Mark 9:38-50

In one of the Churches I served as an interim minister, I met a man we will call John. John was a wonderful and delightful man. He was dedicated to the Church and one of the people I could call on when I needed something. If I called John, he would drop whatever he was doing and rush to help.

Like me, John had come to the Church after being raised a Roman Catholic. There was not one instance or event that caused John to leave the Church of his birth; instead, it was after a long period of discernment. He felt more comfortable where he was now than he had ever felt before.

It was time for elections for the Church council to occur, and I asked John if he would be willing to serve. It felt right to me to ask John; he was, after all, dedicated to the Church. John said that he would pray about it and get back to me. After a couple of weeks, I asked John if he had come to a decision, and he answered that he was willing to serve.

After about a year, John came to me and said he needed to drop off the Council as he had determined it was not for him. He was constantly getting frustrated with the slow pace that the Council was taking. He wanted decisions to happen much faster than they were and felt like we were dragging our feet. He was also concerned that all we talked about was money.

John and I sat for a while and listened to all he had to say. I tried to explain that we needed to move slowly to ensure we were making the right decisions and that, unfortunately, the nature of Church councils is to be concerned for the temporal matters of the Church. The Council is the body that is responsible for the running of the Church and ensuring that all the bills are paid so we can continue to have a place to worship.

John said he understood but did not like coming home after meetings frustrated and having ill feelings toward others on the Council. So, again, I sat and listened and tried to offer wise counsel on the matter, but in the end, we determined it would be best for John to resign from the Council. I recall saying that serving in Church leadership was not for everyone, and no one likes to see the sausage made.

The problem was, serving on the Council had become a stumbling block for John. He would get frustrated at a meeting and develop feelings about others that were not charitable. In today’s scripture lesson from Mark, Jesus tells us what we need to do when something is a stumbling block in our spiritual lives.

I believe that Mark’s Gospel is underappreciated. It is widely believed that the Gospel was written by John Mark, who traveled with Paul and Barnabas and later with Peter. It is understood that what John Mark is writing is based on the teaching of Peter and that Peter is the primary source for what is written.

John Mark does not leave many clues about when the Gospel was written in the text. However, there is a connection to Rome, and there is no reference to the destruction of Jerusalem, so it is believed that these words were written before the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70, which would make this the first of the four Gospels to be written. It is understood by many that John Mark was writing this Gospel for the Christian community in Rome.

The Gospel clearly shows that Jesus is the Messiah but also points out that Jesus has come to serve and give up his life for all. There is no ambiguity in Mark that Jesus is the Son of God and has power over demons, heals the sick, and forgives sins. But Mark also points to the fact that Jesus is fully human, expressed through his agony the night he is arrested and the pain he felt on the cross. Marl also points out the secret nature of what Jesus is doing. Jesus speaks in parables and often tells those he has done something for not to tell anyone.

Parables are a helpful tool in teaching, although I sometimes wish Jesus would get to it and say what he was thinking. Parables require the listener to listen, really listen, and look for the clues being given. Parables also require those listening to think for themselves. Jesus is not going to spoon-feed his disciples; he wants them and us to develop our spiritual minds and the ability to discern what is right and what is wrong.

The other interesting thing about parables is they sometimes leave the teachings open to interpretation. I have said before that I believe it is the job of the Church to take these 2,000-year-old lessons and make them new for the present age. This parable talks about lopping bits off that bother us, but that is not precisely what Jesus was getting at. So, the challenge becomes, how do we make this relevant to those listening today?

We need to begin with a question. What keeps you from truly following Jesus?

I started with the story of my friend John and how his service on the Church Council was becoming a hindrance to him and his spiritual life. He tried all sorts of ways to deal with it but decided that he needed to “cut off” that part of his life.

Jesus uses some radical examples if your hand is the issue, cut it off; if it’s your eye, gouge it out. I would not recommend that for spiritual purposes, and I think there are other ways of dealing with what keeps us from truly following. But that is what parables do; they make us think. It is not always what is right on the surface that we are supposed to understand.

Most actions have a cause; something caused them to happen. Sometimes those causes are out of our control, but we can often control them. For example, I slipped on the ice because I did not put sand down or wore the wrong shoes. The action was falling; the cause was negligence. What this parable to trying to get us to do is to dig deep and find the answers.

How often do we say that person makes me mad? Okay, we might get angry, but it is not the other person that makes us mad; it is not even their actions that make us mad; we let ourselves get mad and then blame the other person. It is much easier to point away from ourselves than point towards ourselves.

Don’t get me wrong; some people make us mad; it sure might be us, and it might be them. The point is that we need to find the root cause, which is not easy. Getting to the heart of the matter is the focus of our spiritual life. Asking hard questions about ourselves and our environment is essential.

