Mark 13:1-8

It started as a beautiful summer day. It was June 1, 2011, and I was on my way home from speaking to a group about my work as a trauma chaplain. I told stories of my time in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and my time at Virginia Tech following the mass shooting there. I was serving a Parish in the Central part of Massachusetts and serving as Interim Chief Fire Officer. Driving back to the station, an announcement was made over the radio that a storm cell was approaching the area. This was not an uncommon announcement this time of year. However, something about the tone of voice being used by the dispatcher made me think this was serious.

I returned to the Fire House, and the TV was on. A tornado had touched down in Worcester and was headed east. As we watched the path of destruction on TV, the fire radio began to tell the story of destruction in real-time as each affected town came on the radio. Buildings were down, people were trapped, and fire and police crews were out on the rescue.

As the tornado came closer, we sounded the general alarm to bring firefighters and EMTs to the station. We watched in eager anticipation as the storm came closer and closer. It missed the town where the fire station was but hit the town where I was living. The fire company was dispatched to that town, and I raced home, lights and siren wailing to check on things.

Not far from my home was a scene of destruction that I had only ever witnessed on TV. One house was completely gone; the only tell-tale sign that something had been there was the foundation. Another place was shifted entirely off its foundation and close to collapse. It was hard to take in. The very ground beneath my feet and all those things around me that I thought would last forever were gone in the blink of an eye.

In today’s Gospel from Mark, Jesus is coming out of Temple with his disciples. As they walk out, Jesus turns and causally makes the comment that all of this will be thrown down and destroyed. In their dismay, they cannot fathom how this would even be possible. Later in the day, several of the Apostles corner Jesus and ask for an explanation which, as Jesus usually does, is not forthcoming.

Jesus then speaks of watching out for those that will come after him but will deceive the followers. How many times have we heard of the end of the world? Not a year goes by that one so-called religious group or another begins to predict the end of the world. It usually involves sending them large sums of money, which I have never been able to figure out since the world is coming to an end but send them all your money.

There are often tales told after major weather incidents that God had sent the, insert storm here to wreck, insert name of place here, because of, insert sin here. It usually involves liberals, gays, or other such groups that the fine well washed Christians find distasteful this week. But, of course, there is never an explanation of why, when their godsends this destruction good people get killed as well, but it happens, and they fluff it off. But here is Jesus, 2,000 years before these events warning about people just like this.

In my way of thinking, there is also a very unhealthy obsession by some with the end of times. They try and read the signs, not just storms but other things, and usually try and find the answer in the Book of Revelation. I recall a time; I believe it was in the 1970s when red tide hit the clam flats pretty bad; all manner of religious folk were talking about the end of the world and the sure and certain signs that Jesus was coming back.  Well, we are still here.

Jesus speaks of this to those gathered with him, and he tells them not to worry about what is or is not coming but to be conscious of the present and the work that needs to be done now.

When John the Baptist makes his appearance, he is telling people to repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand. Not on some far-off cloud, but right here in the present age. Being a Christian is less about how to get into heaven than it is about creating God’s Kingdom right here on earth.

Now, let me clarify a point here: I am not speaking in a governmental way when I mention Kingdom. This idea that we have to create some sort of Christian nation is poppycock. Nowhere in Scripture that I can find anyway says that we have to make a Christian nation except in your own heart. Scripture is clear that we have to love and care for each other, but we do that from our hearts, not the seat of power in some national capitol.

Jesus tells us to be wary of those who come in his name and make claims, “Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many.” (v 6). We have seen it time and time again. How many of you remember Jim Jones, David Koresh, and all the rest of them? Sure, they might start with good intentions, but it always goes horribly wrong. So be very wary of people who claim to be sent from God or who others claim have been sent by God if their message does not square with the Gospel.

We have to keep a close eye out for these folks. They come as wolves in sheep’s clothing. They come saying all of the right things but do not have a love of Jesus in their hearts, and that is how we can discern their message.

I am often criticized as being judgmental when I point out that so-called religious leaders such as Pat Robertson, Jim Bakker, Oral Roberts, Jimmy Swaggart, Jerry Falwell, Jr., Joel Olsteen, Paula White, and Franklin Graham preach their Gospel of exclusion. Yet, at the same time, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is clearly a Gospel of Inclusion. Very often, these well-meaning folks will quote me the passage about not judging to avoid being judged. Well, I say, go ahead and judge me, and I believe you will find I have more in common with the dark-skinned carpenter from Nazareth than any of these so-called prophets of our time.

There is one guiding principle for me, and that is love. Jesus said we must, not should but must love each other. He gave us a new commandment, not a new suggestion, and it came without qualification. Nowhere does Jesus say to love everyone and help everyone if they can pass a drug test if they are here legally, if they have the same skin color as you, if they believe the same as you if they love the same as you. No, Jesus simply says, love everyone, feed everyone, clothe everyone and dare I say he says get the dam vaccine to protect everyone!

So, I measure these bible quoting folks against the message of love. Does their message include or exclude? Does this legislation aim to include the most or exclude the most? Does this policy help the most or exclude the most? Does this program feed, clothe, and house those that need it without exception, or is it geared toward a certain few? Jesus tells us that they will know if we are his followers by how we love each other.

