No One Dared to Ask Questions -- (Reformation/Pent 23B)

 

Mark 12: 28-34

After that no one dared to ask Jesus any question. 

[exaggerate the action of going to ask a question, then not, then ask, then not]

 

… So Luther turned to writing statements. Thesis followed by disputations, prefaces, articles, confessions, sermons, translations, and letters. Although not technically questions, Luther’s body of work questioned the church of the time.

 

Perhaps you are shaking your head at the jump from Jesus to Luther, the disconnect of time, and the anachronism of Luther responding as if present with Jesus, the scribe, and the Temple folk. Through Living Word – scripture that is as alive today as when the events recorded happened - Luther was very much present in the crowd, wrestling with the question, “which commandment is the first of all?” Luther was present and involved, as are those who read Living Word today --- we, by hearing the text, are involved and participating in this fundamental foundation of faith as described by Jesus.

 

Not asking questions baffles my innate curiosity and sense of wonder; and roughly scratches my Lutheran sensibilities. In my faith experience, questions have always been welcomed and encouraged. One of Luther’s writings -one of the first that I was introduced to - asks a question, one that countless generations of Lutherans have learned. The Small Catechism is a small booklet written for parents to teach their children, pastors to teach youth: the Ten Commandments, the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, the Sacraments, and evening and morning prayers.  Working through the Commandment section, each commandment is stated followed by a question.

It reads like Luther is standing in the crowd, beside the scribe in the Gospel. No one dared to ask Jesus any question. Presented with the combination of commandments to love God and love neighbour, Luther in the Catechism asked – not of Jesus- but of the hearers, the crowd, the scribe, the disciples, himself:

What does this mean?  

What does this mean for me? For you? For us?

…

 

The Gospel text that we heard is a continuation of strategy and defense – an interplay that began with Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem via donkey in chapter 11 of Mark. Jesus confronts the people and authorities in the Temple, overturning tables, condemning practices of unequitable disbursement of God’s abundance and pointing out the failure of covenant people in covenant living.  Afraid, and with the crowds spellbound by Jesus’ teaching, the authorities look for ways to kill Jesus.  The next day chief priests, scribes, and elders approach Jesus with questions of authority and power, where Jesus’ counter questions entrap and expose a lack of authority on their part with the populace. Next comes a parable where fingers are pointed at the establishment as being absentee landlords of God’s vineyard. This is followed by a rebuff trying to entrap Jesus in a dissertation on taxes and Empire. Then a nitty-gritty argument is presented by another group about marriage, death and resurrection.  Then comes the scribe we just read about asking which commandment is most important … In this game of chess, Jesus once again out maneuvers the scribes and chief priests; adhering to the rules of discourse, but, adding refreshing new plays to the game.

The pieces in play are all on the same board and are not positioned as far from each other as hearers of the story may anticipate. Jesus’ answer is within the realm of scripture, faith practice, rabbi-esque teaching, and reinterpreting texts through the lens of others. Jesus uses the well known and used:

Shema –the foundation of Jewish faith and practice -as the starting point: “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart.” From this foundation, and versed in scripture, Jesus extends the concept of love for God and what that means for faith and practice by adding Law from Lev. 19:18: “love your neighbour as yourself.”

 

… So Luther, still in the crowd, and pondering the question of the scribe and Jesus’ response – hears the Gospel loudly ring in the combination of ‘Love God’ “Love neighbour’.  This is a new move where loving God transforms how one lives covenant with one’s neighbours. At this point, Luther turns to ask the question --- generations of those who read his catechism turn to ask the question: What does this mean?

Luther’s Small Catechism gives a response every time this question is asked. For each commandment the reply begins:

We are to fear and love God…

In other words, continuing the faith and practice of addressing and acknowledging God as God. And once loving God the heart re-forms, transforms:

We are to fear and love God … so that we… this relationship, all of a sudden has responsibility, consequences, actions; power – where Living Word moves off a page of sacred text, meanders through hearts and minds, and changes fear and love of God into living action towards one’s neighbour.

For each commandment the actions that follow the ‘so that we’ phrase vary based on specifically addressing the ‘you shall not steal, murder, bear false witness, and so on.’ The explanation of what does this mean? discourages certain behaviours and offers positive ways to live out in one’s life love for the neighbour.

What does this mean? We are to fear and love God, so that we…

Do not – use God’s name as curse or to practice magic; despise preaching or God’s word; despise parents or others in authority; endanger or harm the lives of neighbours; use shoddy merchandise or crooked deals; tell lies or destroy reputations; trick or use legal means to claim property or someone’s inheritance; entice or steal away workers or employees.

But instead – use God’s name to praise and in gratitude; gladly hear and learn scripture; honour, serve, respect those in authority; help and support neighbours in all of life’s needs; help to improve and protect their property and income; come to a neighbour’s defense, speak well of them, and interpret everything they do in the best possible light.

Love God. Love your neighbour.

What does this mean?

 

The crowd that day had little understanding of what this meant for Jesus. Jesus out of love for God and love of neighbour is preparing the disciples for his death. Jesus is expressing the kindom as an outworking of one’s love in ‘the Love’- “Hear, O Israel the Lord our God the Lord is one, you shall love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.”

