A dialogue sermon featuring the (translated) words of Martin Luther Luther…and a bit of poetic license
Give Death the Finger
I had to look twice. The Burma shave style sign read: “Give Death the Finger.” I dismissed it as the work of some prankster for Halloween. But then I saw it again – further down the street. It didn’t look like a jokester’s sign - it looked like a city sign. I had been thinking about death and dying a lot lately – from the funeral this past Friday to the funeral this coming Friday and from a number of conversations that I had during the week… death was on my mind. So… even though I was a little apprehensive about what I would find… I googled it. And this is what I saw: (Smoke Detector).
Below it were these words:
It might sound too easy, but it’s true—five seconds and a single finger can save you and your entire family. Because most home fire deaths occur in properties without working smoke alarms, the Golden Valley Fire Department kicks off National Fire Prevention Week with a strong message: “Give death the finger” by checking your smoke alarms.
Save a life - - Prevent a death by making smart decisions: like check your fire alarms, get a flu shot, don’t smoke; if you do smoke – quit; don’t drink and drive; eat healthy foods, exercise. These are healthy lifestyle choices, choices we encourage ourselves, our children and one another to do. Although I’m not sure I want to agree with the latest health report… but they say you should beware of bacon. It can cause cancer. Oh well. I’m not ready to totally give up bacon – but I – like you --strive to live well.
But sometimes…. even when you – or someone you love does everything “right”…. things go wrong. Healthy people have heart attacks. Or accidents. Loved ones die – too soon. Maybe they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe they had an unknown health condition. But for whatever reason… or worse… lack of reason… they died.
It is at times like these that we often turn to God and ask: “Why?” Why them? This doesn’t look just or right or fair. We ask God for an accounting. We aren’t the only ones.
In today’s Gospel, Mary, in words that can be read simultaneously as words of faith and accusation, says to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." Or as Martha said to Jesus earlier in our Gospel, “IF ONLY… If ONLY you had been here…If ONLY….
If… If Only… those words are full of pain, regret and unrealized hopes and dreams – for us, our community, our world. Examples come to mind far too easily…tragedy in the whole world...smart intelligent immigrants suffocating in a truck… or closer to home… Joseph Wetterling – back in the news as a potential abuser/killer comes to light… the grade schooler Barclay from Crystal, murdered. Christians – including pastors -- are not immune. Former Bishop Chilstrom and his wife Pastor Corrine wrote a book, Andrew You Died Too Soon, after their son committed suicide. Hopes and dreams and plans dashed. The list could go on and on.
Jesus looks at Mary and the mourners and it is as if he takes on their pain – and his own. Our translation says, Jesus “was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved” which is to say that Jesus was filled with a grief that came from somewhere deep within, a grief touched with fury, erupting with tears. Jesus was not shedding the wise all-knowing yet sympathizing tear. Jesus felt the deep pain of grief and loss; Jesus was fully human… one of us.
When they come to the tomb, Jesus, fully human, again is overcome with grief…and compassion. Here Jesus, recognizing his unique power to actually change, transform this situation and bring life out of death, prays out loud so that others may come to believe. And then he does something that is really against his culture. He insists that they open the tomb. Martha, the practical one, objects. It’s going to smell! Yet, he insists and so they open the tomb – and he orders Lazarus to come out. And he does. Lazarus comes out all wrapped up in cloths.
It’s a miracle. That’s worth celebrating.
But… the story is not over. Notice what Jesus does – and doesn’t do. He does not snap his fingers or say magic words or wave his arms so that the clothes would drop away. Instead, he tells the people, the community: UNBIND HIM… and let him Go.
Jesus restored Lazarus to life – but also restored him to community. He called upon the people to do the work of unbinding Lazarus so that he could re-enter the community.
That is how God acts in the world. From the time in which we are baptized… remember how we gathered around this year around these babies and little ones whose names we read as our baptized saints? At their baptisms God adopted them as brothers and sisters of Christ and then we promised to pray for them and to be their COMMUNITY, a Community of Christ. But it goes beyond the day of the baptism. We are called to continue to walk with the whole family as they grow in faith.
That’s what we are called to do when people die too. However they die, expected or not, God wraps them in his arms and calls them home. And then God calls us, the Community of Christ, to surround those who mourn with love and care. But it goes beyond the day of the funeral. We are called to continue to walk with those who mourn.
Today, on All Saints Sunday, we remember ALL the baptized, those living and those who have died because they are ALL part of the COMMUNITY of CHRIST. God’s Community transcends the boundaries of time and space and includes all of God’s people, including YOU. As a baptized child of God, you have been called with mothering love by the Holy Spirit, adopted by God the Father and marked with the Cross of Christ forever.
And, as members of the Community of Christ, you have been given a job. Jesus calls you and me to UNBIND that which would keep those who once were dead or outcast or shunned or smelly (even if they smelled like Death like Lazarus) from participating fully in the community of Christ.
But what are the things that keep people bound in pain, shame, fear in our communities and in our world?
There are many – but imagine just a few examples of people who are “stuck” today. Imagine a migrant fleeing war wondering if she will find welcome or destitution. Imagine an HIV man wondering if Clare house in Robbinsdale could really be home. Imagine someone who looks like you…maybe IS you… wondering – doubting and yet hoping to find a safe community to belong.
God gave each one of these people life; Jesus offers new life.
But that is not all. Jesus also calls you – and me – to unbind the Lazarus’s of our world – and restore them to community, or, in other words to continue to walk with them.
So what does that look like? How can we be a part of God’s solution without being overwhelmed by the many needs? Responding to the needs of the immigrant may start with sharing a gift with ELCA hunger or Lutheran Disaster Response. We’ll be sharing more about Lutheran Disaster response next week, but 10% of the money raised from our elevator appeal will be matched by Prince of Peace Lutheran of Brooklyn Park. What’s different about the response of the ELCA is that, while other organizations respond to a crisis – the ELCA has people already there and we stay until the people are restored to community.
Responding to the needs of AIDS victims is not a simple task either. The Clare Terrace House, at the corner of 36th and France in Robbinsdale, is being built to respond to the needs of primarily homeless AIDS victims – who have nothing. As part of the WILDFIRE churches, we’ll be putting together a welcome housewarming basket for a new resident – and that will be a good start. However, Clare House is looking for other ways that we can welcome and invite the residents into the community. I’ll be looking for people who are interested and willing to be a part of that welcome.
These are worthwhile ways for us, as the community of Christ, to respond to Christ’s call to unbind those who are bound. But… if you also find yourself bound by fear, shame or anything else… I offer THIS Community of Christ at Faith-Lilac Way, a community of forgiven sinners made saints by the power of God. For, we are called by Christ to love and serve the neighbor.
The sign said, “Give death the Finger.” Jesus Christ has done better than that. Jesus has conquered the power of death and empowered the community of Christ – which includes you – to set God’s people free. Amen.
Pastor Pamela Stalheim Lane
November 1, 2015
All Saints Sunday
Sometimes seemingly ordinary words can make a great deal of difference. Take for example, the word “Repeat.”
“Repeat.” That one word – arguably – sold more shampoo than any other marketing campaign. Wash, Rinse, Repeat. Wala! Twice the shampoo! That little word made a lot of difference.
How many of you find that following Jesus is predictable, a clear path, and that Jesus is always exactly as you want him to be? I didn’t think so. Jesus often defies our expectations, and he certainly defies the expectations of the disciples in our gospel today.
