ that knows how to take a long string of digital code and translate it to words and pictures streaming across creation. The words being spoken here will be heard by others, and hopefully expand far beyond an LCD monitor and speakers. The word that starts here will go far beyond here, being salt to the world. Praise be to God and thanks be to Kenny for taking what is nothing more than magnetic notches on a card and transforming it to the word of God wherever it is downloaded, seen, and heard.
Blackaby’s advice is well heeded here; let us be salt for the world. Make this part of the body of Christ a place where God is working where people will seek to follow. Seek those who are doing Christ’s work because if they aren’t against God, they are for God. Discern those who lead well and call those who have been led astray. And remember that whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward; together we will be Godfellas.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Great Generosity
This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on Sunday September 20, 2009, the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Proverbs 31:10-31
Psalm 1
James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a
Mark 9:30-37
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
In a college football crazed state, there should be a lot of people who know the name Joe Paterno.[1] This being SEC country, some may not be familiar with this Big 10 conference coaching legend, and if that’s true shame on you. Coach Paterno, nicknamed “Joe Pa,” has spent his professional life at Penn State coaching Nittany Lion football teams to 386 victories counting yesterday’s win over Temple, the most among active major college coaches.
So, he's famous as an NCAA Football coach, but perhaps even greater than his coaching numbers are his statistics as a philanthropist. Since 1998, Joe and Sue Paterno have given more than $4 million to the university. Their generosity funds scholarships, faculty positions, construction of an interfaith spiritual center and a sports hall of fame on the University Park campus. Donald W. Reynolds used his money to improve Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville. Joe Pa used his to double the size of the main Penn State library.
Paterno earns just under $600,000 per year in base salary as Penn State’s head football coach, with more through endorsements and media partnerships. In an era when most major college football coaches would just assume tattoo their salaries to their foreheads for the world to see what studs they are; Coach Paterno’s salary was unknown until journalists scoured hill and dale, filing “Freedom of Information Act” requests, and going to court. And while yes, the Paterno’s won’t know poverty in their lifetimes, the most successful coach in college football makes a mere pittance compared to Arkansas’ Bobby Patrino whose base salary is $2.85 million per year and is miniscule compared to the University of Alabama’s Nick Saban and his $4 million per year contract, making him one of the highest paid coaches in the history of Football.
A little over a year ago, Coach Saban made the cover of Forbes Magazine as “Sports’ Most Powerful Coach.” Paterno just graduates 78% of his players, second only to Northwestern in the Big 10 Conference and significantly greater than the NCAA’s biggest football powers who combined graduate 65% of players.
Paterno regards his success with characteristic humility and perspective: “I make more money than I should make. They let me work, so, thanks.” Sue Paterno said, “Money has never been important to us. What is important to us is what the future of the world will be.”[2]
In a world where men are measured by the size of their bank accounts and their employment contracts, Joe Pa chooses to measure himself by more than the two National Championships his teams have won. He measures his success by giving to the University that he has made his home. He measures his success by graduating students from major American university. He measures his success by those who benefit from the fruit of the financial legacy he donates to the university. He and his family measure success by looking to the future of the world.
And the disciples were arguing about who is greatest; so Jesus tells them what it takes. Whoever wants to be first must be last and servant of all. Welcome to divine logic. The world says people who are powerful, people who are great, have servants; they don’t become servants. This doesn’t set so well with people in either the first or the twenty–first century.
Jesus makes his point by taking a little child, bringing a child to their circle, holding this young one in his arms he says, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”
Even in these words, Jesus sets aside his divinity; he sets his God-ness aside telling the disciples that whoever welcomes him does not welcome him. Like an emissary, like an ambassador, Jesus holds himself not in his own name, in his own status, but as the representative of the one who sent him. As we read last week, Peter has all ready told those with ears to hear that Jesus is the Messiah, the anointed one of the Lord of heaven. In the passages between this one and the passage we read this week, Peter, James, and John had seen Jesus transfigured, chatting up Moses and Elijah, or more like they were chatting him up. And the one who welcomes a child welcomes the one who sent him.
If this seems confusing to us, imagine what it seemed like to the disciples. They had their ideas about what power is, and what power does. They were merchants and fishermen, a tax collector and a political radical, an accountant with bad intentions and the rest. They knew about power. They had seen it come down from Rome and they had seen it come from the Temple. They had seen it come from centurions and they had seen it come from scribes. They had seen power run downhill and run over them. They could never imagine that the one who wants to be first must be last and servant of all. This is surely contrary to their personal experience.
We’ve heard this before, so it might seem more righteous to us than it did to them. Unfortunately, familiarity breeds contempt, especially with scripture. When it does, things get lost. Quickly, this scene can dissolve into everybody singing “Jesus Loves the Little Children.” A lovely image set to a wonderful hymn of the church, but it leaves Jesus neutered. The wild and radical king of the universe, the Messiah, the one who will not only end the reign of Rome in Palestine but the realm of Satan in creation is reduced to a cute scene painted on the walls of Sunday School rooms. This reduction is no where near complete. This reduction is far less than the work of God who walked the Earth.
What gets lost is that the children are powerless. What happens happens to them, not by them. Children are innocent. Children are vulnerable. Children are the weakest of the weak. Imagine if Jesus had taken someone who was homeless and said “whoever welcomes one such child of God welcomes the one who sent me.”
Imagine Jesus walking into Loaves and Fishes and saying “whoever welcomes these children of God welcomes the one who sent me.”
Imagine every time I get a phone call from someone needing help, or someone who drops by needing assistance and hearing Jesus say “whoever welcomes…” Well, you know where I’m going. And please believe me; this is the thought that goes through my mind every time the phone rings.
But there are more ways than financial to welcome the weak and the powerless. One of the ways that a powerless man represents us all is found on the Voyager space vehicle. There are many ways to tell and retell this story, but one of the best ways I have ever heard it told was by Bradley Whitford in his role as Josh Lyman on “The West Wing.”
Voyager, in case it’s ever encountered by extraterrestrials, is carrying photos of life on earth, greetings in fifty-five languages, and a collection of music from Gregorian chant to Chuck Berry, including “Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground” by 1920’s bluesman Blind Willie Johnson, whose stepmother blinded him at seven by throwing lye in his eyes after his father beat her for being with another man. He died penniless of pneumonia after sleeping bundled in wet newspapers in the ruins of his house that burned down, but his music just left the solar system.[3]
Sent off into space, sent across the cosmos for whomever or whatever will receive it, along with the greatest cultural treasures of our planet goes Blind Willie Johnson. Born before the turn of the last century, a black man from Texas, blinded by his mother, sings the blues. In his time he was powerless, he was not welcomed. Now his music represents us all to God’s creatures from other corners of God’s creation.