Jesus’ last days in Jerusalem specifically address covenant living and what love of God looks like in terms of loving the neighbour: faith is not just about rituals or the Temple or religious authority; loving God is manifest in loving neighbour -heard in Jesus’ arguments that include prohibition against exploiting and oppressing the poor, encouragement of a redistribution of God’s abundance, and a reconsideration of ties to the Empire and its systems.

 

We are to fear and love God, so that we…

Live the kindom; transform and reform with Living Word working in, through, and around us. …following Jesus even unto death.

 

The question asking is not directed at Jesus; the question is one that we ask ourselves.

Jesus connects two commandments, first love God and second love your neighbour.

The question remains for you to ask yourself: What does this mean?

The Suitcase (Pent 22B)

 

Text: Mark 10: 46-52

A regular church-goer once told their pastor that going to church was like being a travelling sales rep. A travelling sales rep packs a suitcase on Sunday, filling it with clean socks and underwear, ironed and folded shirts, toiletries, a book, and anything else they might need for their week on the road away from home. At the end of a long and tiring week the sales rep returns home, to empty the suitcase of its dirty, worn, and crumpled clothing, and throw out empty toothpaste tubes and whatever other garbage has been collected. The whole process is repeated on their next trip.

The church-goer explained to the pastor that on a Sunday a person comes to church to empty their suitcase, dumping their week before God: all the stains, dirt, wrinkles,  the could-have- should-have- would-haves, the things left done and undone. During worship, the empty suitcase is refilled with words of forgiveness, Gospel, hope, peace, joy, scriptures to ponder, challenges to build kindom, encouragement from the Christian community, and love. Leaving church clean and filled, the church-goer goes to faithfully live a week of following Jesus' example, to share and grow God’s kindom.

 

The travelling sales rep came to mind when reflecting on the story of Bartimaeus. The rep comes to church on Sunday and by opening the suitcase says, "Son of David, have mercy on me."

Jesus asks, "What do you want from me?"

The sales rep replies, "Teacher, let me see again."

Immediately sight is regained and the travelling sales rep follows Jesus on the way. 

 

This morning at the Lutheran Church of the Resurrection, in Halifax, NS, the congregation is celebrating confirmation.  Two young men are affirming their faith.

It is exciting that this year, because of the sermon being shared across the country, that the whole church is invited to the celebration; the whole church participates in the affirmation of faith by remembering the promises we each made at confirmation or when joining the church.

This is important because confirmations are not about one person or one congregation. Confirmations remind us of the importance of continued discipleship and telling the story of Jesus.

The affirmation of faith service is not a one time deal. There is a first time -Confirmation- to make the promises for oneself with God, but, there is a need to return again and again to affirm faith and relationship with God. It is like the traveler bringing their suitcase home, and like Bartimaeus saying, “Teacher, let me see again.”

Every day living makes it so easy to forget who we are and whose we are. Promises tarnish, they get left on the proverbial shelf accumulating dust, they are buried under other priorities, and they are forgotten as they are pushed to the back of the closet of life.

We forget that we promise:

to live among God’s faithful people, to hear the word of God and share in the Lord’s super,

 to proclaim the good news of God in Christ though word and deed,

 to serve all people, following the example of Jesus,

and to strive for justice and peace in all the earth.

And at every confirmation and affirmation of faith, the people of God make a promise too: to support and pray for those who confirm their life in Christ.  

The crowd, around Jesus that day, included righteous and faithful people: God-fearers, disciples, and covenant-keepers. There were those who believed in the coming of God’s reign, those who were hoping for the Messiah, and those who prayed regularly. And yet, when face-to-face with a man calling out, “Son of David, have mercy on me,” they chose to react from dense vision-less hearts, from a place of preoccupied priorities, from tarnished attitudes, and hopes opaquely covered in grime. The crowd ordered Bartimaeus to be quiet. Talk about hiding the Gospel and putting a damper on God’s coming kindom.

I wonder how often in focusing on my plan to follow Jesus, in my plan as to how to go about living a godly life, that I grope and stumble, never hearing those calling to God or seeking God?  Do we as faithful people get stuck in the mud of life, closing doors to God’s vision, turning out lights of mission, and in words and deeds -both known and unknown- ask others to be quiet when they are seeking or calling out to God?  How inobservant have we been – to the plight of poor, those struggling with mental health, offering inadequate responses to people we deem ‘other,’ and quieting the marginalized? How willingly inobservant will be continue to be?

In the story it is the perseverance of Bartimaeus -and perhaps the volume of his voice-that penetrates through some of the mud, washes the eyes and hearts of those in the crowd so that they show hospitality.  It’s as if they all of a sudden wake up and noticing Bartimaeus, connect with him, embrace him, “take heart, get up, Jesus is calling you.” This sentence of encouraging hope and Gospel-filled Word is invitation and highlights a moment of clarity. Would that all our moments, words, and actions be so clear.