James and John come up to Jesus and demand, “Teacher, we want you to do whatever we ask … Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”
Even though they’ve heard Jesus anticipate his suffering and death twice already, they still “imagine a triumphant, regal scene with themselves sitting in positions of honor at King Jesus’ right and left.”[1] They want power and prestige.
But they’ve got it all wrong. Jesus tells them, “You do not know what you are asking.” James and John think that following Jesus will lead to admiration and high status, but that’s not reflective of who Jesus is.
Jesus says, “Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant … For the Son of man came not to be served but to serve.” Jesus is still great -- he is still a leader, a king, someone with authority, but in a very different scene than the one James and John have imagined. Jesus is a leader who serves, a king who walks among his people, not one who reclines in some throne far away.
But then why call him a king at all if he doesn’t act like one? How can Jesus the servant and Jesus the king possibly be the same person?
After all, a king is someone who wields a lot of power, who can even be a tyrant and lord his authority over his subjects. Think about the kings you’ve heard of.
Henry VIII of England divorced and executed wives who didn’t bear him a living son. He executed clergy and other rulers that didn’t do what he wanted. He possessed great power and wealth, and used it for his personal agenda at the expense of people’s lives.
Or what about Emperor Nero of Rome? He was a tyrant too. He executed countless people, even his own mother. It was also his mission to ruthlessly torture and execute Christians -- he is considered the first major persecutor. Nero also eliminated those who might rival his throne and was described as being “obsessed with personal popularity”[2] -- which is yet another trait we associate with those in power.
Do any examples of kings who serve or who were willing to die for their people come to mind easily? Although this kind of leader may have existed in history, we do not readily associate “service” or “being willing to die” with the role of a king.
And yet we do have a king who serves and who was willing to die for us. Jesus defies our expectations and redefines the cultural understanding of who a king is.
Jesus uses his authority to teach others about God and God’s kingdom. Jesus uses his power to heal the sick and grant sight to the blind. Jesus uses his position to be an example of how to live in response to God’s love.
Jesus shows us who a king -- or really any kind of leader -- is truly meant to be: one who serves their people and uses their power to benefit others. So it is not Jesus who has this whole king and leader identity wrong -- it’s us.
Likewise, our stereotypes of a servant are not in line with who Jesus is, either.
Let’s take a couple of fictional examples that are representative of how we tend to imagine servants.
First, Cinderella. She is ordered around mercilessly by her stepsisters and stepmother, having to take care of nearly all the domestic duties. She is treated without dignity and respect, overlooked as a human being. Her duties are done quietly, and she must shrink who she is because she has no other choice.
Another example are the servants, the house workers, we see on Downton Abbey. If you’re not familiar, this is a show about an English Lord, his family, and his staff at the turn of the 20th century. The servants at the Downton estate are like a well-oiled machine. They’re always a step ahead of their superiors, and keep the house running without much recognition.
They also know all of the gossip of the house, and share that with one another. Not only do they have the details on their superiors, like Lord Grantham, they also know secrets about one another.
The servants are often caught in their own mix of power struggles, lies, and negotiations. While the servants portrayed on this show are treated better than servants were treated in the real Victorian era, they certainly don’t have much power to affect change or to do anything outside of their employer’s rules.
But Jesus isn’t a timid servant or caught up in local gossip. He isn’t without agency or a full personality. Servanthood doesn’t mean you neglect who you are or hide behind the scenes all the time. It means that you use who you are to benefit others, and that the focus of your life is outward.
Jesus serves by breaking boundaries to be with those on the margins. He serves by teaching what it means to participate in God’s kingdom. He serves, as our text says, by offering his life as a ransom, a deliverance, a redemption of all people.
Jesus might be many things, but he certainly is not meek and mild. Nor does he simply follow rules for the sake of good order. He chooses to be a servant, he has agency, and he uses that way of life to make a difference, to transform lives, to create change.
Again, Jesus does not conform to our expectations. He defies them.
Our Jesus is both servant and king, king and servant. For him, these two identities go hand in hand. He is both a leader who serves and a servant who leads. I hope you are beginning to see that these are not mutually exclusive.
But what does this all mean for us? It is well and good that Jesus is our king who came to serve, but we aren’t kings or rulers, right? This is true, but in some way or another, each of us is a leader, which means we can follow Jesus’ example of servant leadership.
The connecting piece in Jesus between leader and servant is that he uses who he is in each of the roles to benefit others. While you are not the savior of the world like Jesus, there are plenty of ways for you benefit others.
You can embody qualities like compassion, attentive listening, and encouragement. If you are a parent, for instance, you are a leader in your family. It’s up to you to set the example for your children in how to be compassionate, empathetic human beings by interacting with them that way. This both an act of leadership in setting an example and an act of service in treating them well.
Or perhaps you are in a supervisory position at work, and the people you are supervising refuse to collaborate on an important project. Your task could be to use your position to step in and model collaboration. In this way, you are leading them in the direction you want them to go, and you are serving them by being willing to walk alongside them instead of lording your power over them.
Or maybe you are organizing an event to raise awareness of something, like the need to stop stigmatizing mental health and the need to foster a culture where people aren’t afraid to talk about it. In this case, you wouldn’t hide behind the scenes and just print pamphlets about the issue, you would use who you are to speak up, get others involved, and organize a time for education. Here, you are a leader making a difference, and you are servant working for the benefit of those stigmatized by mental health.
You see, in Jesus, we are set free from the cultural expectations of who we are supposed to be, and we are set free to live this life of servant leadership using who we are.
There is no better example in the world than Jesus, our servant-king, to follow. He overturns our definitions of what a leader and a servant are to be, and he leads us by example into a radically different life of servant leadership -- thank God we are to follow Jesus’ standards and not our own.
So get going -- get following Jesus, get leading, get serving. Get to this life of being the servant leader Jesus calls you to be, and don’t worry about the world’s expectations or even your own -- Jesus will lead you and serve you every step of the way. Amen. [1] Mark Vitalis Hoffman, Commentary on Mark 10:35-45, http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2641.
[2] Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Nero.
Imagine, for a moment, that there was a great big wall in front of you. You could hear the sound of laughter and joy on the other side. You wanted to be a part of it -- you could not get there. You could not see over the wall. You could not see under the wall. You could not see through the wall… You tried to walk around it. But there was no way around the wall. You hear a voice calling to you, saying “Come!”
Suddenly you realized why that voice sounds familiar. It’s Jesus. Now you wanted all the more to get there. But the only way to Jesus was through that wall. So what is that wall made of? What was getting in your way?
For the man in the Gospel, it was his money. He came to Jesus to find out what he was lacking, wondering: what was he missing? He comes to Jesus and our narrator Mark tells us, “Jesus loved him.” He doesn’t say, “Jesus condemned that greedy man.” He says, “Jesus loved him… and then Jesus invited this man to follow him. What an honor! But then Jesus told this man what it was that was getting in his way. Jesus said, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."
The wall, for the man in the Gospel, was his money. He had been invited to follow Jesus. But he went away sad, for, as the Gospel tells us, he had many possessions.
Money and love of possessions can get in the way of following Jesus. It’s a challenge for us too. In our consumer culture, money and possessions give status. We are urged to buy – bigger, better, more. In my neighborhood I watch in wonderment as house after house gets torn down and rebuilt into mansions. I read recently that storage lockers are on the rise because people can’t fit all the stuff that they buy into their homes. That may not be you. But it’s easy to fall into the consumer culture – even on a smaller scale. Many of us spend money on things once considered a luxury – Caribou coffee, cable TV, internet access, cell phones. These are products and reflections of our culture – and they are not necessarily bad in and of themselves.
