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AUTHORITY vs. AUTHORITY

1/28/2018

Mark 1:21-28
They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God." But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!" And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him.

They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, "What is this? A new teaching — with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him." At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

The Hebrews came into being as a people in a harsh time and a harsher place. They came into what we now see as the Holy Land as a wandering tribe of herdsmen, moving their flocks from grazing to grazing. Descendant most likely from one family, with all its servants and in-laws and hangers-on, every time they grew they split and split again into new sub-tribes, but even though they multiplied, with no home base they were never a power in their part of the world. So, for defense, they developed rules – rules that marked them out as a separate people and keep them pure and tied just to themselves, so that they did not fade into the surrounding peoples and disappear. Rules that were strictly followed ... or else.

They had rules on what they could eat, who they could marry, who and what and how they could worship, who was in charge – rules that set them firmly apart from the neighboring folk. “We are the people who live by these rules. Everyone else is not.”

Rules, it seems, always proliferate over time – adding more and more rules, never fewer, until the rules themselves become more important than the concepts they were intended to safeguard.

We all live by rules – and most of our rules today exist for the same purpose as did the Hebrews’ – to remind us who we are and to enable us to live together. We have rules to ensure safety and order. We stop at red lights, we don’t help ourselves to others’ belongings just because we take a fancy to them, we pay our share of taxes. Yes, there are always those who couldn’t care less about the rules, but most of us make a sincere effort to live that way.

We also, like the Hebrews, have rules that mark us as members of our particular “tribe” -- whether we are aware of those rules, or not. We are middle-class, we’re all educated to a degree, we maintain homes – we live the way people in our tribe live – and we don’t often go outside those unspoken rules. And if we should ever step outside those lines, we will find that some people find themselves threatened by us - for no other reason than that we have done something different.

For those of us who were raised in western Christianity, there are also unspoken rules as to who Jesus was/is. We are so enculturated by a lifetime of images of the blond, blue-eyed Jesus that it’s hard to escape that picture. Our Jesus is soft and pretty and gentle and soft-spoken and doesn’t seem to have ever done a lick of hard work.

In reality, Jesus was a dark-skinned, dark-haired Galilean, born into the lower class, son of a woodworker, who was most likely trained to work hard himself. Young people were certainly not encouraged to just hang about in this day.

He was a young Jewish male – an observant member of the Jewish faith -- not a Christian, not the “Son of God” – just an everyday guy. Nobody special. And that was why it was so shocking when he took his turn reading and expounding in synagogue – as all Jewish males were expected to do in turn – and first, read and taught with an authority no one expected, and then followed that by expelling a demon with a simple command.

This did not fit the rules. The rules, by this time, said that elders had all the wisdom, and they especially said that, if anyone had this kind of power it would be a priest or Pharisee, certainly not a woodworker from Nazareth.

So where did this guy come from? Who gave him permission to speak and act in this way? Where did he get that authority? I’m pretty sure there were very mixed reactions to all this. On one hand, Jesus had just done something wonderful, his words and actions were exciting. They carried a hint of more wonderful things to come. But, on the other hand, Jesus had just broken a whole bunch of unwritten societal rules – and that made him suspect.

Who did he think he was? What did he think he was doing? Where did he learn to do this? Who taught him? Those who were worried about him and his unauthorized authority had studied long and hard to get where they were. They had followed all the rules and worked to be able to claim to be authorities. And this Jesus guy just waltzes in and even the demons listen to him. He is going to be a problem.

People who go outside societal rules make us uncomfortable. If they might chance to be right, then maybe we have been wrong all along. And most people will fight against ever having to face that possibility. Too many of us hate change, and I’m pretty sure that’s not a good thing. How can we grow and improve if we are unwilling to change? How can we ever more into the new life Jesus invited us to if we are unwilling to rethink old certainties?

How many of us are unwilling to move from where we are – where we are comfortable – even when it is Jesus calling us to something new - something better?

Oh, and that evil spirit? People who live in non-scientific thinking cultures have always attributed sickness and what we used to call “acts of God” to invisible spirits. Seeing all these things as totally beyond human control they concluded they could only be the acts of unseen spirits.

We today, in our scientific world, think we have it all figured out, and we tend to blithely explain unusual behavior in others in medical terms. I suspect we still haven’t gotten to the root of it all.