That day the crowd learned from Bartimaeus, his words, needed to be on their lips too:

“Teacher, let me see again.” Bartimaeus’ response speaks to the fleeting moment of clarity by the crowd, and about how it is that clarity can become a state of being.  Oh that the crowd, that the church, that those who confirm and affirm their faith will truly see – people, God, the coming of God’s kindom.

 

“Teacher, let me see again.”

Let me see you in the community of faith, hear your Word as it is proclaimed, experience your grace in the communion meal, see compassion and forgiveness at work in the world, feel hopeful, witness your peace, sense justice, give and receive your love, and touch your kindom.

“Teacher, let me see again.”

That this is not an individual pursuit, where the promises are for me alone to receive, to keep, or to make. Open my heart – the heart of the young men being confirmed today- all of us as we too affirm our faith and pray for our siblings in faith; that together we see, hear, and touch those who are seeking and calling to Jesus. On our lips place the Word: “take heart, get up, Jesus is calling you.” Let us not get so caught up in life that we get wrapped in disregard, ignorance,  inattention, or indifference for our neighbours.

“Teacher, let me see again.”

Let me witness the coming of your kindom, again and again, hope upon hope: for the healing of the world.

 

Let us pray,

Son of David, have mercy on us.

Give us new birth, cleanse us from sin, and raise us to eternal life.

Stir up in our people the gift of your Holy Spirit: the spirit of wisdom nd understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirt of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, the spirit of joy in your presence.

Teacher, let us see again. Amen.

The Best Seat in the House (Pent.21B)

 Once upon a time, ‘the best seat in the house,” referred to a private box seat located above the stage in Elizabethan playhouses.  The seat allowed nobles to see more of the audience than the play itself.  They could hear the play and see the tops of the actors’ heads. The seat also kept the person in it from being plastered with vegetables or other projectiles thrown by the audience at the performers.

Today when going to the theatre, a show, or a sporting event, people opt to sit in seats with the best view of the show within a price range they can afford.

The ‘best seat in the house’ – this reversal of meaning – from what it was in Elizabethan time to what it is today; describes what is going on in the Gospel text.

 

James and John are requesting ‘the best seat in the house.’ They are competing for who will sit closest to Jesus.  Jesus, however, focuses on a reversal of values in God’s kindom and in God’s vision.  Power, dominance, and importance are seen by the dominant culture as the ‘best seats in the house.’ Jesus says this is not so.

 

This morning I would like us to think about the ‘seats’ that we sit in.

Consider where you sit: at church, at school, at work, and at play. Do you sit on a board of directors, as a member of a community, or in a volunteer position?  Do you have seats – seasons tickets- for the theatre or sports games?

Are the ‘seats’ you sit in privileged? Do the seats bring prestige? Do the seats come with expectations and responsibilities?

 

 Pastors are often asked to name what ministry is happening out of the church where they serve. Pastors make a list: rhyming off the groups using the church building, participation in collection projects for community organizations, food or shelter services, refugee resettlement sponsorships, and so on. My understanding of ministry happening from a church is much bigger. I take into account each and every ‘seat’ in God’s house.

 Each of you come to church and choose a seat – those of you tuning in from home likely have a softer seat than your siblings sitting in the church pews. Each seat – has a person – you. And as a sitting member of the congregation, or of God's family, you are in ministry; your seat comes with responsibilities. 

If you turn and take a look at the upper seats in the house, you will note that each week we sit under the words of our working mission statement: “God is on a mission and we want to be part of it.” These words rest on us and they give us direction as we get up from our seats and move into the seats we sit in in the world.

When asked what ministry happens through this church... the best response - is follow everyone and see where they take their seats in the world: parent advisory committees, board members of non-profit organizations, advocacy group members, donors to a wider-range of causes, coaches, Guide/Scout leaders, tutors, meditation teachers, caregivers, Lifeline installers, petition and letter writers, Kid’s helpline counselors, volunteer firefighters ...

I’m not saying that one has to have a seat here to participate in the short list just given, but, I do believe that faith and living in faith community encourages us not to loss hope, and compels us to offer what we have in sharing God’s grace in the world.

German poet Novalis wrote that “the seat of the soul is where the inner world and the outer world meet.”

 

Where is it that we choose to sit?  Where is the seat of the soul – the piece of soul inside of you – where does your inner world and the outer world meet?

For me my inner world and the outer world meet in two ways: one in comfortable seats – pleasant interactions, giving without much risk, providing aid, offering prayers and blessings, being kind, hospitable, and grateful; the other seat is uncomfortable, the places in the world where my heart breaks, where relationship is costly, when sitting down means getting dirty, being scared, not knowing what to do, and being overwhelmed by the magnitude of the worlds’ uncharitable and injustice systems.

 

I wonder if James and John felt like their seats were uncomfortable and getting too hot. I wonder if they were afraid on the day that the Gospel captured their conversation.  I say this because Jesus has been having hard conversations with the disciples, the crowds, and the leaders of the day. Finally the disciples are walking from one place to another with Jesus and have a moment to breath. It sounds to me like the two brothers are letting off steam – letting their nervous minds rest and their fear of Jesus’ talk of death to subside – so they start yacking, joking, and getting carried away.  They say things without thinking and get into questions that come out of left field, annoying the other disciples, who are also getting uncomfortable in the seat of discipleship. 