Please don’t think me indelicate for using the phrase “black man,” but at the turn of the century America didn’t have African-Americans. Sadly, the phrase “black man” may well have been as delicate as it got. Other terms and expressions that are far worse were used in that time. In its way, this change makes Jesus’ point too. A race of people who have been enslaved and oppressed now represents us all outside the galaxy we know.
The alcoholic is another group shunned by what is known as “polite society.” This tidbit comes from the South Bend Christian Reformed Church Web Site, “It’s fascinating that Twelve Step programs like AA begin exactly where Jesus begins, poverty of spirit. Step one: I admit I am powerless over my addiction and my life has become unmanageable. Step two: I have come to believe that only a higher power can restore me.”[4]
The drunk are shunned, seen as weak, unable to hold their liquor. But those who are recovering from addiction know better than anyone that they are powerless. They may not be innocent, but they sure know they are powerless; and they know they are vulnerable.
Continuing, “That’s poverty of spirit. I can’t do it. I am helpless before my sins, my failures, my needs. It seems to me that being a Christian means you realize that that’s where you begin every day of your life, needing God’s grace. It’s hard for us to admit that about ourselves—that we can’t do it.”
Those who know their addiction and seek recovery seek wholeness and health. Through AA and similar recovery groups, they find that in life and in death, we belong to God. They also find that nothing in life or in death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
One of the things people do to interpret parables and other biblical stories is to assign the characters in the story to the heroes of the faith. So I guess in the story I just shared, Nick Saban and Bobby Patrino would be two of the disciples, maybe even the “Sons of Thunder,” James and John. Coach Paterno could be Peter, the rock. I guess that means that Jesus… well, Jesus would be Jesus. In any story, any parable, only Jesus will ever be Jesus. That’s the point, too.
In the words of Sojourners Magazine creator and editor Jim Wallis, “Who speaks for God? God speaks for God. And it is the voiceless and powerless for whom the voice of God has always been authentically raised. It is up to us to make sure that our vision bears some resemblance to the vision the prophets of God proclaim throughout the Scriptures. Then the people on the street corners will have a better idea of who the children of God really are.”[5]
No matter how good we are, no matter what we can do; or more no matter what we think we have done; to paraphrase the a parish Priest in the movie “Rudy,” God is God and we aren’t.
As James’ epistle reminds us, we are to submit ourselves to God, for when we draw near to God, God draws near to us. Or to paraphrase this, when we welcome the weak, the oppressed, the powerless, the innocent; when we welcome all of God’s children in his name, we draw closer to God.
Mary wrapped Jesus in swaddling clothes: a symbol, not of poverty, as some have tried to make it, but of maternal care and tenderness. What are we wrapping people we meet in? Are we swaddling them in compassion, tenderness, generosity and devotion? Are we wrapping them in the Word of the loving, eternal, Triune God? Are we welcoming them as Mary welcomes her son, as Jesus welcomes the child? Welcoming the weak and the poor in the name of the Lord, this is the measure of the great generosity we are called to share with the world.
[1] Joe Paterno facts come from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Paterno, retrieved September 19, 2009.
[2] Larry James, On 'Spending' A Life Well, Heartlight Magazine, November 27, 1999, ">www.heartlight.org/feature/sf_980318_spending.html. from http://homileticsonline.com/subscriber/illustration_search.asp?keywords=generosity, retrieved September 19, 2009.
[3] The West Wing, The Warfare of Genghis Kahn, http://www.tv.com/the-west-wing/the-warfare-of-genghis-khan/episode/289368/summary.html?tag=header_area;tv_header, retrieved September 20, 2009
[4] Ibid, HomileticsOnline.com, Leonard J. Vander Zee, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” September 21, 2003, South Bend Christian Reformed Church Web Site, Sbcrc.org.
[5] Ibid, HomileticsOnline.com, Jim Wallis, Who Speaks for God? (New York: Delacorte Press, 1996), 39-40.
Proverbs 31:10-31
Psalm 1
James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a
Mark 9:30-37
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
In a college football crazed state, there should be a lot of people who know the name Joe Paterno.[1] This being SEC country, some may not be familiar with this Big 10 conference coaching legend, and if that’s true shame on you. Coach Paterno, nicknamed “Joe Pa,” has spent his professional life at Penn State coaching Nittany Lion football teams to 386 victories counting yesterday’s win over Temple, the most among active major college coaches.
So, he's famous as an NCAA Football coach, but perhaps even greater than his coaching numbers are his statistics as a philanthropist. Since 1998, Joe and Sue Paterno have given more than $4 million to the university. Their generosity funds scholarships, faculty positions, construction of an interfaith spiritual center and a sports hall of fame on the University Park campus. Donald W. Reynolds used his money to improve Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville. Joe Pa used his to double the size of the main Penn State library.
Paterno earns just under $600,000 per year in base salary as Penn State’s head football coach, with more through endorsements and media partnerships. In an era when most major college football coaches would just assume tattoo their salaries to their foreheads for the world to see what studs they are; Coach Paterno’s salary was unknown until journalists scoured hill and dale, filing “Freedom of Information Act” requests, and going to court. And while yes, the Paterno’s won’t know poverty in their lifetimes, the most successful coach in college football makes a mere pittance compared to Arkansas’ Bobby Patrino whose base salary is $2.85 million per year and is miniscule compared to the University of Alabama’s Nick Saban and his $4 million per year contract, making him one of the highest paid coaches in the history of Football.
A little over a year ago, Coach Saban made the cover of Forbes Magazine as “Sports’ Most Powerful Coach.” Paterno just graduates 78% of his players, second only to Northwestern in the Big 10 Conference and significantly greater than the NCAA’s biggest football powers who combined graduate 65% of players.
Paterno regards his success with characteristic humility and perspective: “I make more money than I should make. They let me work, so, thanks.” Sue Paterno said, “Money has never been important to us. What is important to us is what the future of the world will be.”[2]
In a world where men are measured by the size of their bank accounts and their employment contracts, Joe Pa chooses to measure himself by more than the two National Championships his teams have won. He measures his success by giving to the University that he has made his home. He measures his success by graduating students from major American university. He measures his success by those who benefit from the fruit of the financial legacy he donates to the university. He and his family measure success by looking to the future of the world.
And the disciples were arguing about who is greatest; so Jesus tells them what it takes. Whoever wants to be first must be last and servant of all. Welcome to divine logic. The world says people who are powerful, people who are great, have servants; they don’t become servants. This doesn’t set so well with people in either the first or the twenty–first century.