I often speak of how Jesus commanded us to love one another, and I add that it’s love and not like. We have to love each other, but we do not have to like each other. This is an integral part of our spiritual life and one that Jesus is getting at here. This idea of loving everyone does not require us to be a doormat; for our preservation, we sometimes have to cut people off. We do not have to keep toxic people in our lives. If that person constantly makes you mad, cut them off. If that person frequently drives you to have uncharitable thoughts about them or others, cut them off. If that job is unfulfilling or brings you to do things you don’t want to do, cut it off. Sometimes it’s not the hand or the eye that needs to go but rather the other person. Yes, there might be an underlying issue in you, but for the time being, it is okay to establish boundaries while we figure it all out.

When I was training as a spiritual director, one of my mentors described the spiritual journey as making a slow descent through all of the stuff in our lives that we do not want to deal with. I like to think of it as that place in our homes where we jam all the stuff when people come over. We all have that place. Maybe it’s a drawer, or perhaps it is a room. We jam it full of stuff because we don’t want to deal with it.

Our spiritual life is about opening that door and dealing with what is on the other side one thing at a time. If we look at the project as a whole, it can be overwhelming, but if we take it one small piece at a time, it becomes easier. We open the door; we take out one item and deal with it no matter how long it takes. Then we go back and repeat the process. We may never get the room empty, but we need to try.

So, what is that thing, or what are those things that keep us from following? What do we have in that room that we need to deal with? Do you need help dealing with some of the stuff there? If so, there are people who can help you do not have to do it alone. The spiritual life is a marathon, not a sprint, so take your time.

Amen

Psalm 122

I was sitting in my office on Thursday afternoon, working on my sermon for today. The words I was working on are much different than those you will hear this morning, for as I was writing, the word came that Queen Elizabeth II had died. Like the rest of the world, I was shocked but not surprised. Earlier in the day, her family released a statement that the Queen was under the watch of her doctors. As the Royal Family is remarkably silent on the health of the Monarch, this was a worrying statement.

It may seem odd to some that I am paying tribute to a British Monarch, but I pray your forgiveness as I believe it is appropriate to spend some time in tribute to an extraordinary woman. The Queen was a devoted servant of her people, swearing to them at the young age of 21 that she would devote her entire life, “whether it be long or short,” to their service.

But more importantly, she was a woman of enormous faith, a faith she was not afraid to share with the world. So among the many titles and honors, the Monarch carries Supreme Governor of the Church of England and Defender of the Faith. Queen Elizabeth took both roles very seriously. It is also interesting to note that when the new Monarch takes the oath, part of that oath is to swear to the protection of the independence of the Church of Scotland. So religion and faith are very much a part of the role of the sovereign.

In her Christmas message in 2014, the Queen had this to say as an indication of her faith:

“For me, the life of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, whose birth we celebrate today, is an inspiration and an anchor in my life. A role model of reconciliation and forgiveness, he stretched out his hands in love, acceptance, and healing. Christ’s example had taught me to seek to respect and value all people of whatever faith or none.”

As Americans, we prize the separation of Church and State. Over the last few years, those lines of separation have been blurred, but regardless, we are not used to hearing our leaders speak so openly and honestly about their faith and how it guides them. Sure, we have politicians who will use any opportunity to flaunt their faith, going so far as to clear out people to stand in front of a church for a photo op, but to hear such a pure understanding of faith and what faith is all about is refreshing.

The words the Queen spoke in her message in 2014 should be familiar to all of you since they are central to my understanding of the message of the Gospel. The Queen spoke of reconciliation and forgiveness. Last week, I spoke of the importance of forgiveness in the life of a Christian.

You will remember that forgiveness, as I see it, is central to our spiritual life and of great importance in our development of that spiritual life. But the Queen speaks of forgiveness and reconciliation on a personal and corporate level. We must seek forgiveness for past wrongs, whether individual wrongs committed by the church or wrongs committed by a nation.

As of late, it seems that seeking forgiveness is perceived as a weakness. The very idea that we, as a nation, should apologize for how we treated the native population or those we have enslaved is wrong. Yet, there is this sense that we should whitewash that portion of our history. In 2011, Queen Elizabeth was the first British Monarch to visit the Irish Republic in a century. That visit has been hailed as a moment of forgiveness and reconciliation. Of course, nothing is instantaneous, and forgiveness is not immune to that, but these moments, these times when people come together, start the process, and as Christians, we should be at the center of these times. Jesus is the Prince of Peace, and we should always seek peaceful means to resolve issues.