Do James and John really care about who sits where in the next life? Is the question about seating in a future time a distraction to relieve pressure about considering the seats in which they currently find themselves? After all the seat that Jesus is pointing to is  - a cross – not the hope of a Messiah seated on an earthly throne. If Jesus dies seated on a cross, what seat is left or chosen for the disciples?

 

I came across a helpful practice this week – perhaps it is even a description, a new meaning for the term ‘best seat in the house.’ Entrepreneur and founder of Amazon, Jeffrey Bezos, frequently places an empty chair in the room, at the table, during company meetings.  The chair represents the presence of the customer. The customer is always in the room.

 

God is on a mission and we want to be part of it. To be part of it, we need to think about, who sits in the empty chair? Who isn’t sitting in the chair and could be? Who has not been invited to come and sit, and should be?  Who has left the seat or has no interest in sitting here... and entices us to follow to seats out there?

 

Jesus’ ‘best seat in the house’ was a cross.

For the disciples the ‘best seat in the house’ was uncomfortable.

For us – the best seat in the house- is wherever the cross takes us, as we participate in what God is doing in the world.

How Are You? (Thanksgiving Sunday)

 How are you?

Sunday Oct. 10^th is World Mental Health Day, an international day for global mental health education, awareness and policy advocacy. Thank you for tuning in – by setting aside this time, you are actively supporting your spiritual well-being and mental health. This does not mean that any of us are 100% well; joining in community is an acknowledgement that we are in community to support and encourage each other through life. If you are in need of mental health resources please do not hesitate to ask  - you are not alone – around you there is a church family with various gifts and life experiences to enable walking along side you. Together, through the love of God, we embrace each other and the brokenness of this world.

How are you this morning?

In the Gospel text, Jesus addresses an all too familiar head space – worry. Make a quick google search of ‘worry’ and you will discover a host of mental health sites and resources.  Words on the pages speak of anxiety disorders, depression, suicidal thoughts, paranoia, anger, restlessness; the inability to focus, memory problems, decision overload, being emotionally overwhelmed, and stressed beyond one’s ability to cope alone.  Who among us has not worried?

 

Jesus’ audience lived with no health care plan, no insurance, no retirement funds.

Sickness, the inability to work, being widowed or orphaned spelled disaster. One hoped for righteous land owners to provide work and relied on family, friends, or community to be the safety net. There was a lot that one could worry about. Jesus’ words of advice ring true for the audience: “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”

Jesus also commends the audience to a mental wellness practice -  look beyond individual circumstance and be active – putting energy into striving for the kindom of God and God’s righteousness.

 

How are you this morning?

 

Before COVID when asked this question, the go-to answer for many was ‘fine thank you’ or simply ‘good.’ That was the anticipated answer in public conversation, more of a polite conversational construct then an actual listening to how another person really was. To answer ‘fine’ or ‘good’ did not mean that on the inside one was all put together; appearances were deceiving.

Early on in the pandemic, when asked the same question, answers changed. It was okay to say that you were ‘okay, but, not okay.’ It was acceptable to admit that you were anxious. One could easily say they were on the Corona-coaster, where emotions were all over the map, with bouts of breaking into tears for what seemed like no reason. Mental health was seriously talked about as people were isolated and distanced from each other. More people accessed mental health resources than ever before.

The past couple of weeks I have been on a number of Zoom meetings. The first few minutes of each gathering was spent checking-in with each other.  How are you today, in this moment?  I have noticed another shift. Before saying anything else, there has been an uptake in answering, ‘I am grateful’ or ‘I am filled with gratitude.’

The statement is followed by a pause, a breathe, a smile, or all three.

When I hear others use this response, I feel good inside.  I feel like I am basking in something wholesome. I get a sense that the person is sharing with me: time taken in  personal work, priority setting, devotion and reflection time.  ‘I am grateful’ is a deep thought and rests in the inner being. To be grateful expresses a transformation of heart and attitude.

 

In the spirit of Thanksgiving Sunday and drawing on the purpose of the liturgy, to offer our thanks and praise to the Creator, I would like to commit to carrying gratitude with me every day, and articulating it as often as possible.  To answer, ‘how are you?’ with the statement ‘I am grateful,’ changes the polite, but, fake, pre-COVID conversational convention. I am not returning to being ‘fine’ or ‘good.’

I am going to live into being grateful; filled with thanksgiving.

Consider the reply, ‘I am grateful.’ The statement can be true in whatever circumstance one is facing, despite worrying, no matter how one is feeling, and regardless of one’s current well-being; gratefulness can still be present.

 

Within the Christian tradition this should not come as a surprise. The early church gathered in community, in the courtyards of patron’s houses. When the community gathered in the a house of a land owner, the community included a diversity of the society of the time: God-fearers, Jews, Gentiles, Greeks, Arabs, mixed gender, intergenerational, families, widows, slaves, the sick, and others. As part of the gathering the liturgy was a singing of hymns, songs, and spiritual psalms; praise and prayer were offered to God; scripture was read; Jesus’ stories were told; testimony was given; and Eucharist was celebrated.