Jesus makes his point by taking a little child, bringing a child to their circle, holding this young one in his arms he says, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”
Even in these words, Jesus sets aside his divinity; he sets his God-ness aside telling the disciples that whoever welcomes him does not welcome him. Like an emissary, like an ambassador, Jesus holds himself not in his own name, in his own status, but as the representative of the one who sent him. As we read last week, Peter has all ready told those with ears to hear that Jesus is the Messiah, the anointed one of the Lord of heaven. In the passages between this one and the passage we read this week, Peter, James, and John had seen Jesus transfigured, chatting up Moses and Elijah, or more like they were chatting him up. And the one who welcomes a child welcomes the one who sent him.
If this seems confusing to us, imagine what it seemed like to the disciples. They had their ideas about what power is, and what power does. They were merchants and fishermen, a tax collector and a political radical, an accountant with bad intentions and the rest. They knew about power. They had seen it come down from Rome and they had seen it come from the Temple. They had seen it come from centurions and they had seen it come from scribes. They had seen power run downhill and run over them. They could never imagine that the one who wants to be first must be last and servant of all. This is surely contrary to their personal experience.
We’ve heard this before, so it might seem more righteous to us than it did to them. Unfortunately, familiarity breeds contempt, especially with scripture. When it does, things get lost. Quickly, this scene can dissolve into everybody singing “Jesus Loves the Little Children.” A lovely image set to a wonderful hymn of the church, but it leaves Jesus neutered. The wild and radical king of the universe, the Messiah, the one who will not only end the reign of Rome in Palestine but the realm of Satan in creation is reduced to a cute scene painted on the walls of Sunday School rooms. This reduction is no where near complete. This reduction is far less than the work of God who walked the Earth.
What gets lost is that the children are powerless. What happens happens to them, not by them. Children are innocent. Children are vulnerable. Children are the weakest of the weak. Imagine if Jesus had taken someone who was homeless and said “whoever welcomes one such child of God welcomes the one who sent me.”
Imagine Jesus walking into Loaves and Fishes and saying “whoever welcomes these children of God welcomes the one who sent me.”
Imagine every time I get a phone call from someone needing help, or someone who drops by needing assistance and hearing Jesus say “whoever welcomes…” Well, you know where I’m going. And please believe me; this is the thought that goes through my mind every time the phone rings.
But there are more ways than financial to welcome the weak and the powerless. One of the ways that a powerless man represents us all is found on the Voyager space vehicle. There are many ways to tell and retell this story, but one of the best ways I have ever heard it told was by Bradley Whitford in his role as Josh Lyman on “The West Wing.”
Voyager, in case it’s ever encountered by extraterrestrials, is carrying photos of life on earth, greetings in fifty-five languages, and a collection of music from Gregorian chant to Chuck Berry, including “Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground” by 1920’s bluesman Blind Willie Johnson, whose stepmother blinded him at seven by throwing lye in his eyes after his father beat her for being with another man. He died penniless of pneumonia after sleeping bundled in wet newspapers in the ruins of his house that burned down, but his music just left the solar system.[3]
Sent off into space, sent across the cosmos for whomever or whatever will receive it, along with the greatest cultural treasures of our planet goes Blind Willie Johnson. Born before the turn of the last century, a black man from Texas, blinded by his mother, sings the blues. In his time he was powerless, he was not welcomed. Now his music represents us all to God’s creatures from other corners of God’s creation.
Please don’t think me indelicate for using the phrase “black man,” but at the turn of the century America didn’t have African-Americans. Sadly, the phrase “black man” may well have been as delicate as it got. Other terms and expressions that are far worse were used in that time. In its way, this change makes Jesus’ point too. A race of people who have been enslaved and oppressed now represents us all outside the galaxy we know.
The alcoholic is another group shunned by what is known as “polite society.” This tidbit comes from the South Bend Christian Reformed Church Web Site, “It’s fascinating that Twelve Step programs like AA begin exactly where Jesus begins, poverty of spirit. Step one: I admit I am powerless over my addiction and my life has become unmanageable. Step two: I have come to believe that only a higher power can restore me.”[4]
The drunk are shunned, seen as weak, unable to hold their liquor. But those who are recovering from addiction know better than anyone that they are powerless. They may not be innocent, but they sure know they are powerless; and they know they are vulnerable.
Continuing, “That’s poverty of spirit. I can’t do it. I am helpless before my sins, my failures, my needs. It seems to me that being a Christian means you realize that that’s where you begin every day of your life, needing God’s grace. It’s hard for us to admit that about ourselves—that we can’t do it.”
Those who know their addiction and seek recovery seek wholeness and health. Through AA and similar recovery groups, they find that in life and in death, we belong to God. They also find that nothing in life or in death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
One of the things people do to interpret parables and other biblical stories is to assign the characters in the story to the heroes of the faith. So I guess in the story I just shared, Nick Saban and Bobby Patrino would be two of the disciples, maybe even the “Sons of Thunder,” James and John. Coach Paterno could be Peter, the rock. I guess that means that Jesus… well, Jesus would be Jesus. In any story, any parable, only Jesus will ever be Jesus. That’s the point, too.
In the words of Sojourners Magazine creator and editor Jim Wallis, “Who speaks for God? God speaks for God. And it is the voiceless and powerless for whom the voice of God has always been authentically raised. It is up to us to make sure that our vision bears some resemblance to the vision the prophets of God proclaim throughout the Scriptures. Then the people on the street corners will have a better idea of who the children of God really are.”[5]
No matter how good we are, no matter what we can do; or more no matter what we think we have done; to paraphrase the a parish Priest in the movie “Rudy,” God is God and we aren’t.
As James’ epistle reminds us, we are to submit ourselves to God, for when we draw near to God, God draws near to us. Or to paraphrase this, when we welcome the weak, the oppressed, the powerless, the innocent; when we welcome all of God’s children in his name, we draw closer to God.
Mary wrapped Jesus in swaddling clothes: a symbol, not of poverty, as some have tried to make it, but of maternal care and tenderness. What are we wrapping people we meet in? Are we swaddling them in compassion, tenderness, generosity and devotion? Are we wrapping them in the Word of the loving, eternal, Triune God? Are we welcoming them as Mary welcomes her son, as Jesus welcomes the child? Welcoming the weak and the poor in the name of the Lord, this is the measure of the great generosity we are called to share with the world.
[1] Joe Paterno facts come from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Paterno, retrieved September 19, 2009.
[2] Larry James, On 'Spending' A Life Well, Heartlight Magazine, November 27, 1999, ">www.heartlight.org/feature/sf_980318_spending.html. from http://homileticsonline.com/subscriber/illustration_search.asp?keywords=generosity, retrieved September 19, 2009.