But it is important for us to remember that we are a wealthy people. It doesn’t always seem that way because we can always point to someone else who has more. I can look at my neighbors in their 750 thousand dollar homes with landscapers working on their yards and say, “I’m not wealthy!” But I am – and most of you are too. In the eyes of the world, anyone who has enough food to eat and a roof over their head and access to health care is wealthy.
Is it wrong to have money and possessions and wealth? Let’s look at what Jesus says and does. Jesus loves the rich man in today’s Gospel and invites him to follow him. Jesus goes to Zacchaeus – you remember the rich tax collector who was sitting in the sycamore tree? He invites himself to Zacchaeus’ house, which was a huge honor for Zacchaeus. It was only after the invitation that Zaccheaus proclaims that he will give away a portion of his wealth and repay those that he had cheated fourfold. It was a rich man, Joseph of Arimathea who cared for Jesus’ body after he died. Jesus does not condemn money. He did not tell everyone to sell everything they had. But he does tell this rich man to sell everything because this man’s money and possessions were getting in the way of his relationship with Jesus.
Is this still a challenge for us? Can our money, property, stuff get in the way of our relationship with Jesus? A professor of mine quoted the saying: "It is not wrong to have wealth, but it can be dangerous." It can be dangerous because it is easy to forget that it’s entrusted to our care – that we are to care not only for ourselves but also for the world around us. Besides, as another saying goes, “You can’t take it with you.”
When we forget that everything belongs to God – and that God has entrusted us to be stewards of the earth, of our relationships, of our resources, of our time, of the talents that God has given us – then it is tempting to use them not like a steward would use them, always thinking how the owner, the master would want these gifts used – but instead thinking of our own benefit. That’s when we can get into trouble, because that’s when something else gets in the way of our relationship with Jesus.
Jesus is calling on the rich man – and us – to put our relationship with Jesus as our first priority in our life.
Wayne Muller writes in his book, Sabbath: Finding rest, renewal and delight in our busy lives, that according to our society, “A ‘successful’ life is one in which one is always terribly busy, working hard, accomplishing great things, and making a great deal of money.” But this is not the mark of success of a follower of Jesus.
Muller’s own life – before he wrote this book – would have fit the earlier definition of “successful.” He was a psychotherapist with lots of clients, ran a non-profit, traveled around the country lecturing and teaching, served as a chaplain, writing a book and trying to be a good father and husband. His life, seemingly successful, landed him in the hospital – exhausted. He let the busyness of his life – all good stuff – get in the way of taking time for Sabbath – time to follow Jesus.
For us, as followers of Jesus, a “successful life” is simply one in which we put following Jesus first in our use of ALL the gifts God has entrusted to us. Putting Jesus first in our use of time means spending time worshiping God, spending time listening for the Holy Spirit’s leading, taking time for Sabbath rest. Putting Jesus first in our use of treasures means using wisely the resources God has entrusted to us both for ourselves and for the sake of our neighbor. Putting Jesus first in our use of our talents means letting our hands and feet, voices and abilities be used for the glory of God.
Jesus’ disciples thought that this would be hard. Since their culture valued rich people as the ones who must be doing the right things to have received a blessing from God of riches, the disciples were quite anxious when Jesus said that it would be difficult for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom. They asked, "Then who can be saved?" Jesus responded, "For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.”
That’s the good news. While always putting Jesus first in the use of our time, our talents, our treasures is hard – Jesus even calls it impossible for us on our own. But, Jesus also says, “For God all things are possible.”
Jesus did more than declare it possible - Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit to lead us-- and also gave us one another to support each other. I saw that happen this past week. Some of you shared financial gifts to buy food, others used your talents of baking and cooking and others used your time and talents to serve a meal to the families of children in the hospital at the Ronald McDonald house. There was an abundance of funds, talents and people to share the load. Some of you shared your financial gifts to fund Kidpack. Some of you gathered together to sing and prepare for worship today. An elevator task force gathered because providing access to ministry to all people is what Jesus would have us do. You all prioritized worship today. That’s what putting Jesus first looks like.
Money does not make the world go around – God does. And, for God, all things are possible. So, by the power of the Holy Spirit, and trusting in God’s grace, may you seek to follow Jesus every day and in every way and may God give you the courage and conviction to do so. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Pamela Stalheim Lane
Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran
Today’s Gospel may be hard for some of you to hear today. Yet, even though some of the words of Jesus may be hard to hear, listen with ears that hear not just law – but hear Jesus’ love and care for you.
The Holy Gospel according to Mark the10th chapter
“Some Pharisees came, and to test Jesus they asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" 3 He answered them, "What did Moses command you?" 4 They said, "Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her." 5 But Jesus said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. 6 But from the beginning of creation, "God made them male and female.' 7 "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate." 10 Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. 11 He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; 12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery." 13 People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. 14 But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, "Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. 15 Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it." 16 And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.
“The Gospel of our Lord.”
Mercy
Today’s Gospel is one of those texts that make pastors cringe when it comes up in the lectionary. I’ll admit that it was tempting to just cut out the first part of the lesson and simply talk about how Jesus welcomes children. Because Jesus does love children. But I think that Jesus has some words that apply to all of us today – and today’s lesson not just about children, and it’s not just about divorce. It’s about God’s intention for us-- for all of us – and our relationships – and how we treat the vulnerable among us. Jesus reminds us that God’s intention is for LOVE and MERCY.
Mercy. That word – “Mercy” -- has been in the news since the visit of Pope Francis. Although I don’t agree with everything that the Pope says or that his tradition espouses – I’m still waiting for an invitation to serve him communion –I agree heartily with his focus on Mercy.
Mercy is the attitude of God towards us. We are people who sometimes make bad choices and in making bad choices we often hurt other people and ourselves – sometimes intentionally and sometimes through a thought-less word or action. The old word for this is sin. As Lutherans we confess that we are sinners – people who make mistakes and hurt others and ourselves. We know that we are people in need of God’s healing and in need of being restored, renewed, made right. This is why, as we come to worship, we confess and we receive God’s gracious gift of forgivenessand mercy… God’s mercy. God’s mercy is God’s gift of forgiving and even forgetting – imagine that! God forgives and forgets the wrong that we have done and instead makes us whole. Restored. Made right.
We are a people who need mercy – and a people that God calls on to show mercy to ourselves and to one another – especially to the most vulnerable.
In Jesus’ day, society was very patriarchal. Women did not have property rights – rather, when a contract of marriage was made, women were treated very much like property. In Jewish Law, divorce was allowed – that is a Jewish man was allowed to divorce his wife. That meant sending her back to her father’s house – with a badge of shame. She had no status, no property, no means of making a living for herself. She became incredibly vulnerable.
The hot-button issue of the day for the Pharisees was not whether divorce was permitted – the Pharisees knew it was legal -- but on what grounds? One school of thought said that divorce was allowed only for unfaithfulness and the other said that divorce was allowed for any reason that displeased the husband – even for as little reason as burning the breakfast toast.
Jesus responded by reminding them of God’s intention for marriage. God’s intention for marriage is for relationship – not for economic gain as was so often done in that day. God’s intention for marriage is to bring two people together for a life together. That’s God’s dream for marriage and for all relationships. Care for each other. Love one another. God’s intention is for love --- and bound up in God’s love is the gift of mercy.
Mercy. This is the word we need to hear today regarding divorce. Because while God’s intention for marriage is relationship – and the intention of most people who marry today is for a life long relationship – we are broken people. We are people who make mistakes, who hurt one another and ourselves --sometimes by forces we cannot control. The truth is, we live in a broken world in which divorce is sometimes the best and sometimes the only viable outcome of a marriage. And that’s when we need to hear a word of Mercy – not judgment.
