Gospel Pronouns (Pent 18B)

 

Last week’s Gospel text followed up on what it means to pick up one’s cross and be a follower of Jesus. The text left Jesus in the hard conversation of what it means to follow God’s call, where one is to be “last of all and servant of all.” Today’s readings set us in the midst of another difficult conversation: us and them, those people and Jesus followers, those on the inside verses those on the outside.

The disciples come to Jesus concerned that there are people casting out demons – people who are not the disciples, people who are not Jesus followers. The disciples are falling into a human pattern; centuries before in Moses’ time, 70 leaders are chosen, and the people are concerned because two – Eldad and Medad- not of the 70, are found prophesying. The plea comes, “Stop them.”

 

People are casting out demons. Praise the Lord, healing is happening!

Eldad and Medad are prophesying. Praise the Lord, the Word of the Lord is spreading and being heard!  Good and good.

... but that is not what the text says. The disciples and Joshua, Moses’ assistant, want the actions of unsanctioned participants to stop. What drives the concern? Is it jealousy? Is it a lack of control and loss of power? Is it judgement that ‘they’ are less than, so shouldn’t have God-given abilities? Is it fear? Perhaps it is racism, classism, or some other kind of ‘ism?’ Is it a wish to keep God for themselves – an action born out of a theology of scarcity rather than abundance?

A hard conversation.

...because I have been jealous when a different Christian denomination or church makes waves and gets noticed; when secular organizations are commended for their service records; when others get recognition for things we have been preaching and living for a long time... and I know it is not right to feel that way. Then I feel guilty for being judgemental and smug and disappointed and afraid ---of what I have discovered about myself and the church and the world --- how, why, has God’s message, through me, not connected with others in a big-showy-real-tangible-kind of way?

 

It is not about me. It is us. It is human beings. We are with the disciples having a hard conversation with Jesus.

Scholar and blogger for 1517.org, Chad Bird, wrote an article with the title, “Christianity Is Not About a Personal Relationship with Jesus.”  The article draws one’s attention to ‘the communal’ in  scripture. Nowhere does scripture talk about a personal relationship with Jesus.  God’s work, worship, mission, kindom, discipleship, grace, forgiveness is all done in community, with community, and through community.

I once read  that the whole Bible is a progression of God’s people slowly figuring out who God has included- a continual expansion of community.

Jesus says to the disciples, “Whoever is not against US is for US.”

Moses comments, “Would that ALL the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put the spirit on them.”

 

This year Canada Lutheran World Relief celebrates 75 years, designating this Sunday to celebrate and give thanks for the communal work done by the grace of God  working through Lutheran congregations and various Lutheran church bodies. CLWR’s start is a fantastic image of what it means to work communally. As WWII was coming to a close people were figuring out what next.  Lutheran communities in Canada – churches with German, Scandinavian, Eastern European peoples – saw people like themselves, people with whom they shared language, religion, and culture, people from their countries of origin;  displaced because of war and having no place to go.  Lutheran church communities formed CLWR as an organized effort to offer and create a place for Displaced Persons.  Lutherans in Canada were willing to open their homes, congregations, and communities to the refugees – many of whom where also Lutheran.

Over the years, Canada Lutheran World Relief has remained committed to refugee sponsorship and the reunification and resettlement of families. At the heart of CLWR’s work is the call found in scripture to ‘Welcome the Stranger.’

The difference today, as compared to CLWR’s original cause, is that refugee sponsorship has expanded and includes a diversity of colour, people, cultures, religions, and languages – welcoming ALL, not just those we deem to be like ‘us.’

The Gospel, as shared through CLWR’s expression of God’s love, is that all are welcome, and that all deserve respect that includes a safe place to call home.

But this is not what we hear in the world around us. There is a lot of anti-immigrant sentiment. Policies are created to allow in only certain kinds of immigrants. The news this week from the US is the deportation of Haitians who have gathered in a makeshift town under cover of a bridge on the Rio Grande; to be deported -sent back to their country of landing, so to Guatemala, where many fall into the hands of cartels. In Europe, Greece and Turkey, are fighting an influx of refugees coming from Afghanistan. Around the world there are 70 million displaced persons on the move.

 

CLWR is a feel good story for me, for our congregations, for the larger work of the Lutheran World Federation in administrating some of the largest refugee camps in the world. When we look around this congregation, we can pat ourselves on the back and say look at the Gospel of welcome. As a community we represent diversity; with a dozen languages amongst us, a spectrum of skin colour and sexual orientation, a diversity of jobs, hobbies, and volunteer engagement; we represent ages spanning from in the womb to 98; there are apartment dwellers and home owners.

Yes, look at the welcome.  Look at the abundance ... but... the conversation between Jesus and the disciples of ‘us’ and ‘them,’ is still on our lips and in our heads and hearts too.

 

Recently at a National Church Council meeting, council members participated in a workshop on biases, also known as micro aggression training. The training helps a person and the community to be aware of biases and to then work to counter the ‘isms’ -like racism, sexism, etc that come from conscious and unconscious biases.  The scripture texts – highlighting ‘us’ and ‘them’ – are examples of how biases surface and are expressed.

Every time we use phrases that include, ‘those people,’ ‘that group;’ when we choose to identify and label another group ‘them’ not ‘us’ – we are participating in a practice that Jesus and Moses both countered in their day.  As leaders, Jesus and Moses both spoke to reorient attitudes and perceptions of the people gathered around them. Jesus says to the disciples, “Whoever is not against US is for US.”

Moses comments, “Would that ALL the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put the spirit on them.”

 

Speaking about micro aggressions is hard work and a hard conversation. It requires being open and honest; sharing feelings; risk making mistakes; and being willing to change. One of the lessons I took home from the workshop was the power of language and how changing language changes attitudes and biases over time. ‘Whoever is not against us is for us,’  is powerful language directly pointed at the disciples to expand notions of healing and wholeness, how God works, how kindom grows. Learning new language and ways of speaking is hard and it takes practice.  Have you ever tried to not label a group different from yourself as ‘them?’ Changing language to be Gospel language opens hearts to embrace the abundance of God’s welcome.  God’s word is actually heard when it expands beyond language that divides.

Perhaps you have noticed that in sermons and conversation I practice speaking about God as God – constructing sentences so that I do not use ‘he’ or ‘she’ pronouns to refer to God; for God is bigger than human gender constructs. Perhaps you have noticed a recent switch to saying sibling, rather than brother and sister, to acknowledge that gender is a spectrum. Expressing and preaching the Gospel includes small language changes that represent a fuller understanding of God and relationship with each other and creation.

 

In COVID times, as meetings have been moved to platforms like ZOOM, you may have noticed that people state after their names preferred pronouns: he/him; she/her; they/them/their. National Church Council participated in an exercise where we avoided using pronouns all together; choosing to refer to people by name, or relationship to us like cousin, child, mother. It is not difficult, it just  takes a retraining of the brain; and requires lots of practice. The same exercise and practice can be applied to referring to groups of people different from ourselves.

 

The Gospel text for today sums up the text by saying

 and be at peace with one another.

 

Practicing Gospel language – welcoming the stranger through words- changes attitudes and in due course affects how the community welcomes the stranger through deeds. Let us practice Gospel language and expand our understanding of whom God includes in the kindom. And throughout this troubled world may ALL be at peace with one another.

 

Amen.