Whether we interpret any biblical language of “spirits” literally, or we translate it, in our minds, into more modern scientific theory, it clearly refers to something that is causing harm – something that is not good for the people involved. The threat is the same - regardless of the name we give it.

Fred Craddock, the grand old Disciples preacher, once noted that "not believing in demons has hardly eradicated evil in our world."

There’s an uncomfortable thought to leave you with. You’re welcome.

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HURRY! HURRY!

1/21/2018

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Mark 1:14-20

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news."

As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea — for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you fish for people." And immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

Last Sunday we talked about “call” – particularly Jesus’ calling of his first disciples, but also the broader concept as it appears all across the Bible – that call – from somewhere, someone -- to move beyond were we are into a deeper relationship with divinity.

Today’s readings are still on that topic – but this week the call contains a sense of urgency.

The Old Testament reading for today comes from Jonah:

The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, "Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you." So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. (Jonah 3:1-2)

Jonah, as you should recall, was a most reluctant prophet to the Ninevites. He hated then and saw no reason to help them. When God first called him, he flat out refused. This is the 2nd time God calls – and this time something of the urgency of God’s call gets through to him. Jonah went to Nineveh and spoke as he was told: "Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" This wasn’t a vague “someday” prophecy. It was timely and urgent.

Jonah answered that call – grumbling all the way – but he did it, and the Ninevites listened, and Nineveh was saved.

The New Testament reading, again from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, is equally urgent:

I mean, brothers and sisters, the appointed time has grown short; from now on, let even those who have wives be as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no possessions, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away. (1 Corinthians 7:29-31)

Don’t lollygag around about this, Paul says. You’ve got to do it now!

And while our Gospel reading from Mark sounds overall like a standard calling-of-the-disciples reading, did you notice, as we just read it, that call is prefaced by "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news." This was the message given by John the Baptist – and it is what Jesus had gone into the desert to find.

This became Jesus’ message from the very first days of his ministry. If we read the words of the gospels we find this urgency throughout everything Jesus preached. The kingdom of God has already come near and the time is now.

In this relatively short reading, the word immediately shows up two times. When Jesus calls Simon and Andrew, they immediately left their nets and followed him. Later, when he sees James and John, Jesus immediately calls them to follow and they drop everything and follow.

Of all the gospels, this urgency comes through the strongest in Mark’s version. Because this is the shortest of the gospels, there is no room for a lot of scene-setting nor details as to where and how. Mark simply says what happened and moves on to the next scene. This sense of “hurry!” comes as much from this writing style as from the actual events. But, again, this urgency lies at the very heart of Jesus’ good news.

It comes from the fact that what he came to teach us it is already happening. We are not called to follow to prepare for something out there in the future. The future is already here. The kingdom of God is already here. We aren’t called to get ready as much as we are called to come on in and join the already on-going party.

As Franciscan friar and spiritual teacher Richard Rohr puts it: "True religion is always a deep intuition that we are already participating in something very good, in spite of our best efforts to deny it or avoid it. In fact, the best of modern theology is revealing a strong 'turn toward participation,' as opposed to religion as mere observation, affirmation, moralism, or group belonging. There is nothing to join, only something to recognize, suffer, and enjoy as a participant. You are already in the eternal flow that Christians would call the divine life of the Trinity."

We live, we exist in the “new thing” Jesus invites us to join. The only question is, will we live there in denial – content with observation or contemplation instead of an actual choice -- or will we open our eyes and hearts to see and acknowledge that this is where we already are – right where we should be.

One more quote – Christian writer Shane Claiborne describes the life of the disciples who answered Jesus’ call: "One by one, these disciples would infect the nations with grace. It wasn't a call to take the sword or the throne and force the world to bow. Rather, they were to live the contagious love of God, to woo the nations into a new future."

This is our call, too, to live the contagious love of God and change the world. Do we answer, or just file it away for “later” ?