[3] The West Wing, The Warfare of Genghis Kahn, http://www.tv.com/the-west-wing/the-warfare-of-genghis-khan/episode/289368/summary.html?tag=header_area;tv_header, retrieved September 20, 2009
[4] Ibid, HomileticsOnline.com, Leonard J. Vander Zee, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” September 21, 2003, South Bend Christian Reformed Church Web Site, Sbcrc.org.
[5] Ibid, HomileticsOnline.com, Jim Wallis, Who Speaks for God? (New York: Delacorte Press, 1996), 39-40.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
The Worst Thing to Say to God
This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on Sunday September 13, 2009, the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Proverbs 1:20-33
Psalm 19
James 3:1-12
Mark 8:27-38
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer.
So what’s the worst thing we can say to God? The most obvious answer is to say “I don’t believe in you.” The most obvious answer is to deny God lock, stock, and barrel. The word atheist takes its cue from this, the roots of this word simply mean “without God.” But I have a question for the atheist; “Who are you saying this to?” Who does the atheist tell there is no God? If you shake your fist at the sky and cry out “There is no God!” or “I don’t believe in you!” it just looks funny. Who or what are you shaking your fist at anyway?
But here’s the sticky part of that little foray, God believes in us. We don’t have to believe in God for God to believe in us. How’s that for a mind bender? Our denial of God is a tempest in a teapot, a grain of sand in the middle of the desert. Our denial of God does not mean that God denies us. I want that to sink in, our denial of God does not mean that God denies us.
So often, our self-importance rises to the point that it’s as if when we don’t believe in something, it no longer exists. This has some validity; it was the premise of the thirty-first episode of the original Star Trek series called “Who Mourns for Adonis?”[1] But not the Lord God, our belief in God never changes that God believes in us.
Facebook is a social networking website, a sort of an internet coffee shop where you can get together and chat or leave messages for friends. Marie and I have a wonderful friend who recently participated in a conversation on my Facebook page.[2] I started with this conversation: “The Today Show just reported that many Republican and conservative Democratic members of Congress are skeptical about the President’s health care reform package. Gee, if I had their insurance I could afford to be skeptical too.”
Another Arkansas pastor added this comment: “It’s also nice to know that the Today Show can handle breaking news like that! Where have they been for the last several months that they think this is news?”
Our friend then responded: “That’s for sure. Now someone try to explain to me all the $&@#* televangelists who are spending so much time saying how terrible this will be. When was the last time any of these ‘things’ (they are not really people, and will best serve this planet as worm food from inside their graves) preached about Matthew 19:24 & Mark 10:25? [These are parallel versions of the story of the Rich Young Man][3] And some people wonder why I am an Atheist. OK I will stop stoking my own fires and try to relax.”
In his way, our friend asks “where is mercy for the poor, taking care of the sick and needy, and how can someone who claims to be a voice for the Almighty Lord turn an eye away from the oppressed in favor of big business and a big ole pile of cash?” The answer to this question is beyond me, so let me share my paraphrase of Jesus words’ from Matthew 25:34-40 from last newsletter, “As you do for the least of these, know that you do for me.”
Honestly, the God that our friend is talking about, the god he sees spouted from the lips of televangelists, gods who build temples to their prophets on television, I don’t believe in that god either. Some “gods” just aren’t worth believing in, those are more like idols than gods.
This is where I want to put in the disclaimer: Let’s not sprain a shoulder patting ourselves on the back for not denying the presence and authority of God. There are other fish to fry in this pan. Our Facebook friend makes the very important point that sometimes Christians rest on the promises of God when they should roll up their sleeves and get something done.
This is shifting out of focus, so here is the point: Saying we don’t believe in God is not the worst thing we can say to God; there are worse things than that. So, let’s go beyond the threshold of denial and go to a more specific question, one suited for the Church, “What is the worst thing we, the believers, the Body of Christ; what is the worst thing we can say to God?”
Jesus asks the disciples “Who do the people say that I am?” These guys are connected; they are the “man on the street.” They have their fingers on the pulse of the community. They are “Joe the Plumber” and “Pete the Fisherman.”
“Well boss,” they start, “some folks say you’re John the Baptist.” By this time the Baptist had been executed. So John reincarnated in a man who is only about a few months younger than him would have been tricky. Still, the folks who say Jesus is John recognize our Lord’s holy presence and power.
They continued with “other folks say you’re Elijah.” This is an important one because the prophet Malachi said Elijah was to precede the Messiah.[4] Elijah was to return from the whirlwind and proclaim the coming of the Kingdom of God. During the Passover Seder, Jews send the youngest child at the table to check the door to see if Elijah has come. Being Elijah would be a good gig.
In truth though, we have an idea about Elijah. Matthew’s gospel says “For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John (the Baptist) came; and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.”[5] Luke’s gospel speaks of the Baptist as having the Spirit and power of Elijah.[6] Jesus later laments “that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him.”[7]
Of course in John’s gospel, John the Baptist says that he is not Elijah[8] and that’s the last thing John’s gospel has to say about the Baptist. As good of a gig as being Elijah is, three out of four gospels surveyed recommend John the Baptist for this reincarnation.
They keep on going with “still others say you are one of the prophets.” Where can you go with that? The prophets were revered, but they weren’t the most popular kids on the playground. Jesus calls Jerusalem “the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!” Obedience and discipleship are glorious and vital to life as it should be lived, but who signs up for life as it should get you killed? From the ancient prophets, to our Lord, to the Apostles, to the entire Book of Martyrs; honor those who make the decision toward discipleship who are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice; and know that I am in awe of those who can take that walk, because...well, just because.
Jesus then springs Final Jeopardy on the disciples: “Who do you say that I am?” This is the most important question they have ever been asked and Peter answers with these words he hopes and prays will be affirmed, “You are the Messiah.” Jesus doesn’t say yes, but he doesn’t say no, he tells the disciples not to tell anyone about him. This is as close to “yes” that anyone will get at this point in Mark’s gospel.
Peter answers, “You are the Messiah.” Messiah is a Hebrew word; more often we use the word that comes from the Greek, Christ. Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus is the Christ. Peter must have been ecstatic! This is the man sent to save the nation of Israel, this is the one sent to save the world. I can just imagine the disciples exchanging high-fives all around, celebrating the Messiah—Prophet, Priest, and King—had come.
In Jewish theology, the Messiah was expected to come in power and glory—not unlike Christian theology—but this power and glory was expected to be military. The Messiah Israel expected two thousand years ago would have battled and defeated the Roman Empire. So this must have been a wonderful moment for the disciples; Peter has finally said the big “it.” Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus is the Christ. Happy days are here again.
So with this affirmation, with these words, Jesus lets the disciples know what it means to be the Christ, to be the Messiah. He lets them know about the great military battles to come. He shows them how Rome is going to be broken; sent home tail between the legs.
He tells them, “the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.”