Jesus disciples lived in a broken world too. The disciples knew this and that’s probably why they asked Jesus to clarify his answer.
Divorce wasn’t as common then as it is now, but, under Roman law, women could also divorce their husbands. There was one case that was very well known at the time: Herodias divorced her husband to marry her brother-in-law, King Herod. It may have been this situation that Jesus was referring to when he said, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."
It’s easy to hear Jesus’ words as words of judgment. But I think Pope Francis had it right when he said, “I think we too are the people who, on the one hand, want to listen to Jesus, but on the other hand, at times, like to find a stick to beat others with, to condemn others.” And I would add ourselves, because sometimes we are really hard on ourselves. Francis goes on to say – and I agree: “Jesus has this message for us: mercy. I think — and I say it with humility — that this is the Lord's most powerful message: mercy.” I agree.
Mercy. Not judgment. Notice not only what Jesus says, but also what Jesus does. Jesus does what Jesus always does – he stands with the vulnerable, the poor, and those of lowest status. In his culture, that would be the divorced, the widowed, the leper and the children.
That is why, in the midst of this teaching about divorce, while parents and grandparents are interrupting Jesus’ teaching to get him to bless their children, Jesus gets irritated at the disciples for trying to stop them. The disciples are operating within the rules of their society. Children were completely without status. In those days, children were not “to be seen and not heard,” children weren’t even to be seen! Yet Jesus tells his disciples – and us: “whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it." In other words, Jesus tells them – and us: God’s kingdom does not work like your world works. You can’t use money, influence, power, prestige or even good actions and reputation to squeeze yourself into the kingdom of God!
Instead, we come – you and I – with nothing to commend us, nothing to make us worthy or deserving. We come like the children, widows, divorced people, lepers and the lame of Jesus’ day. We come to Jesus as broken and flawed as we are -- and just as Jesus blessed the children that day, in the same way Jesus grants us mercy - blesses us and names each one of us, “Child of God.”
Mercy. God’s mercy. It’s given by Christ: For you. And now…. Having received Jesus’ blessing, Jesus sends you out – to bless and care for the other – especially those who are most vulnerable in our society. Who are they in our world? The poor? Children of the poor? The disabled? The “immigrant?” Who would you name? Who is vulnerable? Let us seek out the vulnerable within our midst – and provide care and extend Christ’s mercy. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Pamela Stalheim Lane
October 4, 2015
Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran Church
The Road to Emmaus
Cleopas and Naomi: “On the Way”
Cleopas: Naomi, come along. We need to get going. Jerusalem’s not safe for Jesus’ followers anymore. Besides, there’s nothing left for us to do. Might as well go back home to Emmaus.
Naomi: Oh Cleopas, I’m so sad. Why did the Pharisees have to set Jesus up to be killed?
Cleopas: They were threatened. Jesus was becoming very powerful with the people. Remember the Pharisees are very tight with the Roman government. They did not want to lose their status. If they let a revolutionary prophet energize the people, Rome would blame them.
Naomi: But the scribes? Surely they should have stood by him?
Cleopas: Jesus was teaching about God in a new way – a way that made God relevant for our lives and more than a bunch of laws to follow. But neither the scribes nor the Pharisees could stand anything new. You know how they feel about “change.” Instead of the 613 commandments and thousands of regulations on how to keep those commandments, Jesus gave us two: Love God. Love your neighbor as yourself.
Naomi: I sure wish Judas had paid a little more attention to those two commandments.
Cleopas disdainfully: You mean: “The Betrayer.” Do not say that scoundrel’s name in my presence again. The power of the Pharisees was threatened – and goodness knows the Scribes don’t like change. But the Betrayer? He was one of us, a follower. He was one of the Twelve, Jesus’ handpicked disciples. I should have known he was no good. I wish I had warned Jesus.
Naomi: I think Jesus knew. Jesus was so wise. I just wish Jesus was here.
(1.45)
Cleopas: “But We Had Hoped…”
“But we had hoped.” We had hoped many things. Naomi and I left our family in Emmaus right after we were married. My father wanted us to continue on the family farm. But I did not want to sow wheat and tares. I wanted to follow Jesus.
When Jesus’ spoke, everything made sense. All was right in the world. People were healed. God’s Word was taught with authority. Jesus spoke a word of blessing on five loaves and two fish and there was plenty for all – no… more than plenty…. there was an abundance of leftovers – 12 baskets full! All of the prophecies were being fulfilled. The lame walked. The blind could see. The hungry did not go away empty. We had such hopes! Such dreams!
We even dared to dream that Jesus would be the Messiah, the anointed, the one that the whole people of Israel had been waiting for, praying for, anticipating. Yet Jesus kept talking about suffering…rejection…death. It didn’t seem that way to me when he rode into Jerusalem triumphantly on a donkey. But that didn’t last long.
The Betrayer – that scoundrel - betrayed him with the “Kiss of Peace.” What irony. A kiss of peace. There was no peace in his kiss – only deception.
He betrayed him. But… so did I. I thought I had more mettle. I thought I would stand by my Lord and defend him. But I did not. I ran. I ran for my life. Then the next day I had a second chance. But, as Pilate is questioning Jesus, did I come out and defend Jesus? Did I say – he’s innocent! Take me instead! Did I raise the sword in defiance? No. I hid behind Naomi – with head bent low so that no one would recognize me.
We had such hopes. Yet instead of me defending Jesus, he died for me.
2.08
“ Seeing Scripture through Resurrection Eyes”
Reflection: Pastor Pam
The words of the Old Testament prophets suddenly came alive as the stranger quoted passage after passage of Scripture, beginning with Moses. So what passages did the stranger Jesus quote? What did he teach? Cleopas didn’t write it down but there are lots of references that we can see now that we look with Resurrection eyes.
Maybe the stranger reminded them of how Moses raised a bronze snake in the wilderness and the people were saved (Numbers 21:8-9). In the Gospel of John, Jesus interprets that event for Nicodemus, saying, “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”
Jesus very likely recounts the story of the first Passover. On that first Passover, God, through Moses, told the people to kill a lamb and put the blood of the lamb on the doorway so that the angel of death would “Pass Over” their houses. The Israelites had been celebrating Passover ever since as a reminder of God’s saving act.
Jesus and his disciples and all of his followers would have just celebrated Passover. The stranger helps Cleopas and his companion see that Jesus was the new Passover lamb who frees them from more than physical slavery. As John the Baptist prophesied, Jesus is “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
This new understanding of Jesus as the Passover lamb gives new meaning and understanding to Isaiah’s prophecy of the suffering servant.
In Isaiah we read:
He was despised and rejected;
He has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases;
He was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities.
Cleopas and his companion hear the scriptures explained in a new way. Their hearts are burning but their eyes do not yet see Jesus.
2.20
Naomi:
“Some have Entertained Angels Unawares”
This stranger who met us on the road –who is he? Come to think of it, he didn’t tell us his name - he seems both strangely familiar and yet also a little mysterious. How did he gain such knowledge? He interprets the Bible in such a way that makes sense of the passages that rabbis have struggled with for years. He’s also very gracious. After all, he could have gotten to wherever he’s going much more quickly if he hadn’t stopped to walk with us. But instead of hurrying by, he taught us all the way from Jerusalem.
His throat must be parched from all that talking. Look at the sky – it’s almost evening. He must be starved! I’m glad we are almost home. We must insist that he stay with us. It’s the least we could do for all his trouble. After all, as they say, “some have entertained angels unawares.” You don’t think…could he be… Well. Best not to worry about that! But we must insist that he stays with us. Besides… the road’s not entirely safe once it gets dark.