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INVITED TO THE GOOD LIFE

1/14/2018

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John 1:43-51 (The Message)
Jesus decided to go to Galilee. When he got there, he ran across Philip and said, “Come, follow me.” (Philip’s hometown was Bethsaida, the same as Andrew and Peter.)
Philip went and found Nathanael and told him, “We’ve found the One Moses wrote of in the Law, the One preached by the prophets. It’s Jesus, Joseph’s son, the one from Nazareth!” Nathanael said, “Nazareth? You’ve got to be kidding. How can anything good come from Nazareth?”
But Philip said, “Come, see for yourself.”
When Jesus saw him coming he said, “There’s a real Israelite, not a false bone in his body.”
Nathanael said, “Where did you get that idea? You don’t know me.”
Jesus answered, “One day, long before Philip called you here, I saw you under the fig tree.”
Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi! You are the Son of God, the King of Israel!”
Jesus said, “You’ve become a believer simply because I say I saw you one day sitting under the fig tree? You haven’t seen anything yet! Before this is over you’re going to see heaven open and God’s angels descending to the Son of Man and ascending again.”

Once we move past the baptism of Jesus, the first couple of weeks of the new liturgical year are always about “call.” The newly Spirit-empowered Jesus rises from the waters of baptism and sets out to call those disciples who will spend the next three years with him. It is always instructive and interesting to reflect on the people Jesus specifically called to follow him. And to reflect on the how’s and why’s of our own callings.

We’ll get back to this bit from John, but first a look into the other lectionary readings for today. The lectionary, you know, takes a reading from the Old Testament, a Psalm, a Gospel reading, and one from that part of the New Testament that is not the gospels. Some churches choose to read them all aloud. We usually focus on just one and as a Disciple, I have the choice to choose which reading to focus on.

These readings are thematically connected. Some Sundays that connection is kind of hard to discern. Other Sundays it is pretty obvious.

As a preacher/teacher I enjoy this season of the year because of the connections – the ties to all the parts of our Bible, the various writings that link over a 1000 years of human history and show our commonality over time and space.

The Old Testament reading for today is the calling of Samuel when he was just a boy, serving Eli, the temple priest. Samuel, who was wakened in the night, repeatedly, by a voice calling his name, and his reply, “Here I am, Lord.” Samuel, who would be a great prophet and the last of the judges of early Israel. The one who would anoint Saul, the first king of the Israelites, and later, that king’s successor, a shepherd boy named David.

It’s a dramatic and obvious story of his call – there is nothing to be interpreted, nothing that reveals itself later. God called, and Samuel answered.

The Psalm reading, Psalm 139, is an entirely different kind of call. Here, there is no voice, no verbal demand for a choice. Instead, the writer celebrates his/her gradually unfolding understanding that God created them for the purpose of serving and following God. It has never really been a choice. God knew them from before they were born because God created them to be exactly that person. Every ounce of their being was designed for this. What else could they do but acknowledge the call that has always been there – and follow?

The New Testament reading comes from Paul’s first letter to the Christ-community in Corinth – one of the letters we studied this past summer. Here, Paul appears to be telling us all that the Samuel-like call and reply is now redundant because by his life and death and resurrection Jesus has incorporated us into his very self – it’s a done deal. There can be no question of responding – which suggests an in and an out – a separation -- when we are already part of the essence of the one who might be calling. The same Spirit inhabits us as inhabits Jesus – as I said, a done deal.

Three readings – three different views of “call.”

And so, back to our chosen reading for today, from John’s gospel. This one is less philosophical than narrative. It is more Samuel-like than Psalm-like. It’s a pretty straight-forward invitational call – but, it’s interesting in that it is a double call.

First, Jesus invites Philip, and then, in turn, it is Philip who actually first issues an invitation to Nathanael – “Come and see what we’ve found – what we’re so enthusiastic about – come and see for yourself!” And, like the other disciples, once meeting Jesus himself, Nathanael drops what he has been doing and follows – then and there.

So many forms and styles of “call.” Each one unique. The one constant among them is the invitation to become part of the good life God offers us all – a life in God – and also to become who we were created to be – each with our own unique gifts, our own life story, our own understanding of ourselves as precious children of God with a call to live out God's beautiful purposes for our lives.

In a commentary on the Psalms, professor James Limburg tell a story of "young Rabbi Zusya, who was quite discouraged about his failures and weaknesses. An older rabbi to him, 'When you get to heaven, God is not going to say to you, “Why weren't you Moses?" No, God will say, "Why weren't you Zusya?" So why don’t you stop trying to be Moses, and start being the Zusya God created you to be?'"