Yeah! Wait, no!
Peter is shocked. He knows the commentaries. He knows the history. He has all ready given the right answer once today and so now he’s going to help out. “Dude, you got it all wrong. You don’t get rejected, you do the rejecting. You can’t die, you lead the army.” I’m thinking that the whole “three-day-rise-again” piece went over his head since his hands were already filled with enough stuff to set Jesus straight.
Jesus just gave the right back at you, Peter: Yeah! Wait, no!
Peter just said the worst thing he, or any of us, could say to God. He said “No.” Jesus said, “This is my way, this is my fate, and it’s gonna be a ride.” Peter said, “No, Mr. Messiah, you don’t understand, it can’t happen that way, it’s gotta be this way.” Peter said “No” to the Christ; and the Christ said “No” right back.
Saying “Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Holy One of God—Jesus is Lord” is the most important affirmation we can make. I want to say this again: saying “Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Holy One of God—Jesus is Lord” is the most important affirmation we can make. Still this is only the first step in the faith we profess. Too often, we profess that we understand more like Peter understands than God wants.
If “Jesus is Lord” is the most important thing we can say, then the next most important thing is how we say “Jesus is Lord.” We have to move beyond giving the right answer and put the right answer into action; taking the word that “Jesus is Lord” into the world for the benefit of God’s good creation. In a very real way, it is worse to know God and say “no” to God’s authority than it is not to know God at all.
It is up to us to seek what the Lord wants from us. We seek what God wants from the Word of God; the Living Word of God in Jesus Christ, the written Word of God in Holy Scripture, and the spoken Word of God proclaimed. We must seek from the Word what it is to be good disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ because the primary concern of discipleship is to translate legitimate Christian speech into vital Christian action.
We must also beware of what we hear, what we discern. Peter shows us that it is way too easy to expect something only to discover that God has nothing to do with our expectations; especially if those expectations have come from the scribes and Pharisees of yesterday, today, or tomorrow.
Knowing what it truly means to say that Jesus is the Messiah is as important as saying it. Responding to what knowing “Jesus is the Messiah” means is what follows from saying and knowing. For what will it profit to have great faith and do nothing with it? For what will it profit to gain the whole world and forfeit life?
The Lord has endowed us with capacities to make the world serve God’s needs and to enjoy its good things. Life is a gift to be received with gratitude, a task to be pursued with courage. We are free to seek this life within God’s purposes: to develop and protect the resources of nature for the common welfare, to work for justice and peace in society, and use God’s creative powers for the fulfillment of eternal life in God’s good creation.[9]
When we say “no” to God, we trade the joyful life in Christ for the pale shelter of the presumed peace and security of human things. As our Facebook friend asked, “Where is mercy for the poor, taking care of the sick and needy, and how can someone who claims to be a voice for the Almighty Lord turn an eye away from the oppressed in favor of big business and a big ole pile of cash?” As Jesus responded, “Take up your cross, and follow me.”
[1] Memory Alpha—The Star Trek Wiki, http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Who_Mourns_for_Adonais%3F_(episode), retrieved September 10, 2009.
[2] Facebook Paul Andresen The Today Show just reported that many Republican and, http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/timelovesahero?v=feed&story_fbid=166087572192, Retrieved September 10, 2009.
[3] The bracketed addition is my editing comment, not a part of the original text.
[4] Malachi 4:5
[5] Matthew 11:13-14
[6] Luke 1:17
[7] Matthew 17:12, Mark 9:13
[8] John 1:21
[9] Paraphrase from the seventeenth paragraph of the PC (U.S.A.)’s Confession of 1967, this Sunday’s Affirmation of Faith
Proverbs 1:20-33
Psalm 19
James 3:1-12
Mark 8:27-38
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer.
So what’s the worst thing we can say to God? The most obvious answer is to say “I don’t believe in you.” The most obvious answer is to deny God lock, stock, and barrel. The word atheist takes its cue from this, the roots of this word simply mean “without God.” But I have a question for the atheist; “Who are you saying this to?” Who does the atheist tell there is no God? If you shake your fist at the sky and cry out “There is no God!” or “I don’t believe in you!” it just looks funny. Who or what are you shaking your fist at anyway?
But here’s the sticky part of that little foray, God believes in us. We don’t have to believe in God for God to believe in us. How’s that for a mind bender? Our denial of God is a tempest in a teapot, a grain of sand in the middle of the desert. Our denial of God does not mean that God denies us. I want that to sink in, our denial of God does not mean that God denies us.
So often, our self-importance rises to the point that it’s as if when we don’t believe in something, it no longer exists. This has some validity; it was the premise of the thirty-first episode of the original Star Trek series called “Who Mourns for Adonis?”[1] But not the Lord God, our belief in God never changes that God believes in us.
Facebook is a social networking website, a sort of an internet coffee shop where you can get together and chat or leave messages for friends. Marie and I have a wonderful friend who recently participated in a conversation on my Facebook page.[2] I started with this conversation: “The Today Show just reported that many Republican and conservative Democratic members of Congress are skeptical about the President’s health care reform package. Gee, if I had their insurance I could afford to be skeptical too.”
Another Arkansas pastor added this comment: “It’s also nice to know that the Today Show can handle breaking news like that! Where have they been for the last several months that they think this is news?”
Our friend then responded: “That’s for sure. Now someone try to explain to me all the $&@#* televangelists who are spending so much time saying how terrible this will be. When was the last time any of these ‘things’ (they are not really people, and will best serve this planet as worm food from inside their graves) preached about Matthew 19:24 & Mark 10:25? [These are parallel versions of the story of the Rich Young Man][3] And some people wonder why I am an Atheist. OK I will stop stoking my own fires and try to relax.”
In his way, our friend asks “where is mercy for the poor, taking care of the sick and needy, and how can someone who claims to be a voice for the Almighty Lord turn an eye away from the oppressed in favor of big business and a big ole pile of cash?” The answer to this question is beyond me, so let me share my paraphrase of Jesus words’ from Matthew 25:34-40 from last newsletter, “As you do for the least of these, know that you do for me.”
Honestly, the God that our friend is talking about, the god he sees spouted from the lips of televangelists, gods who build temples to their prophets on television, I don’t believe in that god either. Some “gods” just aren’t worth believing in, those are more like idols than gods.
This is where I want to put in the disclaimer: Let’s not sprain a shoulder patting ourselves on the back for not denying the presence and authority of God. There are other fish to fry in this pan. Our Facebook friend makes the very important point that sometimes Christians rest on the promises of God when they should roll up their sleeves and get something done.
This is shifting out of focus, so here is the point: Saying we don’t believe in God is not the worst thing we can say to God; there are worse things than that. So, let’s go beyond the threshold of denial and go to a more specific question, one suited for the Church, “What is the worst thing we, the believers, the Body of Christ; what is the worst thing we can say to God?”