1.15
Cleopas & Naomi: “With Eyes Wide Open and Hearts Filled with Joy”
Cleopas: Did you see…
Naomi: JESUS!
Cleopas: Yes. It’s Jesus. How could I not have seen him before?
Naomi: Somehow he seemed so familiar and yet…
Cleopas: Our eyes were kept from seeing.
Naomi: Were not our hearts burning within us…
Cleopas: Yes as he was talking to us on the road
Naomi: And while he was opening the scriptures to us!?
Cleopas: I’m glad we invited him in…
Naomi: But this was far better than being visited by an angel.
Cleopas: What a blessing!
Naomi: We can’t keep this to ourselves.
Cleopas: We’ve got to go to Jerusalem.
Naomi: What are we waiting for? We’ve GOT to share this good news!
.35
Seeing Jesus
Reflection – Pastor Pam
Seeing Jesus. Cleopas and his companion couldn’t see Jesus for most of the time that they were with him. Even though they knew the story of the Resurrection and even though they had the best Bible Study teacher of all time explaining the scripture, they still couldn’t see Jesus.
It was only after Jesus blessed the bread and broke it that their eyes were opened – and Cleopas and his Companion saw Jesus.
Cleopas’ companion is not named in Luke’s Gospel. Nor is there any detail about him or her to guess the identity of the companion. I took the liberty of imagining that the companion could have been Cleopas’ wife. She could have been named Naomi – or not. Pastor Paul imagines the character differently as he paints in the details. The companion could have been Cleopas’ son, his brother, his father, a friend or even just a “companion for the journey”. Luke doesn’t tell us – and I think that could be intentional. Because that no-named “Companion” represents a follower – like YOU.
Jesus invites you to be like Cleopas and his companion. After all, You have now heard the story. You’ve seen it come to life on a canvas. And just as Jesus told his followers: “You are witnesses of these things,” so Jesus tells you, “You are witnesses of these things.”
After Cleopas and his companion saw Jesus, they raced back to Jerusalem to tell it to their friends and fellow followers of Jesus. But, when they got there – they had to listen first to someone else’s account – and then they were able to share their news. Sometimes we have to listen before we can share too. The ways that you are able to share the Good News will very likely be different from Cleopas and they may be different from the way a talented painter like Pastor Paul Oman shares the Good News. But you are witnesses. You have seen Jesus. How will you share this good news? Go and tell. Amen.
2.30
Katelyn Rakotoarivelo
Sermon 9.20.2015
Faith Lilac Way Lutheran
What is greatness?
Last week, Pastor Pam asked “Who do you say Jesus is?” In our gospel reading for today, I would say Jesus is one who re-orients, one who challenges the systems and understandings of society.
After the disciples have been arguing about who is the greatest, Jesus reorients them. He tells them what greatness really is. He reorients them from a worldly view of greatness to greatness in the kingdom of God. “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all,” Jesus says. Servanthood is pretty different from what the disciples were arguing about.
In showing them what greatness really is, he also challenges the norms of society. He tells them "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me, welcomes not me but the one who sent me."
We tend to see children as curious, innocent, imaginative -- but in Jesus’ time, children were near the bottom rungs of the social ladder, and they certainly had the lowest status in the household. It’s almost like they weren’t fully human. So when he’s telling the disciples to welcome children, he’s telling them to welcome the most vulnerable and overlooked people in their community. To welcome the sick, the poor, the foreigner.
I can’t imagine the disciples were feeling too proud of themselves in this moment. It says they were silent when Jesus asked them what they were arguing about. I think they were probably embarrassed, maybe even ashamed. After all, they’ve been with Jesus for some time now -- they’ve seen his ministry and heard his teachings. They know he is about service and healing and being with those who’ve been cast out. They should know what’s important in the kingdom of God. And yet the disciples are still wasting time arguing about which one of them is better than another. We might wonder how they’re seriously still stuck with that kind of concern, after everything they’ve learned from Jesus.
But maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to judge the disciples. Have you had profound experiences of God and yet still wonder if he’s really there? Do you know who Jesus is and what Jesus is about, and yet still have a hard time following him? We share this human reality with the disciples. We know what’s important, but we miss the mark sometimes.
Another thing we share with disciples is that our society also defines greatness in ways that are really different from how Jesus describes it. Wealth is one example.
Think of how we admire celebrities or how we nod approvingly at someone dressed in a sharp suit. Now think of how we turn up noses at those begging on the streets or someone who’s shown up in our neighborhood wearing ragged clothes, a little smelly and unkempt.
We don’t know any of these people’s stories -- the ragged person showing up could have just escaped a really hard life, for example -- and yet we make assumptions about their worth. In both the disciples’ time and ours, the appearance of wealth is a marker of success, of greatness.
Another marker of greatness was simply being born in the right family with the right gender. In Jesus’ time and ours, you don’t have to have done anything but be born to be afforded certain privileges.
For example, if you were the firstborn male in an established Roman family, you had several things going for you -- you were the first born, you were a male, you had resources, you were Roman … all of these things meant you were “greater” than many others.
In our context, if you’re a white, able-bodied, male in a family of white U.S. citizens, those characteristics will make you greater than a brown, disabled female in an immigrant family. We all have characteristics we didn’t choose that benefit or disadvantage us in society.
And even if you’re the wealthiest, healthiest, most American man ever -- well, we all age and we all have the potential to lose our mental and physical faculties -- which will then send us spiraling down the mountain of greatness. How our world sees greatness turns life into a competition, into a show.
These societal definitions of greatness are shallow. They’re often unfair. And sometimes they’re fleeting. But the kind of greatness Jesus shows us, and what is great in the kingdom of God, is deep, accessible, and everlasting. Anyone can be a servant. Anyone can welcome the child, the sick, the poor, the stranger. Our capacities to serve and welcome may differ from person person, but no one is incapable of this kind of love.
There’s a video that went around online a few years ago that I think demonstrates this kind of greatness. In the video, there are two women, Gladys and Naomi. Both appear to be in their 80s or so. But these two women have very different circumstances. Gladys has been living with Alzheimer’s for nearly a decade, and she is virtually non-verbal. Naomi is in good health and is sound of mind and speech.
Some people might think Gladys isn’t quite human anymore -- just like we said about those children in Jesus’ time. Some people might think she’s not quite human because she can’t do things that most people can do -- like speak understandably, walk, bathe herself. But Naomi knows better.
She sees a person, a living, breathing soul. Naomi welcomes Gladys in her life, and she serves Gladys by trying to make a connection. She holds Gladys’s hands, notices the tear on her face, rubs her cheeks lovingly, and believes there can be communication.
Then Naomi starts to sing “Jesus Loves Me,” knowing that it would be a familiar song in Gladys’s life. Gladys begins to tap her hand to the rhythm of the song, and Naomi matches the speed of the song to the speed of Gladys’ tapping. Eventually, Gladys joins in a few words of singing “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” when Naomi sings it. As the video goes on, Naomi continues to be a comforting presence and remains in connection with Gladys.
I think Naomi exemplifies greatness here. She is looking after someone who is often forgotten by the world. She is welcoming someone extremely vulnerable. And she doesn’t expect that Gladys will communicate every time, but she believes it’s worth a try. And I think Gladys is great as well -- she’s also giving the gift of connection to Naomi, even if she isn’t fully aware.
This kind of greatness is far more powerful and meaningful than having more money than you can spend, or enjoying privileges granted to you by an unjust world.