The Queen spoke of Jesus “stretching out his hands in acceptance and reconciliation.” Again, these are two central ideas and ideals in the life of the Christian. I have mentioned before that Jesus’ outstretched arms on the cross symbolize welcome for all, much like a parent welcomes their children. At the center of this is the parable of the Prodigal Son, where the father welcomes his son back into the fold without asking any questions. In Jesus Christ, all is forgiven, and we are given a seat at the table of reconciliation and peace.

Healing is another aspect of this relationship with Jesus. Although that is not healing in the physical sense, Jesus makes possible the healing of past hurts. From the cross, the instrument that the state chose to kill him, he looked down upon those who had just nailed him there, and rather than shouting insults at them, he asked his heavenly father to forgive them. His last thoughts were not for himself but those around him.

England and the United Kingdom are very diverse and have been for a long time. Although the Church of England is the “Established Church,” there is room in society for all expressions of faith and no expression of faith. Yesterday, senior members of Parliament took the oath of allegiance to the new King. As part of that oath, they swear “by Almighty God,” but there is room for those who wish not to use those words. As a result, expressions of faith varied as the people and the Queen understood that.

In 1954, the Rev. Billy Graham visited England as part of his famous Crusades. The Gospel that Graham was preaching was not in alignment with the theology of the Church of England, yet the Queen welcomed Rev. Graham to preach at Windsor. The Queen’s depth and breadth of understanding of theology transcended that of the Church of England. She was undoubtedly Anglican, but she had respect and understanding for other faith and those of no faith.

But I think this was more than simply religious acceptance.

During her 96 years, the Queen saw monumental changes in the world. When she was born, there was an Empire, and the King was considered an Emperor. But in her life, she witnessed the Empire’s dissolution and the Commonwealth’s creation. No longer was the relationship between the conqueror and the conquered but friends, much like our relationship with God. And with that change comes an acceptance of all walks of life, again, something fundamental to the life of a Christian and one I spoke of before.

I would like to say a few words about grief.

As I mentioned at the start of the service, today is a day of remembrance of not only the life of the Queen but of the events 21 years ago in New York City, Washington, DC, and in that field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Although we may not have experienced personal grief on that day, I mean to say we may not know of anyone killed on that day; we have shared or national grief.

We all experience grief in our own way, and regardless of what some experts say, we never get over our grief, nor do I believe we should. Grief’s sharp edges give way to life’s smoothness, but it is always with us. Our lives changed that beautiful morning in September of 2001, and it will never be the same. Times of remembrance are good if they lead away from anger and towards this idea of forgiveness and reconciliation. This will not be a popular statement, but we do not have to forget, but we do have to forgive.

Today we remember those whose lives were lost on that day and those whose lives have been lost since then, but we should also pause to remember how we all came together on that day and the days following. We stretched our hands to our neighbors and embraced one another in our collective grief. For a short period, we came together, prayed, and cried together. That is what I choose to remember about that day, not the burning and collapsing buildings but neighbor helping neighbor and friend helping friend.

Ritual is vital in our ability to come to grips with our grief. Tonight, our community will gather for ritual as we commemorate those lost on September 11, 2001, and this week a nation and the world will gather for ritual as we say farewell to the Queen. We have seen some of that already, but there will be more. One of the interesting parts of all of this is that amid grief, there is celebration. The Queen has died, but, as the Queen has said, “tomorrow, the daffodils will bloom.”

When we strip away all the pageantry, we remember that a family is mourning the loss of their mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. My thoughts will be with them and the new King in the coming days, just as my thoughts are with all those who grieve on this day.

For me, the legacy of Her Majesty will be her faith and the idea that she was able to be Queen of all her subjects, but at the same time, she was not afraid to live her Christianity in public. She did not lord it over anyone or insist that England was a “Christian Nation.” Her faith influenced and guided her life, and it is that memory that I will take from all of this.

At the end of the day, a Christian has died, and we pray that she has been welcomed into the arms of her savior with the words, Well done, good and faithful servant.

Amen.

Luke 12:32-40

Music is an essential part of worship and the worship experience. I am not talking about the modern version of Church worship music that often involves lights, smoke, and the pastor standing behind a Plexiglas pulpit wearing skinny jeans. I am sure that has its place. I am not what that place is but to each his own.

In many ways, music is central to worship and aids the worshipers to fully enter the worship experience. Music conveys a message in both the words used and the notes on the page. How many times have we heard just a few bars of a familiar song, and it takes us back to childhood or brings back memories of a loved one? Music is important.

One of my favorite songs is “Be not afraid.” The song was composed by John Michal Talbot. He is a Roman Catholic monastic that writes worshipful, prayerful music that can be used in public worship and to aid in our private devotions.