Jesus asks the disciples “Who do the people say that I am?” These guys are connected; they are the “man on the street.” They have their fingers on the pulse of the community. They are “Joe the Plumber” and “Pete the Fisherman.”
“Well boss,” they start, “some folks say you’re John the Baptist.” By this time the Baptist had been executed. So John reincarnated in a man who is only about a few months younger than him would have been tricky. Still, the folks who say Jesus is John recognize our Lord’s holy presence and power.
They continued with “other folks say you’re Elijah.” This is an important one because the prophet Malachi said Elijah was to precede the Messiah.[4] Elijah was to return from the whirlwind and proclaim the coming of the Kingdom of God. During the Passover Seder, Jews send the youngest child at the table to check the door to see if Elijah has come. Being Elijah would be a good gig.
In truth though, we have an idea about Elijah. Matthew’s gospel says “For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John (the Baptist) came; and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.”[5] Luke’s gospel speaks of the Baptist as having the Spirit and power of Elijah.[6] Jesus later laments “that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him.”[7]
Of course in John’s gospel, John the Baptist says that he is not Elijah[8] and that’s the last thing John’s gospel has to say about the Baptist. As good of a gig as being Elijah is, three out of four gospels surveyed recommend John the Baptist for this reincarnation.
They keep on going with “still others say you are one of the prophets.” Where can you go with that? The prophets were revered, but they weren’t the most popular kids on the playground. Jesus calls Jerusalem “the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!” Obedience and discipleship are glorious and vital to life as it should be lived, but who signs up for life as it should get you killed? From the ancient prophets, to our Lord, to the Apostles, to the entire Book of Martyrs; honor those who make the decision toward discipleship who are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice; and know that I am in awe of those who can take that walk, because...well, just because.
Jesus then springs Final Jeopardy on the disciples: “Who do you say that I am?” This is the most important question they have ever been asked and Peter answers with these words he hopes and prays will be affirmed, “You are the Messiah.” Jesus doesn’t say yes, but he doesn’t say no, he tells the disciples not to tell anyone about him. This is as close to “yes” that anyone will get at this point in Mark’s gospel.
Peter answers, “You are the Messiah.” Messiah is a Hebrew word; more often we use the word that comes from the Greek, Christ. Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus is the Christ. Peter must have been ecstatic! This is the man sent to save the nation of Israel, this is the one sent to save the world. I can just imagine the disciples exchanging high-fives all around, celebrating the Messiah—Prophet, Priest, and King—had come.
In Jewish theology, the Messiah was expected to come in power and glory—not unlike Christian theology—but this power and glory was expected to be military. The Messiah Israel expected two thousand years ago would have battled and defeated the Roman Empire. So this must have been a wonderful moment for the disciples; Peter has finally said the big “it.” Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus is the Christ. Happy days are here again.
So with this affirmation, with these words, Jesus lets the disciples know what it means to be the Christ, to be the Messiah. He lets them know about the great military battles to come. He shows them how Rome is going to be broken; sent home tail between the legs.
He tells them, “the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.”
Yeah! Wait, no!
Peter is shocked. He knows the commentaries. He knows the history. He has all ready given the right answer once today and so now he’s going to help out. “Dude, you got it all wrong. You don’t get rejected, you do the rejecting. You can’t die, you lead the army.” I’m thinking that the whole “three-day-rise-again” piece went over his head since his hands were already filled with enough stuff to set Jesus straight.
Jesus just gave the right back at you, Peter: Yeah! Wait, no!
Peter just said the worst thing he, or any of us, could say to God. He said “No.” Jesus said, “This is my way, this is my fate, and it’s gonna be a ride.” Peter said, “No, Mr. Messiah, you don’t understand, it can’t happen that way, it’s gotta be this way.” Peter said “No” to the Christ; and the Christ said “No” right back.
Saying “Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Holy One of God—Jesus is Lord” is the most important affirmation we can make. I want to say this again: saying “Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Holy One of God—Jesus is Lord” is the most important affirmation we can make. Still this is only the first step in the faith we profess. Too often, we profess that we understand more like Peter understands than God wants.
If “Jesus is Lord” is the most important thing we can say, then the next most important thing is how we say “Jesus is Lord.” We have to move beyond giving the right answer and put the right answer into action; taking the word that “Jesus is Lord” into the world for the benefit of God’s good creation. In a very real way, it is worse to know God and say “no” to God’s authority than it is not to know God at all.
It is up to us to seek what the Lord wants from us. We seek what God wants from the Word of God; the Living Word of God in Jesus Christ, the written Word of God in Holy Scripture, and the spoken Word of God proclaimed. We must seek from the Word what it is to be good disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ because the primary concern of discipleship is to translate legitimate Christian speech into vital Christian action.
We must also beware of what we hear, what we discern. Peter shows us that it is way too easy to expect something only to discover that God has nothing to do with our expectations; especially if those expectations have come from the scribes and Pharisees of yesterday, today, or tomorrow.
Knowing what it truly means to say that Jesus is the Messiah is as important as saying it. Responding to what knowing “Jesus is the Messiah” means is what follows from saying and knowing. For what will it profit to have great faith and do nothing with it? For what will it profit to gain the whole world and forfeit life?
The Lord has endowed us with capacities to make the world serve God’s needs and to enjoy its good things. Life is a gift to be received with gratitude, a task to be pursued with courage. We are free to seek this life within God’s purposes: to develop and protect the resources of nature for the common welfare, to work for justice and peace in society, and use God’s creative powers for the fulfillment of eternal life in God’s good creation.[9]
When we say “no” to God, we trade the joyful life in Christ for the pale shelter of the presumed peace and security of human things. As our Facebook friend asked, “Where is mercy for the poor, taking care of the sick and needy, and how can someone who claims to be a voice for the Almighty Lord turn an eye away from the oppressed in favor of big business and a big ole pile of cash?” As Jesus responded, “Take up your cross, and follow me.”
[1] Memory Alpha—The Star Trek Wiki, http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Who_Mourns_for_Adonais%3F_(episode), retrieved September 10, 2009.
[2] Facebook Paul Andresen The Today Show just reported that many Republican and, http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/timelovesahero?v=feed&story_fbid=166087572192, Retrieved September 10, 2009.
[3] The bracketed addition is my editing comment, not a part of the original text.