Friends, if there is one thing that this pandemic has taught us, we do not need fancy buildings to be Church; in fact, sometimes they can hinder us from being Church. We are Church whether we meet here in our beautiful building, on a beach, or online. We are Church when we are doing God’s work of loving and caring for people. The love of God is for all, not just for a select few, and that all include you, and it includes me.

By the way, that Temple was destroyed in the year 70.

Let us resolve this day to love more, care more, and work to bring about God’s Kingdom here on earth not by fear of judgment but by love.

Amen.

Mark 12:38-44
All Saints Sunday

Traditionally, the month of November is the month set aside for remembrance. We begin with the remembrance of those who have gone before us, so November is often called the month of the dead. This tradition stretches back to the pre-Christian era. November is the month when the days begin to get shorter, and the darkness stays around longer. Well, it did until the arrogance of humanity decided it could control time by setting the clocks forward and back.

I am a student of Reformation theology, and there is much to be appreciated in the theological understanding of the Reformers of our faith. But there is much I disagree with, and chief among them is removing the celebration of the seasons from the Liturgical calendar. Now I don’t mean spring and summer and whatnot; no, I mean the Liturgical Seasons that coincide with the actual calendar.

November is the time that the earth begins the cycle of transformation. In our area of the world, the leaves have started to change their color, signifying their death. The harvest is complete or will soon be finished, and the earth will begin its long winter slumber. We can take our cues from what the earth does, and so November becomes the month to celebrate death, much like April becomes the month to celebrate life.

We have just finished what is known as All Hallows Tide. This coincides with the feast of Samhain, the pagan/Christian festival of remembering the dead. The season begins with All Hallows Eve on October 31st. We call this Halloween, which is a very American thing, by the way, but it was the beginning of the season of remembrance.

Following All Hallows Eve comes All Saints Day. On this day, all the saints, those declared by the Church and those not so declared, are remembered. The last of the three days is All Souls Day, when all the faithful departed are commemorated. In our reformed calendar, we combine All Saints and All Souls into one day of commemoration and then move it away from the traditional time of celebration. Keeping with the rhythm of the seasons is essential.

The reason All Hallows Tide falls when it does is that the veil that separates this world from the next becomes very thin this time of year, and by remembering those gone before us, they hear us and know we have not forgotten them. Speak their name into the wind, so they know they are remembered.

I do not believe that heaven is some far-off place where everyone sits around on clouds playing the harp. For me, heaven is another dimension of this world where our energy or our soul goes after our physical body dies. That other dimension is right here with us, and that is what sometimes, we have the feeling that our loved ones are with us.

There is a story that I might have already told about cleaning out my parents’ house after my father died. We had a shop in the basement of their house. It began as my father’s shop, where he would tinker with this and that and where he would create. Then, as he got older and could not easily go up and down stairs, I inherited his shop.

After he died, my task was to pack up the shop and move it to my house. There were a lot of memories in that shop, lots of hours spent learning from my father, and part of him was in every tool. There was this one day; I was at the house by myself in the shop. I was packing things up, and I was growing concerned that I would not have space for everything. I suddenly felt this presence there with me as if a hand was on my shoulder. It was not frightening, just the opposite; in fact, it brought me some peace. I know it was my father, and I know he was there to show me the way and tell me that it would be okay. And you know what, it is okay.

Just as an aside, I had a similar experience not long ago in my shop. I was cleaning up and was about to throw away an old nail. I felt that same presence as if to say, that nail is still good!  So now I have a jar on a shelf in my shop with a label that says “dad’s jar,” and that is where I put all those nails.

Those who have gone before us can move from one dimension to the next because they are pure energy, while we mortals can only stay here bogged down by our physical bodies and our misunderstanding of what it is all about. But this time of year, the veil that separates the two-dimension becomes thin, almost transparent, and we exist together.

Now, lest you think I am a heretic. I believe that when we die and convert to energy, we do come into the presence of our creator and that our energy and the energy of all those who have gone before us are together. I also believe that we recognize each other and can hang out with each other.

I have no struggle with that image; the image I struggle with is that of the other place we are said to go after we die. I struggle with this because of my image of God as pure love, and if God loves all of God’s creation, how would God allow creation to suffer? Death frees us from the suffering of this world and of this body. It is not God who causes suffering; it is us, humanity, that causes suffering.

Humanity causes suffering in the way we interact with each other and with the environment. At the time of creation, humanity was given stewardship of creation by God, and I think we have done a lousy job of it. But, unfortunately, this is the only place we have to live, and we need to start caring for it.

But of equal importance is how we care for each other. I have said it before, and I will repeat it, we are all created in God’s image and likeness. At the moment of creation, God created humanity with God’s own hands out of the dust of creation. Of all of the things that were made, it was only humanity that God used Gods own hands to create.

God spoke and said, let us create them in our image. This was the only time in the creation story that God did this. After God created humanity from the dust, God breathed his very breath into the nostrils of humanity. Thus, humanity is the living and breathing image of the creator of all that we see.