But even if you enjoy certain privileges or possess astounding wealth, this doesn’t mean you can’t participate in the kind of greatness Jesus shows us. One example of this is Dikembe Mutombo. He is a Congolese man who played in the NBA for many years, even making it into the hall of fame.
He certainly made a large sum of money.
Many people in his position have easily squandered that kind of money away, spending it recklessly on themselves. However, Dikembe uses the wealth granted to him to help others in his home country. The point isn’t that having wealth is bad or sinful -- the point is that if you do have it, you have a responsibility to use it wisely and lovingly, just like any other gift or talent you may possess.
The mission statement of his foundation says,
“The Dikembe Mutombo Foundation is dedicated to improving the health, education and quality of life for the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Foundation strives to accomplish this goal through an emphasis on primary health care and disease prevention, the promotion of health policy, health research and increased access to health care education for the people of the Congo.” (http://www.dmf.org/mission-statement.html)
“In the Congo there is currently civil war and they have been entangled in violence since 1996. This conflict has been the world’s bloodiest since World War I. The country’s education, healthcare, and legal and road systems are in shambles.” (http://worldwithoutgenocide.org/genocides-and-conflicts/congo)
Dikembe has worked with others to help people in his country gain needed access to medical care and health care education, and in the future is working to improve general education for children. He’s using his resources to serve.
While playing professional basketball -- and being an exceptional player in the NBA at that -- is quite an achievement, this is not what makes Dikembe great. His greatness is in his service to some of the most vulnerable and overlooked people in our world.
Whether through larger-scale acts like Dikembe or one-on-one acts like Naomi and Gladys, this service and welcoming are what counts as greatness in the kingdom of God.
And just like the disciples needed reorienting, we do, too. We can never be reminded enough of what life is really about, what greatness really is. We can never be reminded enough that it is the content of our character and actions that determines who we are.
There are all kinds of pressures to be a certain way, to have certain things. There are all kinds of unjust markers of greatness that our society proclaims. But listen instead to Jesus’ proclamation: be a servant of all, and welcome those cast aside -- this is true greatness. Amen.
“ Who do people say that I am?” That’s the question that Jesus asks his disciples. Clearly people have been talking about this miracle worker who heals the sick, teaches about God with authority and even casts out demons. The disciples answer readily: "John the Baptist; Elijah; one of the prophets."
People haven’t stopped talking. It’s not “new news,” but in our media – print, internet and social media - there is still plenty of “talk” – and disagreement about “who is Jesus”. So, if Jesus was to ask today, “Who do people say that I am?” What are other people saying today? Turn to your neighbor and tell them – You’ve got about 30 seconds – Go!
So who DO people say that Jesus is? (Invite people to share).
OK – That’s what “THEY” say. You know the next question: Who do YOU say that Jesus is? Turn to that neighbor again. 30 more seconds – GO!
So who do “YOU” say that Jesus is? (Invite people to share).
At our pastors’ text study this past week, Pastor Ashley shared a survey of ELCA youth – kids like ours – that was done by Jen Bradbury, a seasoned youth worker who was working on her Masters in Youth Ministry project. She asked the youth this same question: Who do you say that Jesus is?
I was a bit surprised at the results. Remember, these were church kids. After Bradbury compiled the responses, the most popular description of Jesus was: “SUPERHERO JESUS” – a Jesus with power to do miracles. The runner up she calls the “Mr. Rogers Jesus” – a kind, friendly teacher who teaches and demonstrates a good way of life. In third place came a“God-like Jesus” – but still a man just with higher powers. She also found youth who described Jesus as a “Spiritual guru Jesus, “Joe Jesus” – my best buddy, and King Jesus. To be fair, Jesus is described in all of these ways in scripture – but the “REAL JESUS” encompasses all of those characteristics – and more. Distinctly missing from these descriptions was the description of Jesus as God. For the REAL JESUS is both a real human being and really GOD. Jesus is incarnate God – God with flesh and blood.
A popular song a while back asked the question, “What if God were one of us.” Well… YES. That’s exactly who Jesus is. Really human –AND really God. One of the biggest challenges for Christians today is that so many people in our culture THINK that they know who Jesus is – but they don’t know the REAL Jesus.
I hope our youth – and you all – would score higher than the youth that Jen Bradbury surveyed. At Camp Wapo our youth sing a great song called “Prince of Peace” that helps articulate who Jesus really is – by naming Jesus as: “Lord, King, Mighty God, Emmanuel, the Great I AM, Prince of Peace, Lamb of God, Living God, Alpha, Omega, Savior, Messiah, Redeemer and friend.” The REAL Jesus – both God and Human encompasses all of these names.
Reading just a part of Bradbury’s study convinced me that I and YOU need to talk more about Jesus – and for two reasons. First – because other people don’t know the REAL Jesus – God and Human. And, because simply knowing who Jesus is – both God and Human – is just the first part of being a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ.
The other part of being a follower of Jesus is just that: it’s following… following Christ.
That was Peter’s problem. For a brief moment, it sounded as if Peter “Got it.” He was able to answer Jesus’ question by confessing: “You are the Messiah” – which could also be translated as“God’s anointed. The One we have been waiting for.” But Peter had his own idea of what it meant for Jesus to be the Messiah”. The Messiah that they had all been waiting for was one who would purify the society, put Israel first among nations and bring in a new era of peace and holiness.1 Peter had big ideas for the Messiah he was looking for and it didn’t have anything to do with Rejection. Suffering. Death. Or a cross.
That’s when Jesus gets in his face and says, “Get behind me Satan!”
Imagine what this might have looked like. Jesus is standing here, with his face pointed to Jerusalem. That’s the destination, that’s the direction that he is headed – come hell or high water – literally. So if Jesus is standing here – and looking in that direction – where is Peter is standing? He’s probably standing right in front of Jesus – but that means he is looking 180 degrees in the opposite direction. He’s headed the WRONG WAY.
Ever accidentally turn the wrong way down a one way street? You don't have to admit it. But let me tell you, that …once you realize it, it’s pretty scary. I did once see a man drive down the wrong way onto a freeway – and I just wanted to yell across the freeway to him: TURN AROUND. You are going the WRONG WAY. That’s exactly what Jesus is saying to Peter.
Peter’s ideas of the Messiah might have been for a “superhero Jesus” or a kingly Jesus. Peter’s way would have led to Glory and stardom and superhero status – not the cross. But that’s the WRONG WAY. It’s not the way of Jesus.
To Peter, Jesus says, “Get behind me.” Anything that stands in the way of Jesus is like Satan, going against God’s will. Instead, Jesus rather pointedly commands Peter – Get behind me. Or in other words: Don’t lead because you’re going the wrong way. Follow. Follow me. That’s what Jesus said to Peter and now, Jesus invites you, saying: “Follow Me”.
So what does it mean to follow Jesus?
Following may sound easy. But following Jesus doesn't mean sitting back and simply receiving God’s gifts of grace. Following is active – not passive. Following Jesus means actively making choices in your life that follow Jesus. And, following Jesus means that you can’t follow other things that would send you a different way.
How do we follow Jesus? We follow Jesus by doing what Jesus did – and by doing what Jesus taught: Love God. Love your neighbor as yourself. It isn’t complicated. There aren’t a lot of rules. But that doesn’t make it easy. It’s challenging because the culture – and human nature – often encourage us to do just the opposite – and to go a different way.
But Jesus wants us to follow and so he gave us four tools, gifts, to help us. Jesus taught us to PRAY – to ask God for help; Jesus entrusted us with the WORD of GOD to guide us; Jesus gave us ONE ANOTHER – Christian community and finally, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit so that we would not be alone.
