Sermon Aug 19, 2012

Ephesians 5:15-20 (p 952) 15Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise,16making the most of the time, because the days are evil.17So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.18Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit,19as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts,20giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the word of the Lord….thanks be to God Mark 8:22-38 (p 820) 22And they went to Bethsaida. And they brought to Jesus a blind man and entreated Jesus to touch him. And he took hold of the hand of the blind man and took him out of the village, and, having spat on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” And having regained his sight, the man said “I see the people, for I see (something) like trees, (only they are) walking about. Then Jesus laid his hands upon his eyes again, and the man saw clearly and was cured and looked at everything with a clear view. And Jesus sent him home, saying “Do not go into the village”. 27And Jesus and the disciples went out to the villages of Caesarea Phillippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, saying to them “Who do people say that I am?” They then said to him, “John the Baptist, and others Elijah, and others (say) that you are one of the prophets.” And Jesus asked them “Who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him “You are the messiah”. And he rebuked them so that they would speak to no one about him. 31Then he began to teach them that it was necessary for the Son of Man to suffer much, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise.32And he was speaking the word openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.33But Jesus turned around, saw his disciples, and rebuked Peter and said, “Get out of my sight, Satan, because you do not set your mind on the affairs of God, but on human affairs.” (translation Adela Yarbro Collins, Mark, Hermaneia, 2007, Fortress Press) This is the Word of the Lord…thanks be to God Sermon This is a very strange story. Jesus heals a man—but apparently it doesn’t take the first time, it isn’t a complete healing. Maybe Jesus is having an off day—because after the first time Jesus lays hands on this man, the man reports he now can see, but in a strange or partial way. The man knows what he is seeing are people, but they look like trees, walking around. Some people say that this is proof that Jesus actually, physically healed people because there is a medical condition, called agnosia, in which those who have regained sight report just this kind of thing—that is, their eyes see the images, but their brain cannot yet make sense of what they are seeing, cannot yet integrate the input from their eyes. In the Gospel story, Jesus takes the man a second time, lays hands on him, and the man is fully restored, can now both fully see and make sense of what he is seeing. With Peter…not so much. He sees Jesus, alright, and he thinks he knows what he is seeing. But he doesn’t really understand what he is seeing. We might say he has spiritual agnosia. Peter and the disciples have been traveling with Jesus, learning from him, hearing his stories, seeing his miracles. They are wrapped up in this journey of healing and exorcism, forgiveness and joy. Jesus has just fed another 4,000 people. The people want to make him king. And Jesus asks the disciples who the people are saying he is. Then he turns to them, and asks: “Who do you say I am?” Peter, ever impetuous, seeing the truth without even realizing it, says “You are the Messiah” Jesus’ depiction of what the Messiah is like, and of what the life of a follower of Christ is like, is bounded on both sides by stories of blind men. This first man has no name, and is told not to go into the village. We know nothing about him after this story. The second story is different. There, the man has a name- Bartimaeus. He cries out for Jesus to help him, and instead of disappearing from the story, becomes a follower of Jesus, even to the end. In between, we have Jesus telling the disciples the not so happy news of what they have signed up for. Peter does not want to hear this—this is the Gospel equivalent of Peter sticking his fingers in his ears and singing “la la la”—this is not what a Messiah is supposed to be about, this is NOT what he signed up for, not the kind of Messiah he is expecting. Peter wants a messiah, a savior, with a cape like a super hero, somebody with a shine to him- one who can keep the bread coming, one who will ride into Jerusalem on popularity and white horses, one who will kick the Romans out and restore the throne to the Jews, one who will, of course, include his friends in the new wealth and freedom. But surely, Peter knew there was opposition to Jesus? He had been right there, all along, hearing both the crowds who wanted to make Jesus king, and the plotting and scheming of those who made up the power structure. It should have been no surprise that there would be danger ahead. Jesus talks quite openly about this: “It is necessary for the Son of Man to suffer….” Jesus, apparently, struggles with this, too. He sees this as such