[4] Malachi 4:5
[5] Matthew 11:13-14
[6] Luke 1:17
[7] Matthew 17:12, Mark 9:13
[8] John 1:21
[9] Paraphrase from the seventeenth paragraph of the PC (U.S.A.)’s Confession of 1967, this Sunday’s Affirmation of Faith
Sunday, September 06, 2009
We're All In This Together
This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on Sunday September 6, 2009, the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23
Psalm 125
James 2:1-10, (11-13,) 14-18
Mark 7:24-37
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
About six months ago, the Session commissioned two bible study and prayer groups based on the “Unbinding the Gospel”[1] real life evangelism series. One of the greatest strengths about this series is that it places at the forefront of evangelism where the church is located, spiritually and physically.
To describe the new people who would come to the church, the author uses nine categories. The first four groups are people like us. They are our children, their friends, folks who attend but have not made a commitment, and people who transfer from other congregations whose theology is similar to ours.
Just a note on this last group, church professionals tend to frown on people changing church affiliation willy-nilly, and even more with pastors who try to solicit members of other congregations. This is called swapping sheep. There are times when people just need to change their church, but first the sheep and their shepherd should talk about this first. Why? To see if the relationship can be salvaged. Also, if the sheep has a habit of moving from flock to flock to flock, there are some other issues involved. Still, there is a valuable and God blessed ministry in accepting sheep from other flocks when the move is right. But that’s getting away from the point.
The other groups are transfers from different theologies, people who have drifted from church, people who have left the church hurt, those who are not Christian but are like us, and finally those who are not Christian and are not like us.
The reason any of this is important is found in our reading from Proverbs. The rich and the poor have this in common: the Lord is the maker of them all. The Lord is the Maker of us all; the rich and the poor, the young and the old, the powerful and the powerless, the women and the men. The Lord is the Maker of us all.
But let’s be honest, this sounds nothing like the Lord and Messiah who says “it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” The Lord is the Maker of us all; the rich and the poor, the young and the old, the powerful and the powerless, the men and the women. But taking a look at the gospel reading asks the question of whether this is as true about Jew and Gentile.
We should remember, Mark’s gospel, the first of the gospels, was written by Jews for Jews. This work was definitively focused on what Jesus meant to the new community of believers, believers who were still decidedly Jewish, and believed Jesus is the long awaited Messiah, or as we would say, the Christ.
These people were still trying to define what it meant to be Jews who were no longer waiting for the Messiah. In their eyes, these Jewish Christians weren’t so much leaving the faith of their fathers as they were embarking on the next step in the faith of their fathers. This meant that not only did they have to navigate life knowing the Messiah; they also had to try to make their ways in the temple their Messiah cleansed.
While this story was written thirty years after the events recorded in Acts, it would still be between ten and twenty years before they were. Yes, by this time Peter had eaten unclean food with the God-fearing Cornelius the Centurion, but the story had not yet been recorded in the way we have it today. Still, the gentiles, the Syrian woman and the man from the Decapolis, they were a different kettle of fish and the new Jewish Christian community was having a difficult time dealing with these situations; but there was an example for them to follow, the example Jesus set in this passage from Mark.
In this passage, the people see that their deeply seated prejudices were just that, deeply seated prejudices. They were so deeply seated that even the Jewish Messiah knew them, and before the Syrophoenician woman, expressed them. Yet as these long held prejudices were held by the people, the Lord showed them a better way. He showed them the unmerited favor of his grace, healing those who knew him by reputation, maybe not as Lord, but they knew him by reputation.
By this, he demonstrated once and for all that those who are generous are blessed, for they share their bread with the poor. He shows a good name is to be chosen rather than great riches and favor is better than silver or gold. And by these traits he shows that whoever sows injustice will reap calamity and the rod of the sower’s fury will be destroyed. In these simple yet extremely strange verses from Mark’s gospel, we are shown the wisdom of the Proverbs because the Lord is the maker of us all.
The comedienne Rita Rudner, using the wisdom which only the jester can share with the king, says it this way. “If you put flour and water together, you have glue. If you add butter and eggs, you have the makings of a cake. Where did the glue go?”[2] The glue that holds together the insulated community becomes something much greater when combined with the other. To become the community of God, the cake of our Lord, we must combine who we are with the other so that we become something better, something greater in the name of the Messiah.
The last five of the nine groups from “Unbinding the Gospel;” transfers from different theologies, people who have drifted from church, people who have left the church hurt, those who are not Christian but are like us, and finally those who are not Christian and are not like us; there is one very, very important thing that we must recognize about these people: They aren’t going to look much like us. I want to say that one more time; the people who know the least about Jesus Christ, the people the Messiah longs for us to be with; the people who need the Lord the most; they may have many things in common with us, but they won’t look like us.
They will be drifting, they will be hurt. They will be an injured people who are seeking a life that they know exists and may only have an inkling of where to find it. They may find that spark, the spark of the joy of a relationship with Christ in a friend or a coworker. They will be the eggs and butter to our water and flour.
Jesus was sent for the nation of Israel, but he has come to redeem all of us. We see this in Mark’s gospel. There is no longer rich or poor in the kingdom of God—we are all rich in the life of God. Reaching beyond the Proverb, James teaches we are all called to show favor to all God’s creatures, not just the honored ones.
We are called to act. We are to serve one another as we are to serve the Lord our God, and as the Lord our God serves us. In the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer:
The simple act of sitting down around a table is something a lot of people don't find particularly important - but for Christians, the shared supper is a vital aspect of spiritual life.
The Scriptures speak of three kinds of table fellowship that Jesus keeps with his own: daily fellowship at table, the table fellowship of the Lord's Supper, and the final table fellowship in the kingdom of God. But in all three, the one thing that counts is that ‘their eyes were opened, and they knew him.’
The fellowship of the table teaches Christians that here they still eat the perishable bread of the earthly pilgrimage. But if they share this bread with one another, they shall also one day receive the imperishable bread together in the Father's house.[3]
We are called to go into the world, even into places we are not particularly comfortable, whether physically or socially. Like Jesus going into the gentile lands, we are called to go into the wilderness and serve one another. We are called to a living faith, not one that fades away as soon as we leave the doors of this sanctuary. We are called to take this faith and use it for the good of all God’s creation. James reminds us that faith without works is dead, and ours is a living faith. Yet, we must be reminded that James does not teach that our righteousness comes from our works.
Our faith, our vocation is outrageous. We are called to serve a God who works like no human being ever could. Yet our God walked the earth like every other human being does. We are called to believe wild and unusual things, some which offend our sensibilities—and the sensibilities of the world around us. And I say so let it be; after all if the Proverb teaches us one thing, we’re all in this together. Let’s be together in the name of the Lord.
[1] Reese, Martha Grace, “Unbinding the Gospel.” St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2008. I can’t recommend this book and its evangelism ideas more highly.
[2] http://homileticsonline.com/subscriber/illustration_search.asp?keywords=together, accessed September 5, 2009.