Eucharist is a Greek word that means thanksgiving. The Great Thanksgiving was a meal -communion- a celebration of Christ’s life and death and life, where bread, sometimes fish, and wine were shared in community; everyone ate enough to be fed both spiritually and physically. The community celebrated Eucharist, not alone, always together.  Giving thanks for the grain of the field and the fruit of the vine, for the life of Jesus and God’s unconditional love and grace given for humankind and all creation; the community of faith experienced abundance and their hearts were filled with gratitude.

 

Weekly, when we gather as community, we are fed in Word – hymns, liturgy, scripture, prayers; in Sacrament of bread and wine, water, confession; in community – sharing Christ’s peace, faithfulness, joy in each other’s presence and in God’s presence. Today Eucharist -thanksgiving- is extended into singing together in person for the first time in 19 months.

 

How are you today?

I am grateful. I am filled with gratitude.

Blessings to you my faith community on this Thanksgiving Sunday; for being kind, encouraging, for continuing to show up and be present; to share what you have with the neighbourhood and the world. Thank you for being you.

Do not worry about tomorrow – turn your energy towards bringing the kindom of God to the present. Be well. Be blessed with eucharistic hearts and attitudes filled with gratitude.

 

How are you today?        ....We are (I am) grateful.

 Thanks be to God.

 

 

 

 

Then Gospel Happened (Pent 19B)

 

The past few weeks we have engaged with Jesus in ‘hard conversations.’  This morning  another ‘hard conversation’ is presented in the Gospel text. Let me begin with a true story from my ministry and then reflect through it on the text.

Years ago a young couple -just out of high school- came to me asking to be married. The couple had known each other most of their lives, had dated through high school, and were going to have a baby. The bride-to-be was connected to  the church and the groom-to-be was connected to another church in the community; not that either church saw them as they lived outside the community.  The parents of the couple were known to the church communities and to me.

When I received the phone call from the couple, I set a date for our first pre-marriage conversation together, pushing the date as far into the future as possible without looking rude. To be honest I was not so comfortable with the thought: both bride-and-groom-to-be were immature, not just young, but, emotionally all over the place, flippant in attitude, unable to settle in their own being -let alone as a couple, and living in fantasy worlds of their own creation.

Then the Gospel appeared.

Both sets of parents came to me to talk; they had already talked with each other; and assumed I had reservations too.

The parents asked that I proceed with the marriage even though it was far from ideal. Neither set of parents expected the relationship to work; no one in the community felt it would work. Both sets of parents regardless of the outcome were committed to picking up the pieces, being there for their children, and for the little one yet to be born. The reason they were in favour of letting the marriage go ahead was in order to keep relationship with their children and future grandbaby.

The bride-and-groom-to-be were stubborn and were going to get married regardless of the acceptance of family or friends; to try to stop them would be to cut off relationship – the young couple would simply walk away, sever ties, with those who loved them.

Out of unconditional love, the family stood with their children and the children’s decision, prepared to live the wedding vows that the couple were unlikely to fulfill: in good times and bad, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.  The parents would work to keep relationship and commit to offering love and healing through whatever brokenness arose in the future.

 

The Pharisees came to Jesus asking, Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife? 

Jesus’ response: because of your hardness of heart Moses wrote this commandment for you.  According to the Law, interpreted in a black and white kind of way, the answer is ‘yes.’ But, how often in matters of relationship is the answer all yes or all no.  The Law was not as simple as, ‘a man can divorce his wife.’ Addendums to the Law included: a list of circumstances or reasons why, the process of how to do the paper work (so to speak), rules around the division of assets, and ramifications for future marriages. Although technically the answer is ‘yes,’  there is a whole lot of in between that is grey and murky.  The Law addresses divorce with a set of rules to be applied and administered. It doesn’t take into account the human component or address broken relationship.

I wonder whether the Pharisees come to Jesus with this query in an attempt to diminish marriage to a contract subjugated to law, and in so doing , to assuage the crappy feelings that go along with broken relationship. How many of the Pharisees gathered around Jesus on that day where wrestling with broken or breaking relationships with their wives? Who felt guilty, betrayed, angry, hurt, spurned, unloved, disrespected, or powerful, in control, ready to move on...

Then the Gospel appeared.

Jesus draws the conversation back to the beginning: What God has joined together, let no one separate. Going back to the beginning is the reminder of creation and that God called it good, male and female God created them and called them good. From there, because the Pharisees have mentioned the Law, Jesus points to Moses. Jesus’ argument hinges on the purpose of the Law, covenant living between God, people, and creation; where love of God and love neighbour are spoken of in relational terms. To ask the question, the way the Pharisees did, was to negate the intent and spirit of the Law, and what it means to live in covenant.

Jesus is not writing a rule book for the Pharisees, there is already an adequate Law; it is the interpretation of that Law where work is to continue and humans are to take responsibility.  This is a hard conversation wherein, as Prof. Luis Menendez-Antuana of Boston University School of Theology says, ”Jesus advocates for a theology that reinforces the durability of the marital bond.”  Jesus advocates for a theology saturated in the hope that broke relationships and broken people, can experience healing, compassion, forgiveness.