Like most of Talbot’s music, it is a straightforward tune with simple words. I often find the tune less complex, and more often, the Chorus or central idea is repeated the best. The song begins with a few lines about why we should not fear God:

And then the Chorus

Be not afraid
I go before you always
Come follow me
And I will give you rest

Today’s Gospel passage from Luke reminds us not to be afraid. “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

There is undoubtedly much to be concerned about in our world today. We do not know where the economy is going. Our planet is getting warmer each day. I read an article last night that says the earth is spinning faster than expected, and we might have to have a leap second to catch up. We still have the threat of a global pandemic, and now we have the monkey pox to deal with. It seems like there is something to fear around every corner, but God is not one of those things to fear.

I have spent the better part of my adult life studying religion and religious institutions, and one thing I have found common in all of them is control. For generations, the Church and I am using that term in its universal sense, governed by the idea that the Church needed to control individuals and their destiny.

We do not have to travel too far back in time to see how the Church often manipulated people’s lives for financial gain. Turn on most TV preachers, and you will soon get the idea that if you don’t send them money, God will strike you down. It is laughable for sure, but this is what I mean by control.

But control only works if the Church can make you afraid, and the Church is great at making you afraid.

Theologians and preachers will search scripture and find arcane passages taken way out of context that uses the word fear and say things like, “see, you need to be afraid of God.” The usual follow-up is, however, if you give such and such, it will calm God’s anger, and all will be well.

Ancient Hebrew worship involved animal sacrifice because it was believed that the smell was pleasing to God’s nostrils and would make God happy, and therefore God would not smite us. And there is always the fear of being sent to hell to keep you in check.

Look at religious art from the medieval and late medieval periods. Most of it depicts people burning in flames and running away from something called the Devil. But, of course, the Church designed all this nonsense to keep people in check and control their lives.

But the enlightenment and the reformation began to change all of that. People started to become more educated and realized this was not the way it was supposed to be. If God was some fearful being, why would this God send Jesus, God’s only Son, to show humanity a different way? The same God who healed the sick cured the blind, and fed the 5,000 does not sound like the same God that the ancient Church wanted you to fear.

Luke continues in the passage we heard this morning to say that we need to be ready, not out of fear but out of love. We sell what we have and give to the poor not because of some obligation or out of fear but because we love and desire to help.

Listen, God could have come down with fire and whatnot and destroyed everything, but God did not. Instead, God sent love in the form of Jesus to put us back on the right path and welcome us home.

One of my all-time favorite movies is the 10 Commandments. I mean, let’s face it, it is fabulous. But an often-overlooked part of the movie comes long after the Nile turns red and the fogs come out of the water.

Moses climbs to the top of Mount Sinai and encounters God. God writes the Commandments on stone tablets, not as rules to be feared but as a rule of life, a way of ordering society. As Moses comes down the mountain, he hears a tremendous commotion. The people have grown afraid and believe that the only way to appease God is to create a calf made from Gold. An idol that is taken care of is Commandment #1.

When Moses sees this, he gets angry and tosses the tablets down upon the people. In the movie, there is a large explosion, and the ground opens and swallows many of the people, including the calf of Gold.

Later we see God giving Moses another set of tablets, and God is also unhappy with Moses. But God does not smite Moses. Instead, God tells Moses that because of what he did, he lost his cool, and he will not be able to enter the land that God will give to the Israelites. Moses can bring them there; he cannot go in. You see, even from the beginning, God did not want his people to be afraid of God; God gave them and us the law not for punitive means but out of love to show us the way.

Paul writes to the Hebrews that faith is “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” “By faith,” Paul says, “we understand the worlds were prepared for the word of God.” That Word of God is not the written word; it’s not even the tablets that Moses carried. The Word of God is Jesus, and the “Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

Friends, in a few moments, we will gather around this table. It’s a simple table fashioned for one purpose, to share a meal, a holy meal with the world. The table and the elements that will be placed upon it have been fashioned by hand. Our collective prayers and the blessing of the Holy Spirit will turn those elements from something ordinary into something extraordinary.

We will not see the change. We will not hear or feel the change. We will not taste or smell the change, but there will be a change. This meal, this communion, is a union between the creator and the creation. This meal of love is Jesus, the word of God made flesh, giving himself to us. This is not some mere symbol or reenactment of an event that took place millennia ago; this is a sacred time when God and humanity come together not out of fear but out of love.

Scripture tells me, and my faith tells me, that God so loved the world that he sent Jesus to show us a different way. God could surely have sent fire, and brimstone wiped the earth’s face clean and started again. But that is not what God chose to do. Instead, God acted out of love and not out of wrath.

I have used this quote before, but it seems a fitting way to end. The quote comes from Michael Curry, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church here in the USA. Bishop Curry says, “the way of Jesus is the way of love, and way of love will change the world.”

Amen