A good reminder to us all. Stop trying to be Moses -- or anyone else you think you should be like. Start being the you you were born to be.

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THE HOLINESS OF CREATED THINGS

1/7/2018

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Genesis 1:1-5 (The Message)
First this: God created the Heavens and Earth—all you see, all you don’t see. Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. God’s Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss.
   God spoke: “Light!”
        And light appeared.
    God saw that light was good
        and separated light from dark.
    God named the light Day,
        he named the dark Night.
    It was evening, it was morning--
    Day One.

Mark 1:9-11
At this time, Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. The moment he came out of the water, he saw the sky split open and God’s Spirit, looking like a dove, come down on him. Along with the Spirit, a voice: “You are my Son, chosen and marked by my love, pride of my life.”

It’s a new year in the church calendar, and that means our focus shifts to another gospel. This is Year “B” and so our gospel readings will largely be taken from Mark. If you remember from our season of studying the gospels, Mark’s is the first of the gospel accounts to be written down (as far as we know) – roughly around the year 70 A.D. Again, as far as we know today, before Mark’s gospel there was nothing in written form – except the seven letters from Paul that we studied this summer.

Mark is also the shortest of the gospels – no frills – just a bare bones account of what Jesus did to lead to the cross and resurrection. There’s no nativity narrative, long or short – no childhood stories. Mark dives straight in and introduces us to John – the wild man from the wilderness, and a fully adult Jesus, who comes – out of nowhere in particular -- to him for baptism.

This reading, placed as it is in the cycle, is clearly about Baptism – but I feel that we largely approach this whole topic as a discussion of the whys and wherefores of the institution of baptism as a sacrament. We rarely take the time to simply ask, “Why baptism?” We are, I trust, all entirely aware that there is nothing ‘magical’ to be found in water as a substance. It is a symbol – a visual sign of something going on at a much deeper level. But symbols are important.

What does interest me is the juxtaposition of readings today that pairs the opening lines of the Creation story with the Baptism of Jesus. It’s not a thought that is original to me, by any means, but it is no accident that the entry into this sacrament, the introduction of Jesus to the larger world, is through the agency of that substance that was present before, during, and after the creation of everything that is – a substance that is part of the physical world of which we also are a part.

The writer of this gospel, consciously or not, uses an element that is part of creation itself, and a vital constituent part of life as we know it.

The church has an unfortunate history of telling us that matter is gross and evil and that only spirit can be holy. Our inherited beliefs that land and resources exist only to be used for the monetary benefit of humankind and possess no intrinsic value of their own have led to deforestation, pollution, the extinction of untold numbers of animals, and the perils we face today in ignoring climate science. Centuries of church teaching taught that human flesh is ugly and sinful and our only goal is to escape it to become pure spirit. All of these teachings have led to self-loathing and untold agonies of both flesh and soul.

And yet, a careful reading of scripture assures us that everything was created in love and joy. From the repeated assurance that at almost every step along the God looked at his new creation and “saw that it was good” – not evil, not gross, but good, to God’s acceptance of creation as part of the sacramental world – a ‘beloved’ part – a cherished part.

Jesus was not baptized in a tidy church baptismal tank or sprinkled with a few drops of holy water. John the Baptist is described as a wild man, not only for his own looks and behavior but for the desolation of the desert wilderness in which he lived. I’ve read descriptions of the Jordan that describe it as a muddy stream, at best. The reading doesn’t give us much detail – Jesus may have been baptized in a raging torrent in spate or in a mud hole. In either case, it was unlikely to have been placid and beautiful.

And yet, this wilderness was where God chose for it to happen. Jesus walked “out into the desert” to find John – he didn’t find him in priestly robes in the temple. Instead, he sought a wild man dressed in skins and existing on what he could find. That’s where the sacrament was instituted – out in the middle of the wild creation that God loved and blessed. In using water – ordinary water – to sanctify Jesus in the eyes of the world (and perhaps in his own eyes) God, through John, sanctified every created thing – including us. Including us. We are part of that Beloved creation.

Do we live as if we believe that?

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AUTHORITY vs. AUTHORITY

HURRY! HURRY!

INVITED TO THE GOOD LIFE

THE HOLINESS OF CREATED THINGS

Rev. Cherie Marckx

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