For the family I spoke of earlier, the marriage tanked, but the families stayed in relationship. The grandchild was part of both sides of the family.  The couple although not speaking to each other for a period of time, remained civil with each other and in time, had shared moments with their child, and could have coffee conversation to agree on parenting approaches.  This would not have happened without a family who counseled, mediated, stayed in touch, and continued in conversation with the in-laws.

The reality is that separation and divorce are very much a part of human experience. Broken relationships affect all of us.

 

In my last year of high school I took a sociology course. I vividly remember one class: a class of 30 teenagers had just read a chapter on the various ways adults choose to group themselves into partnerships and relationships. The book covered everything from swingers, polyamory, singlehood, through monogamy (same sex and heterosexual), continuing into the next chapter with conversation about household units and family groupings.  Needless to say, the class participated in a lively conversation that included the pros and cons to various partnerships, with added stories of watching the adults in our lives and dissecting their relationships.

Then Gospel happened.

The last word came from a student whose family had emigrated from China. She shared with us that her parents were an arranged marriage.  When her parents were married, they did not know each other, other than having tea together in their family homes with relatives all around. There first private conversation was after the wedding ceremony.  What the student shared was a story of two people having to work together to form and grow a relationship --- they had continued support from their families. In the end, although she admitted it was not always the case for arranged marriages, her parents grew to love each other deeply. When asked if she  would marry someone she chose or enter an arranged marriage, she said that she would be comfortable with either; because partnership started in either manner would be a commitment to conversation, friendship, and working together on relationship.

Then Gospel happened.

Jesus’ conversation about divorce, Jesus’ conversation about and with children- also heard this morning; was Jesus’ advocating that followers of Jesus were committing to live covenant lives, lives that focus on connection.  Jesus was saying that laws, at least in the way they were being applied, were lacking. The standard for God-fearers, God-followers, and God-bearers is much higher than the law prescribes. 

 

I started with the story of the young couple whose marriage broke part because despite their divorce, relationships were protected, advocated for, healed, given compassion, forgiveness, mutual respect, hope, and a future with promise for all members involved. In-laws became family who worked together, support was given to the broken couple, a grandchild had all their relations to help them grow, the couple learned to respect each other, and in time work together for the sake of their child. Amidst a broken relationship, there was abundant hope, healing, and love.

Then Gospel happened.

I hope it appears in you. I hope it appears through you. I hope it is worked out of you.

...that everywhere you, ... and I go... 

that our encounters heal some of the brokenness found in human relationships; our own relationships and the relationships of those around us.  

In all our interactions with others, may we leave in our wake, hope, healing, and love.

 

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.

 

Those Hard Conversations (Pent 17B)

 

Take a moment and remember the last hard conversation you participated in. Or perhaps a hard conversation you have to have and just haven’t done it.

 

What is it about these conversations that make them hard?

They are usually uncomfortable, have the potential to get out of control, can hurt feelings or put a wedge in a relationship.  They are full of emotion, opinion, anxiety, and fear. Left undone such conversations are the proverbial ‘elephant in the room.’ Once done there is often a sense of relief.

 

One of the hardest moments in pastoring -for me- happened many years ago in this space. I stood before the church family and had to share with the congregation that a loved member-- who one week was in church full of vigour and planning the next property project-- was in the hospital, had a brain tumour, and was given a few short weeks to live. The member didn’t want a fuss and was not wanting visits. The member was not going to burden the congregation with the knowledge --- but as hard as the task was for me to tell the church family and prepare us for death, the member’s closest friends had had the hard conversation to get permission to share the news with the congregation. Having the conversation in this space let us pray for the member and their family, to give thanks, to tell stories, to offer support, and to start to grieve.

 

 Why is it that human beings have difficulty communicating information and having conversations that matter? There are a host of topics that fall under the heading of ‘hard conversation.’

 

 

The past few weeks, have you noticed the conversations Jesus has been having with his disciples, and others?

Jesus has had a difficult and public conversation with the Pharisees about interpretation and practice of the Law. The disciples are being accused of setting a poor example of how to live the Law, and Jesus is being held responsible.  Jesus turns the conversation back to the Pharisees pointing out that it is not what is put in that defiles a body but what comes out; pointing fingers back at the Pharisees for their un-godlike actions. This was an important and hard conversation in Jesus’ day.  It centered around the heart of a whole peoples’ relational covenant with God, and involved the religious leaders beliefs, practices, and politics.

A week later, we heard, that Jesus has had a difficult conversation initiated by a Syrophoenician woman, who disagrees with Jesus’ behaviour and challenges Jesus’ gatekeeping of God’s healing and grace. She argues that she too is included in God’s kindom.

The next few passages we hear from the Gospel of Mark, has Jesus as the initiator of difficult conversations. Jesus asks the disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” and then talks about the cost of discipleship. Jesus puts Peter in his place, ‘Get behind me, Satan.’ Jesus talks of his death -again- and  commends the disciples to a generous hospitality of welcome, welcoming the least. In the next chapter of Mark, Jesus’ hard conversation speaks to the disciples to allow other people, not Jesus’ followers, to cast out demons. Then tackles a conversation about sin.