Humanity got it wrong, so God sent Jesus, who was with God at the moment of creation, to show humanity the new way, a new way of interacting with each other, and love and care for each other. We are responsible for ensuring that no one goes hungry and that no one goes unloved in this world. The Kingdom of God is not some far-off place that we hope to achieve someday; the Kingdom of God is right here in the present time.

Yes, we must remember those gone before us and continue to tell their stories so they remain alive in our hearts. But we also must care for those still here all of humanity and not just the ones that look like us, talk like us, believe like us, love like us, and all the rest.

Let us resolve on this day to care for each other just a little more than we do now, and in so doing, we can make this world a better place.

Amen.

Mark 10:17-31

It has been said that every journey begins with that first step. Very often, that step is a step into the unknown. But, it is a step into the future. Each time we decide to make a change or try something new, we take that step into the future. I believe that this last year and a half has taught us in the Church that each day can be a step into the unknown future, but we still have to take that step.

Today’s Gospel places us into a story of first steps.

A man comes to see Jesus. He is first identified as “a man,” but later on in the story, we find out he is wealthy. Luke calls him a “ruler,” and Matthew refers to him being “young.” In Christian tradition, he is often called “the rich young ruler.” But for Mark, he is just a man.

This man has “great possessions,” although we are not quite sure what those possessions are. But he comes to Jesus and asks what he must do to inherit “eternal life.” Jesus, as he often does in these situations, reframes the question from the future to the present. The answer that Jesus provides is not what he has to do to make sure he gets a seat in heaven; Jesus tells him that he must go, get rid of his stuff, and then follow him.

As Jesus often does, he shifts the focus of the question in terms of this idea that the Kingdom of God is not on some far-off cloud in the sky but rather, the Kingdom of God is right here, in the present and that this Kingdom of God is going to require a different set of rules and different behavior.

The disciples have been a witness to a very painful moment for this man. Jesus tells him that although he has followed the law, he still lacks one thing. Jesus says he must go and sell all that he has, give the money to the poor, and then he will be able to follow. Scripture tells us he goes away sorrowful for he had many possessions. Some translations use the word grieving rather than sorrowful, which is a better word choice.

One of the things that I find troubling is the lack of awareness that grief comes with any loss. Most of society believes that grief comes only with the death of one that we love, a human that we love. But this is not the case. Greif comes with any loss, be it human, pet, job, position, Church, friend, mobility, the Patriots losing….. Any loss can cause grief.

This man went away grieving, and tradition assumes he went away grieving because he had so much that he was unwilling to part with all he had. But what if there was another reason for his grief? What if he went away grieving because he had decided to sell all that he had and follow Jesus? This bold action would come with some level of emotion. This would have been a decisive step into the future that would result in the emotional letting go of all that he had and all of the relationships that come with that possession.

Letting go is difficult. I may have mentioned this before, but one of the hardest things I have had to do is clean out my parent’s house after my father died. My brothers and I had the duty of clearing out 65 years of possessions. Things that my parents had collected all during their lives. Each item held memories for me. This was the only home I had ever really lived in, and now it was gone.

It took weeks to decide what to throw away, what to donate, what to keep, and what to sell. Some items, more than others, cause immense pain in making those decisions. But in the end, we did it, and I walked out of that house for the last time. I had never seen that house empty before, and it was very different. The stuff of life holds remembrances for us, and they are difficult to part with.

One of my all-time favorite movies is the 1959 Fred Zinnerman classic the Nun Story starring Miss Audrey Hepburn. Hepburn is living in prewar Belgium and has a desire to become a nursing sister in the Congo. She has spent her entire life preparing and training for this moment. But, as part of her entrance into the religious order, she is joining, she must rid herself of all of her earthly possessions and, we find out later her memories.

At one point, a basket is passed. The nuns-to-be are supposed to place all of the items they may have left of their previous life in the basket. But, when it comes around to Hepburn, she pauses. She has a small gold pen that her father had given her, her last possessions, and her memories. She does not put it in the basket; she keeps it. Her grief at the thought of putting that pen in the basket is more than she can handle. So, it passes her by.

In the end, she leaves the convent. She finds that her memories and her pride keep getting in the way of her being able to be a good nun, as well as a good nurse.

We do not know what happens to the man from the Gospel story because we never hear of him again. All we know is he went away sorrowful and grieving because of the decision he would have to make.

Now, this story is not an indictment of rich people, far from it. Yes, Jesus says it will be harder for the rich to enter the kingdom of God, but again, Jesus does not have disdain for the rich. It’s not what we have the prevents us from truly following Jesus; it’s what we do with it. Are we maximizing our potential? Are we using all of our gifts to help others?

Each of us has been given gifts from God that we are to use in the Kingdom of God, which is not on some far-off cloud but right here in Hull, and Hingham, and Weymouth, and wherever else we might find ourselves. Part of our spiritual journey is identifying those gifts and using them to their fullest potential.

Holding back keeps us from being a follower of Jesus Christ but learning to let go and learning to share takes time, and it takes practice. But it all begins with that first step.

Amen.