Jesus said, “Follow Me.” It’s an invitation and a challenge. So let’s follow. Follow Jesus – the Real Jesus, who is God incarnate, God made human. Amen.
1Matt Skinner – Working Preacher website:
The Gospel according to Mark 7:24-37 (NRSV)
24 From there he 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,
25 but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet.
26 Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter.
27 He 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."
28 But she answered him, "Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs."
29 Then he said to her, "For saying that, you may go--the demon has left your daughter."
30 So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
31 Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis.
32 They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him.
33 He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue.
34 Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened."
35 And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.
36 Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it.
37 They were astounded beyond measure, saying, "He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak."
Healing and Transformation
Location. Location. Location. That’s what realtors say. Location is important when buying a house - but location matters in our Gospel too - because it gives us the context of the story. So when Mark writes that Jesus headed to the region of Tyre, that’s the coast of the Mediterranean Sea - it’s like going “up north”. And Mark tells us, that Jesus “did not want anyone to know he was there.”
In light of my recent travels, I wondered, “Is Jesus trying to take a “Sabbatical?” Who could blame him? He has just fed 5000 people with a little boys lunch, walked on water, taught crowds of people and challenged the authority of the Pharisees – as well as a host of other miracles. I would say that Jesus deserves a break, a time with his disciples to refresh and renew.
But somehow news travels in a small town. Mark writes that a woman came and bowed at his feet. In the culture of Jesus’ day, women did not approach men, especially not a Jewish rabbi. This woman was a Gentile and a foreigner – a Syrophoenician Gentile woman. In the Jewish culture of the day that was three strikes against her. She would not be expected to even get near him - let along talk to him. Yet… here she is.
Before I go any further, I have to say that this passage has ALWAYS made me uncomfortable. You can probably guess why. When this woman – we don’t know her name – bows at Jesus’ feet and begs for help, Jesus responds, “"Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." Did Jesus just call her a dog? That just doesn’t fit with my image of Jesus.
There are times in which I wish I could do what Thomas Jefferson did. He simply took a scissors and cut out all the passages of the Bible that he didn’t like. It’s tempting. These words offend our - my ears. How could these be the words of the Jesus that I know? But then…I don’t remember who told me this – but one pastor said that if a scripture was offensive or challenging just hold onto it and squeeze it, squeeze it like you are squeezing an orange until the juice runs out -- squeeze the scripture until the Gospel comes out.
So, first let’s look at who’s writing this Gospel – because perspective matters. If you were to take a picture of a cat, the picture you got would depend on your perspective – just look at the cat pictures on the internet. Did you take the picture of a cat all stretched out – or curled up in a ball. Or did you take the picture from above looking down at it? Or close up to reveal the whiskers. Each picture would reveal something different about the cat and if a four people who had never seen a cat before were given just one of these pictures – their image of what a cat is would be vastly different. In this same way, each of the Gospel writers reveals a different perspective of Jesus. The Gospel of John portrays Jesus as godly, all-knowing, and spiritual. Jesus is human too -- but just barely. In Mark, Jesus is very human – touchable – someone you can imagine walking along the shore and stubbing his toe. Mark is also the shortest Gospel and so the details he shares seem to be very intentional.
So why does Mark quote Jesus saying something we would consider a cultural or racial slur? Cultural ethnic bias was clearly present in Jesus' day. It was around before Jesus. Religious and ethnic cleansing is nothing new. There are clear commands in the Hebrew Scriptures, our Old Testament, to the Israelites to kill all of the pagan residents as they enter the promised land as a way to protect the Israelites from falling away from God’s way. As the prophets remind us, God chose the people of Israel to be God’s people. Further, God promised to send Israel a Savior, a messiah. In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus comes as just that – the Jewish Messiah, the one the was promised. Jesus’ mission is clear: he was sent to the children of Israel. He's only in Tyre for a little R&R.
If this story was in the Gospel of John- and it’s not - it would be clear that Jesus knew all along what the Gentile Phoenician woman would say - and what he was going to do. But this story is in the Gospel of Mark - and Mark’s Jesus seems genuinely surprised by the humble yet bold words of this foreign Gentile woman. And Jesus - like God in the Hebrew Scriptures - can’t resist being Gracious. Every time God changes God’s mind in the Hebrew scriptures, it’s to show mercy rather than judgment and to extend care rather than destruction. Like Father, like Son. Jesus does the same thing. Jesus changes his mission
This is a turning point in Jesus ministry. He heals the daughter with a word. At the next stop he heals a deaf and mute gentile man in the Greek area of Decapolis. It’s not that there weren’t Jewish deaf and mute people in need of healing. But Jesus, nudged by the bold and audacious words of a foreign gentile woman, the ultimate outsider, expands his mission to include all people. He includes women, and “foreigners” - people of other cultures, people who didn’t look like him, and people who had always been considered “outside” the family of God. And he didn’t wait a nanosecond. He acted immediately.
This past week, I received an email from the Presiding Bishop of the ELCA , Elizabeth Eaton, the woman who introduced herself to our high school mission trip youth as “the Lutheran Pope.” Don’t worry - she wasn’t complaining about our kids. Instead, she challenged me - and every other ELCA pastor, bishop and rostered leader to focus this Sunday on the issue of race. “In a letter to the African Methodist Episcopalian church, the AME, she promised them -- and shechallenged us --to join in “Confession, Repentance and Commitment to End Racism.”
I didn’t want to do it. After all, my mission is to the people here at Faith-Lilac Way. You all are really nice people – good Christian people who want to serve the Lord. You know what’s been going on in the news in the culture around us – and maybe you just want to take a break from the culture outside –take an hour sabbatical from the cultural challenges on the outside – and just hear Good News.
But just as Jesus’ sabbatical was cut short by the bold and audacious words of a woman who wanted healing and wholeness for her daughter – and who did not want to wait but wanted God’s righteousness NOW, so too, there are people – Christians even, but not just Christians – who are dying to have God’s Justice, God’s Righteousness NOW.
You know the stories – they’ve been on the news.
In fact, these stories have been on the news so much that perhaps your sensitivity has even been dulled – or overwhelmed, or perhaps you think – this is terrible – but what could I do.”
That’s how I felt. But then I heard a National Press club speech on the radio by Bishop John Richard Bryant of the African Methodist Episcopal church. Speaking of the hate crime at Mother Emanuel Church in South Carolina, the Bishop said,”the nation was able to get a close- up view of a real church and a description of a real pastor. They were murdered while studying the Word of God. Pastored by a man who loved Jesus, loved his family, loved his flock, loved his community. He was on the floor (of the state legislature) because he was a State Representative. An important vote was coming up. His seatmate said, “You stay for this vote.” And he said, “No. I’m going to a prayer meeting.” I’ve been elected here but I’ve been selected there. And I’ve made it clear that my first priority is the Church.” And so he went to his church, to Bible study, welcomed a new person into the group --- and was shot to death in the middle of the Biblestudy. “ Nine people shot to death in Biblestudy for what? The color of their skin.
There was a time for questions after the speech and one person asked, “
How do you take down the racism in people’s hearts and minds? Bishop Bryant responded, “And that’s where we need our white brothers and sisters of good will.”
That’s us. Bishop Bryant is asking for your help and mine. And our own Bishop Eaton has promised that we will. Hate crimes happen – but there have been too many incidents of racial violence in this country to dismiss this as one act of one crazy person. And people are taking notice. It’s time. It’s time for us to be those “white brothers and sisters of good will.”