 

Our continued reading of the Gospel of Mark illustrates a continued engagement with hard conversations.  In chapters 8, 9, and 10 there is a pattern: Jesus predicts his death, the disciples misunderstand, Jesus readjusts and explains in a different way.  Jesus’ continued  attempts at hard conversations is a timely reminder of the hard conversations facing Jesus’ followers today; hard conversations that need to be had in this space and with people outside these walls. Conversations we need to have with ourselves as we consider for whom we vote tomorrow in the Federal election.

 

In coming weeks -from now through the end of November- the calendar is full of days that have been set aside to remind us and draw us back to ‘those hard conversations’ – noted are: International Day of Peace, Orange shirt day, National Day of Vigils for Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women, World Mental Health Day, Day for the Eradication of Poverty, Restorative Justice Week, National Housing Day, and International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.  There is much to be said and done in response to these ‘hard conversations.’

 

Jesus’ conversations speak to the how of approaching hard conversations. You will have noticed that Jesus and the disciples have done a lot of travelling where they have stepped aside from the crowds; they have been back and forth across the Sea more than once; the Gospel writer has written, ‘while on the road,’ ‘coming to Capernaum,’ and so on... Jesus and the disciples have had time alone, where Jesus teaches them, where they chat as they walk along.  The talk is circular with Jesus introducing the hard conversation of his death, letting it rest awhile and the conversation drift to something else, to be returned to later on. The conversation needs to be had but not all at once; bit by bit with time to ruminate.

 

We have learned much from Jesus’ approach:

With the Pharisees Jesus illustrates a calm disposition and a presence of mind with a well thought out articulation of his view point.  Jesus’ response is not defensive. Jesus asks good questions to engage the Pharisees trained brains.

With the Syrophoenician woman Jesus listens, opening his heart and mind to the possibility of change. Confronted and challenged Jesus remains non-anxious.

Jesus’ hard conversations include outside opinion and resources, using a wealth of scripture to influence his thought and actions. Questions are welcomed and encouraged. In the text, it never appears that conversations are rushed or hasty and Jesus accepts that there will be interruptions along the way. Jesus also speaks truth in love.  And finally note that in each conversation there is hope -Gospel- to be found.

We can take what we have witnessed in Jesus’ hard conversations and translate the ‘how’ to our own lives and the conversations needed in our world today. As Jesus’ followers, Jesus has taught us how to have difficult conversations. It is now our responsibility to model and initiate such conversations. The art of conversation has been lost, or at least hijacked for the moment by raw emotion, as seen recently in the escalation of rallies and protests that include violence.

 

I read a great line this week written by Garret Kell, a Baptist pastor in Virginia. He wrote, “A healthy church should be like a living room.”  I don’t know how you use your living room, but the one at the parsonage is a welcoming and safe place where family, friends, and others gather: to read, to write, to enjoy coffee, to have conversation – even debate, to tell secrets, to share feelings, to relax with a glass of wine, to unwind from being out and about, to cozy in on the couch by the fire, to share each other’s company, to play with a grandchild, to solve the world’s problems with big ideas, to tackle serious conversations, to sit in silence and share grief, to embrace, to soak in the love of those around us. The living room is a space of relationship. I like to think of it as the fullness of love.

 

This week let us as a church family, followers of Jesus, take to heart the hard conversations Jesus had in his time; and the call on us to have hard conversations around the issues of the day. Let us create safe places – be a living room- where hard conversations can happen; in our own homes, in this church home, in the living room of a coffee shop, or the neighbourhood , or the town hall meeting. Do not lose hope, you are not alone. Go into the world and expand God’s living room until it is full to overflowing in the fullness of love.

 

 

 

 

I Have Set My Face like Flint (Pent 16B)

The Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like flint.     -Isaiah 50: 7

 

There is a British TV series called, Time Team. The Team, is a group of people from different fields who work together as an archaeological team. They arrive on a site – often a field or someone’s backyard- to investigate an archaeological query and have three days to find and process their archaeology. The sites are from various time periods: the Middle Ages, the Saxon period, the Roman period, or older like the Iron Age or Neolithic. I amazed by the number of finds found on the surface of fields. A common find is flint; flint used 1000s and 1000s and 1000s of years ago. Flint is a quartz stone that was used to make stone tools and start fires.

One of the Time Team members likes to recreate an item that they find using the traditional means of making that item.   In a number of episodes he practices chipping flint into various types of tools. Flint breaks into sharp-edged pieces, and with skill can be chipped into useful blades for knives, spearheads, axes, and other cutting tools and weapons.  In the process of making flint blades there is often bruising and blood.  It is not as easy as it looks.

 

This is what came to my mind when Isaiah proclaims of the Teacher -the Servant:

I have set my face like flint...

 

This passage is one of four poems referred to as Servant songs. The four texts are complex and speak on many levels and of various people, including: the prophet, the people, the Messiah, God-followers. Here the Servant is identified as a Teacher.