a temptation- to not do what is necessary, to not be the kind of Messiah that God has called the messiah—THIS messiah—to be. So much so that Jesus shoves Peter behind him, not daring to look at him, not wanting to see the fear and anguish and hurt in Peter’s eyes. Peter has called Jesus Messiah, Christ- the anointed one, the one they have been waiting for, the one the prophets foretold. Peter sees something, but what he is seeing won’t become clear until later—after the suffering, and the cross, and the resurrection. What Jesus says about Peter’s protest aptly describes the situation: “You are setting your mind not on divine things, but on human things”. Peter’s objection to a crucified Messiah comes out of common sense, out of a clear but wrong-headed way of viewing who the messiah is, and how God can act to bring life out of death. Peter is seeing in a human perspective, and Jesus is offering God’s point of view. The notion that there is a way to Easter other than through the pain and suffering of Good Friday continues to be offered as good common sense; it is a view many of us hold. But that is not the view God takes. Jesus sees what is ahead, and tells the disciples, quite openly, about the coming suffering, and rejection, and death. But he also has one little word in there, just a small portion, after all the warnings about suffering and death: did you hear it? “and after three days, rise.” A guarantee of newness, of new possibilities, of life after death. Jesus openly tells them about death, but also openly tells them about life and resurrection as well. What does Peter see? Only the death part—and that doesn’t jive at all with his view of a Messiah. And most often, it doesn’t jive with our view of what our lives should be like. We don’t want to see that—we don’t want to see suffering, and death, and rejection. But we do. We are Christians, and our story is about death—and resurrection. Our story is about the end of things—and new beginnings, through the grace of God. Our story is about the love of God, which always, always, brings new life, even when we don’t want to hear it, even when we can’t see it. Maybe this is what the story of the blind man—given his sight twice- is all about. That we need to see, and then see again, more clearly, just what it means to be a Christian, what the life of discipleship is like, what Christ is really like. Maybe we can’t take it in all at once. There are a lot of songs about being blind and receiving sight: Amazing Grace. Open My Eyes that I may See, Johnny Nash’s “I can see clearly now the rain has gone.” Johnny Cash, the man in black, has one based on this text. In it, the blind man sings: “I see men as trees walking…I’m beginning to see”- and then later, after receiving the second touch from Jesus, he sings: “I can see all men clearly…..I’ve begun to see.” Pastor Jim and I have worked with the Sessions, and with the congregations, in visioning: that is, to look around and see where God is calling us to be and do in this world. The PC(USA), at General Assembly this year, launched an initiative called 1,001 Worshipping Communities. And people in those communities, those churches, those Presbyteries have been looking around—looking keenly, just like the man who was blind, looking around to see what was needed in their communities, and how they could meet that need. For many people, in many places, what is needed is just that—a community. A community where people could eat, and meet, and talk. A community where people are gathered by the Spirit to meet Jesus Christ in Word and sacrament, a community where people are sent by the Spirit to join in God’s transformation of the world. (http://www.onethousandone.org/About/new-worshiping-community-definition.aspx) And in each instance, it is different, because the people looked around, really looked, to see where God was calling them in that particular place. Carol Howard Merritt, a Presbyterian pastor and a leader in the “emergent church” movement, says: “This is a difficult time in ministry. There are generational, technological, and cultural shifts occurring right now—and the church is not faring well in most of them. Many people look at decades past and imagine that church leaders must have been much more awesome forty-five years ago. Yet, I tend to see things a bit differently. God has called us in this particular season of the church because we are innovators and imaginative risk-takers. The Spirit is moving among us, giving us the prophetic imagination that we need to lead. We are enough. We have enough. And I’m excited to see what happens in the decades to come.” (http://www.christiancentury.org/blogs/archive/2012-08/leading-bold-imagination) Did you hear Carol’s use of the word “see”? Here’s the thing: when you ask the leaders of these new communities, they will tell you that while they have a vision, they do not see clearly—that God’s Spirit is leading them, but they do not have a picture perfect, 20-20 vision of the future mapped out ahead of them. And yet, they rely on God to guide them. Into the neighborhood, and into the future. That is the life of faith. May we all begin to see.