So how do we help? Bishop Eaton called us to Confession and Repentance. Confession and Repentance- that’s prayer. We need to prayerfully confess and repent of those times in which we have stood by and participated – willingly or unknowingly – as our black brothers and sisters have suffered under the ungodly system of racism.
Prayer is our first step – and it is an essential first step because we need God to take down the racism that lurks in our hearts and minds. But, as the letter of James reminds us, as essential as prayer is, it can’t be the last step.
Bishop Eaton also calls us not only to join in “Confession, Repentance” but also a “Commitment to End Racism.” It’s a tall order -- but we believe that nothing is impossible for God. So we pray and our prayer must lead us to action… to change…so that we can grow in love and care for our neighbor. And at this moment, our black neighbors are asking us for help. Still responding to the question of how to take down the racism in people’s hearts and minds, Bishop Bryant said, “A lot is said in our absence that can be corrected.” He’s calling on you to speak up when a neighbor makes a racist joke. Work against the injustice in your workplace or school. Share the love of Christ that knows no bounds of color for this is what Jesus Christ calls us to do: love and care for the neighbor.
On the day that the Syrophroenician woman boldly asked Jesus to heal her daughter, the focus of Jesus’ ministry was broken wide open to include the outsider, the poor, the foreigner, the disenfranchised, the weak, the deaf and the mute. Jesus mission was no longer to the “insiders” - and neither is ours.
Let’s start with prayer: Lord God, Open our hearts. Embolden us to confess and repent of the sin of racism and heal us and put love in its place. Transform us to be agents of change so that our world can be a place of love - not hate, justice - not inequality, a place where people care for the other and not just “their own,” a place in which all children are called “children of God” . In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Pastor Pamela Stalheim Lane
Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran Church, Robbinsdale
September 6, 2015
So … Jesus is telling us not to wash our hands before meals? That seems odd … Of course that is not the point of this passage. I don’t think Jesus is against trying to prevent spreading disease.
The issue for Jesus isn’t the ritual washing itself -- his issue is with how the Pharisees have decided that this (and probably many other things) are just as important as God’s commandment to love and serve others.
It’s kind of like saying that how chairs and tables are arranged for our community breakfast this morning is of equal importance to actually feeding people and being together. The set-up matters, but the exact method isn’t on the same level as providing a needed meal.
So let’s take a look at the problem this text points out, what the Gospel has to say about it, and what this all means for us.
Put simply, the problem is that we put our own desires above God’s commandments and mission. We make idols out of our traditions and gods out of our desires. There are two main examples of this in the text.
First, Jesus accuses the Pharisees of “teaching human precepts as doctrines.” I’m pretty sure this applies to us as well. We sometimes act as though our own practices and traditions are as sacred and unchangeable as if they were established by Jesus himself. Can you think of anything like that?
We also might not even know why we do what we do, like the woman in this story:
“One day, a mother was teaching her daughter the family recipe for making a whole baked ham. It was the very best ham anybody had ever had so they always followed that recipe carefully.
They prepared the marinade, scored the skin, put in the cloves, and then came a step the daughter didn't understand.
"Why do we cut off the ends of the ham?" she said. "Doesn't that make it dry out?"
"You know, I don't know," said the mother. "That's just the way grandma taught me. We should call grandma and ask."
So they called grandma and asked, "Why do we cut off the ends of the ham? Is it to let the marinade in, or what?"
"No," said grandma. "To be honest, I cut the ends off because that's how my mother taught me. Let's call great grandma and ask her."
So they called great grandma, and the old woman listened to their questions, and then she exclaimed:
"Oh, for goodness sake! I cut off the ends because I didn't have a pan big enough for a whole thing!" (adapted)
Sometimes traditions are very meaningful and make a big difference. But if we never ask why we do what we do, we may end up wasting perfectly good ham.
But back to the text. Jesus also informs the people that it’s not outside practices or conditions that defile, that force us away from God’s commandments -- he says it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come. Fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, envy, slander, pride, folly … add anything you like … these all happen because we act on poor motivations and bad intentions that arise within us.
There is a version of the Bible called The Message, which paraphrases Scripture in some evocative ways. It describes these sins as vomit from the heart, and says that they pollute our lives.
Vomit from the heart … pollution. These are some strong images. And I think they’re accurate. When we act out of evil intentions, when we vomit from our hearts, our actions pollute. If you throw a bunch of trash and chemicals on the ground, it will start to ruin the soil. Eventually it may seep into plants. If you spread an untrue rumor about someone, it pollutes their lives -- it first affects them, then their family, then their relationships with other people. Both in nature and in our human lives, sinful actions spread and contaminate. It’s possible to clean up pollution, but it can be pretty hard.
So when we put our own desires first -- whether it’s our desires for how something has to be done or a sinful desire to act hurtfully -- we neglect other things.
We might not think about why we do what we do, and instead just go through the motions. We might miss out on a bigger picture because we’re so determined to do something our way. We might miss out on God’s mission and God’s call for us because we’re too focused on getting revenge or being jealous of someone.
We miss out on participating in God’s kingdom because we’ve replaced what should be central -- God’s commandment to love and serve others -- with something else.
But fortunately, God intends another way for us to live.
The response of the Gospel is pretty clear: God’s commandment to love and serve others is what’s most important, and should inform our whole lives. The second reading for today, James 1, tells us: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress … ” And in the passages in Mark that come after today’s Gospel reading are examples of loving and serving others, of bringing about God’s kingdom -- Jesus heals the Syrophonecian woman’s daughter, he heals a deaf man with a speech impediment, and he feeds thousands.
Orphans, widows, and those with disabilities were some of the most vulnerable and disenfranchised people at that time. Today this might those who are mentally ill and homeless, those who are new immigrants from war-torn countries, those who are sold as objects in human trafficking.
We can’t fix all the problems of the world, but making God’s commandment to love and serve others central would sure make a difference. If what is within our hearts is a focus on this commandment, then our actions will follow.
Our lives will reflect what we’ve decided is most important … which brings us to what this all means.
First, let me say what this doesn’t mean. You don’t need to get out pen and paper and make a checklist of things to do. You don’t need to post a list of morals on your wall. You don’t need to keep track of absolutely everything you do wrong.
This is not a call to perfection, nor is that even possible.
But, as one theologian (Karoline Lewis) says: “If you expect to follow Jesus, then this will demand an examination of yourself, of your true intentions, your true beliefs, and on what you stake your relationship with God.”
We need to ask ourselves if our practices and traditions help us to live as God intends. We need to examine our desires and our hearts. We need to be honest with ourselves about whether what we truly believe is reflected in how we live.
Jesus is calling us to put God’s mission before our own wishes. He is calling us to go beyond our comfortable traditions and jump into serving others.
It can definitely be hard in our society to put God’s commandment first -- you do have to make an effort. But if you do, you never know what might happen. As James also says, be doers of the Word. You might make a huge difference in someone’s life because you paid attention to their needs. You might inspire someone to love and serve because they see you as an example. You might find healing in your life because love replaced hatred in your heart.
Certainly you will be transformed.
You cannot control how others act or decide the values of society. But you can decide what’s most important to you and to live as an example. When you choose to ask a homeless person their name, when you choose to be an advocate for those suffering abuse, when you choose to pray for someone who’s hurt you -- you are choosing to reflect the love of God in who you are.
Who you are are is a beloved child of God called into this life of love and service. It might not be easy to examine your life and place God’s commandment in your heart … but I can’t imagine anything more worthwhile. Amen.
I love Joshua’s bold proclamation of his faith. “As for Me and My house, I will serve the Lord”….and his challenge to the people… “What about you?”