Counter to last week where Isaiah spoke of streams bursting in the desert, this passage tells of a time where water is lacking and the deserts dry to become wasteland; a time when the skies are clothed as if it was night without stars or moon. The context of Isaiah’s time is a community grappling with understanding and dealing with unhealed wounds from their exile in Babylon. Into parched land, desolation, and shadow, the Prophet – the Teacher- is to proclaim ‘words to sustain the weary.’

 

I have set my face like flint...

sharp and edged to cut through cries of desperation; pointing purposefully forward to describe what can be; hard and durable to survive the struggle and responsibility of carrying oneself and others through weariness.  To be this Prophet, this Teacher, is not for the faint of heart.

 

Which brings us to the  conversation between Jesus and the disciples. Jesus asks the disciples, Who do you say that I am? And in a flint-like moment of surprising clarity and courageous vigour the disciples identify Jesus as the Messiah. And it is then that Jesus sets his face like flint , to prepare and build up the ability -the stamina, the courage, the power - to fulfill his responsibility as God’s servant; moving towards the ghastly end point of his earthly ministry, to be hanged on a tree, crucified.

 

This is also the turning point for the teachings the disciples hear.  Jesus’ words turn to flint after their proclamation of Jesus as Messiah. Jesus – the Teacher- teaches the cutting apart of cultural constructs, the sharp-edged expectations of what a follower is, and the hard truths of where being Servant and Teacher lead.

Jesus began to teach them, “if any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”  Jesus could have added, “Set your face like flint.”

“God knows that you will need to do so. I have and you will.”  Be flint – because the cross you bear is across parched wasteland under cloudy skies; where cries are full of desperation, memories are unhealed festering wounds, and hearts are weary. And now we have moved from Jesus’ words to the disciples, to the Babylonian exile of our own time.  

Set your face like flint...

how else is it that we can be God’s servant -the Teacher – those who have the ability to sustain the weary with a word.  Consider the depth of exile the world finds itself in? Relationships are severely broken and pressured by polarization of left and right, racism, sexism, hard core refusal or inability for discourse. God’s creatures are displaced and ungrounded, even unhinged, and  the environment is lashing out with powerful force. In the parched wasteland, be flint. Set your hearts and minds to envision the future -full of hope, cooperation, life-  and proclaim it – be the Teacher- who teaches and practices kindness, forgiveness, steadiness, compassion, mercy, humility, reconciliation, sacrifice, courage;  speaking hard truths, breaking oppression, healing trauma and wounds that have festered for far too long, and of course, standing together with others especially those who have no one to stand with them. 

On Chebucto Road, a few blocks from the church, there is a small park.  Currently it looks like a camp for an archaeological team. 20 small tents are tucked side-by-side in a small village. There is a path and then on the outer and upper area 2 large site tents – one with provisions and a place to serve food, the other for community neighbours taking turns to watch out for and protect the residents of the tents while they sleep and guard their tent-homes from removal by city authority during the day. Together the neighbours have set their faces like flint – passion, purpose, sacrifice, courage- to protect the vulnerable and marginalized. In this there is no shame.

As Isaiah proclaimed,

I have set my face like flint, and I shall not be put to shame; he who vindicates me is near.  Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Isaiah 50: 8

 

Jesus’ words to the disciples are anything but easy to hear.  Jesus is on a tear and his words are not an ointment to instantly heal everything, but rather act like sap stirring up a frenzy of hornets. His words -this cross bearing idea of working in the wasteland to transform it and redeem it to a place abounding with steadfast love and hope- is crazy, dangerous, and shameful because to die by crucifixion was to be reduced to a pile of dung; well that was the rhetoric in Jesus’ time.  Through the centuries Jesus’ death on the cross has been sanitized. So too has the command to pick up one’s cross and follow. The hard edge of having to set one’s face like flint has been lost along the way.

Black theologian James Cone’s, last book was called The Cross and the Lynching Tree. James comments that few have preached and drawn comparisons between what happened to Jesus -who according to the book of Acts, was ‘hanged on a tree’- and the 19^th/20^th century practice of lynching, being ‘hanged on a tree.’ In North America, the power of the image – Jesus was lynched – far better reflects the feelings and thoughts to be garnered about Jesus’ death. Shame, injustice, sacrifice, courageous. Jesus was lynched.

 

Sobering ... and it doesn’t sit well at all.

 

As Jesus practice was, Jesus set about upsetting conceived notions and ideas. Jesus challenged held beliefs and attitudes. Jesus flipped shame; shame was not to be found in sacrificing and dying (by hanging on a tree) for daring to heal the weary with a word. In the wasteland Jesus -the Teacher- brushed shame off, teaching the possibility of  transforming shame from shackle to freedom. Although the powers of the time told the enslaved, the exiled, the people pushed to the margins, that crucifixion was the ultimate shame ...  it was not.  Jesus taught that the whole self is not wrong, defective, unacceptable, or damaged beyond repair... but rather taught the opposite.  You have purpose - created good, acceptable, and whole; pick up your cross and follow me – drop the shackles, embrace freedom.

 

The Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like flint,  and I shall not be put to shame; he who vindicates me is near.  Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Isaiah 50: 7-8

 

May this be so, Amen and Amen.