When Jesus Got Cranky Sermon Aug 12, 2012

Ephesians 4:25-5:2 p 951 25So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another.26Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,27and do not make room for the devil.28Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy.29Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear.30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption.31Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice,32and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. 5Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children,2and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. This is the word of the Lord….Thanks be to God Mark 7:24-37 p 819 24From there Jesus set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice,25but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet.26Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter.27He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”28But she answered him, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”29Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.”30So she departed to her house, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone. 31Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis.32They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him.33He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue.34Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.”35And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.36Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it.37They were astounded beyond measure, saying, “He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.” This is the word of the Lord….Thanks be to God We are back in the Gospel of Mark, after spending some time in the Gospel of John. And Jesus has just been preaching and teaching about impurity and defilement, and talking about how God has changed the rules, that the old rules no longer apply. That what defiles us is not what comes into us, what we eat or touch, but what comes out of us, from within us. And now, he has a chance to live out his words. Or eat his words. It’s hard to tell. Perhaps it’s happened to you--you know, the moment when you’ve been teaching your kids, or saying to yourself, or talking in a church meeting or at work about generosity, or opening wide the doors, or living in love and peace with your neighbor…and then God gives you the chance to actually live out what you’ve been preaching. Don’t you just hate when that happens? Well, it happened to Jesus. He goes away, for a break—to, of all places, the seacoast. A week at the beach- a private retreat—sun, sand, silence… All he wanted was some peace and quiet, to be with God. And then in comes this woman, this foreigner. Granted, he was up in Tyre, in Gentile territory. Still, she ought to have known better. You know how they are- pushy- marches right into a place she has no business being—she should NOT be talking to a Jew, she should NOT be talking to a man, she has no business interrupting his week off- and yet, there she is. The first thing she does is kneel at his feet. How she found out he was there, we don’t know, but she gets right to the heart of the matter. She has a daughter who is suffering, and she will do anything to get help for her. Immediately, we are told, she goes in and kneels at his feet, begging for her daughter to be cured. And Jesus. My sweet Lord. Gentle Jesus, meek and mild, says to her “no.” We don’t know if he is tired, if he just wants her out of there so he can have some peace and quiet, or if she got on his last nerve. But he is cranky. And then, after telling her no, he insults her. She turns to him in faith: she has confidence that he is able to cure her child. And he says that healings are for the children of God, of which her daughter apparently is not one, and uses an ethnic slur against her and her child. And what does she do? Does she back down? Down she slither away? Does she go home weeping? No. She answers back—and she uses Jesus’ term in her argument. Call me a dog, she might say. I don’t care. I know you have the power to heal my daughter. She tells Jesus: “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” She doesn’t dispute his calling them dogs. Rather, she insists that they do not need to wait for the children (the Jews) to finish their food first before they may have some crumbs. Apparently she believes that crumb sized blessings will suffice for her and her daughter. (Matthew Skinner, Word and World, http://wordandworld.luthersem.edu/issues.aspx?article_id=1143, 08/08/2012.) She tells Jesus that, in fact, the grace of God is not a zero sum game, that grace for some people does not take away God’s grace from others. It is her argument that changes the story and moves Jesus to act on behalf of her daughter. Her faith is great. She has come to a man she should not, she has risked condemnation—and promptly got insulted for it, and she has entered into theological argument with Jesus. It is interesting to note that Jesus does not praise her faith. That is part of many healing stories, the “woman, your faith has made you well” part. Not here. Here Jesus praises her logos—her word, her reasoning, her argument. Jesus himself, in the Gospel of John, is called The Logos of God—the word of God. And she is handing the word right back at him. In this woman’s arguing is her faith: she believes so strongly in the grace of God she is convinced that only a table scrap of the gospel is necessary to cure her daughter. She understands- perhaps even more than Jesus, at this moment-the scope of the reign of God. And she sees no good reason why it should not begin, right there, right now. Her faith is seen in her beseeching, contending, and in her going back home. For that is what she does—she goes home. She leaves Jesus, walks out of that house, after he has proclaimed that the demon has left her daughter. She travels home alone—there is no mention of husband, of father, family or friends. She is fueled by Jesus’ promise, but she still has not yet seen her daughter, seen the final certainty of her faith made real. She goes home, and in doing so takes Jesus at his word. His performance of the exorcism in this manner—long distance--does not attempt to re-humiliate this woman or drive her back into a life without him. He gives her what she wants, but it will still take an additional act of faith for her to realize this for sure. What was that journey like? Did she run all the way home, eager to see her daughter, or did she walk on feet frozen with fear? It is in her going home, in her willingness to take Jesus at his word, to know that it is time to leave off contending and to start traveling home, that she exhibits great faith. (Matt Skinner) She has to do what Jesus did- live into her words, live into her faith. We talk about faith as living “as if”. “As if” miracles were real, “as if” the kingdom of God was here, right now, “as if” God were acting in the world, “as if” people were all fed and safe and welcomed at the Table—as if we all were already forgiven and receiving grace. Her faith is so great, that it influences Jesus- because after meeting her, after being convicted by her logos, her words, he goes –not back home—but to Sidon, and to the Decapolis- all areas of gentiles…and continues healing Gentiles, extending the grace of God, even the crumbs, to others. Because with the grace of God, a crumb is enough. May we all live into that faith, may we all live out of that faith.