[3] Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, “Life Together” New York: Harper & Brothers, 1954, 66.
Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23
Psalm 125
James 2:1-10, (11-13,) 14-18
Mark 7:24-37
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
About six months ago, the Session commissioned two bible study and prayer groups based on the “Unbinding the Gospel”[1] real life evangelism series. One of the greatest strengths about this series is that it places at the forefront of evangelism where the church is located, spiritually and physically.
To describe the new people who would come to the church, the author uses nine categories. The first four groups are people like us. They are our children, their friends, folks who attend but have not made a commitment, and people who transfer from other congregations whose theology is similar to ours.
Just a note on this last group, church professionals tend to frown on people changing church affiliation willy-nilly, and even more with pastors who try to solicit members of other congregations. This is called swapping sheep. There are times when people just need to change their church, but first the sheep and their shepherd should talk about this first. Why? To see if the relationship can be salvaged. Also, if the sheep has a habit of moving from flock to flock to flock, there are some other issues involved. Still, there is a valuable and God blessed ministry in accepting sheep from other flocks when the move is right. But that’s getting away from the point.
The other groups are transfers from different theologies, people who have drifted from church, people who have left the church hurt, those who are not Christian but are like us, and finally those who are not Christian and are not like us.
The reason any of this is important is found in our reading from Proverbs. The rich and the poor have this in common: the Lord is the maker of them all. The Lord is the Maker of us all; the rich and the poor, the young and the old, the powerful and the powerless, the women and the men. The Lord is the Maker of us all.
But let’s be honest, this sounds nothing like the Lord and Messiah who says “it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” The Lord is the Maker of us all; the rich and the poor, the young and the old, the powerful and the powerless, the men and the women. But taking a look at the gospel reading asks the question of whether this is as true about Jew and Gentile.
We should remember, Mark’s gospel, the first of the gospels, was written by Jews for Jews. This work was definitively focused on what Jesus meant to the new community of believers, believers who were still decidedly Jewish, and believed Jesus is the long awaited Messiah, or as we would say, the Christ.
These people were still trying to define what it meant to be Jews who were no longer waiting for the Messiah. In their eyes, these Jewish Christians weren’t so much leaving the faith of their fathers as they were embarking on the next step in the faith of their fathers. This meant that not only did they have to navigate life knowing the Messiah; they also had to try to make their ways in the temple their Messiah cleansed.
While this story was written thirty years after the events recorded in Acts, it would still be between ten and twenty years before they were. Yes, by this time Peter had eaten unclean food with the God-fearing Cornelius the Centurion, but the story had not yet been recorded in the way we have it today. Still, the gentiles, the Syrian woman and the man from the Decapolis, they were a different kettle of fish and the new Jewish Christian community was having a difficult time dealing with these situations; but there was an example for them to follow, the example Jesus set in this passage from Mark.
In this passage, the people see that their deeply seated prejudices were just that, deeply seated prejudices. They were so deeply seated that even the Jewish Messiah knew them, and before the Syrophoenician woman, expressed them. Yet as these long held prejudices were held by the people, the Lord showed them a better way. He showed them the unmerited favor of his grace, healing those who knew him by reputation, maybe not as Lord, but they knew him by reputation.
By this, he demonstrated once and for all that those who are generous are blessed, for they share their bread with the poor. He shows a good name is to be chosen rather than great riches and favor is better than silver or gold. And by these traits he shows that whoever sows injustice will reap calamity and the rod of the sower’s fury will be destroyed. In these simple yet extremely strange verses from Mark’s gospel, we are shown the wisdom of the Proverbs because the Lord is the maker of us all.
The comedienne Rita Rudner, using the wisdom which only the jester can share with the king, says it this way. “If you put flour and water together, you have glue. If you add butter and eggs, you have the makings of a cake. Where did the glue go?”[2] The glue that holds together the insulated community becomes something much greater when combined with the other. To become the community of God, the cake of our Lord, we must combine who we are with the other so that we become something better, something greater in the name of the Messiah.
The last five of the nine groups from “Unbinding the Gospel;” transfers from different theologies, people who have drifted from church, people who have left the church hurt, those who are not Christian but are like us, and finally those who are not Christian and are not like us; there is one very, very important thing that we must recognize about these people: They aren’t going to look much like us. I want to say that one more time; the people who know the least about Jesus Christ, the people the Messiah longs for us to be with; the people who need the Lord the most; they may have many things in common with us, but they won’t look like us.
They will be drifting, they will be hurt. They will be an injured people who are seeking a life that they know exists and may only have an inkling of where to find it. They may find that spark, the spark of the joy of a relationship with Christ in a friend or a coworker. They will be the eggs and butter to our water and flour.
Jesus was sent for the nation of Israel, but he has come to redeem all of us. We see this in Mark’s gospel. There is no longer rich or poor in the kingdom of God—we are all rich in the life of God. Reaching beyond the Proverb, James teaches we are all called to show favor to all God’s creatures, not just the honored ones.
We are called to act. We are to serve one another as we are to serve the Lord our God, and as the Lord our God serves us. In the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer:
The simple act of sitting down around a table is something a lot of people don't find particularly important - but for Christians, the shared supper is a vital aspect of spiritual life.
The Scriptures speak of three kinds of table fellowship that Jesus keeps with his own: daily fellowship at table, the table fellowship of the Lord's Supper, and the final table fellowship in the kingdom of God. But in all three, the one thing that counts is that ‘their eyes were opened, and they knew him.’
The fellowship of the table teaches Christians that here they still eat the perishable bread of the earthly pilgrimage. But if they share this bread with one another, they shall also one day receive the imperishable bread together in the Father's house.[3]
We are called to go into the world, even into places we are not particularly comfortable, whether physically or socially. Like Jesus going into the gentile lands, we are called to go into the wilderness and serve one another. We are called to a living faith, not one that fades away as soon as we leave the doors of this sanctuary. We are called to take this faith and use it for the good of all God’s creation. James reminds us that faith without works is dead, and ours is a living faith. Yet, we must be reminded that James does not teach that our righteousness comes from our works.
Our faith, our vocation is outrageous. We are called to serve a God who works like no human being ever could. Yet our God walked the earth like every other human being does. We are called to believe wild and unusual things, some which offend our sensibilities—and the sensibilities of the world around us. And I say so let it be; after all if the Proverb teaches us one thing, we’re all in this together. Let’s be together in the name of the Lord.
[1] Reese, Martha Grace, “Unbinding the Gospel.” St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2008. I can’t recommend this book and its evangelism ideas more highly.
[2] http://homileticsonline.com/subscriber/illustration_search.asp?keywords=together, accessed September 5, 2009.
[3] Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, “Life Together” New York: Harper & Brothers, 1954, 66.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)