Are You Really?

December 11, 2022 – Advent 3
St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois

Isaiah 35:1-10; Matthew 11:2-11[1]

There is a line in the first Harry Potter film that continually amuses me. Harry is brought by the half-giant Hagrid into a tavern where they will make their way from the regular “Muggle” world into the secret Diagon Alley of the Wizarding world.

Harry, who was attacked by “He-who-must-not-be-named” when he was a baby, has a scar on his forehead. Since the villain did not manage to kill Harry, he had become famous in the wizarding world as “the boy who lived.”

Harry doesn’t know he’s famous, since he grew up in the regular world with a non-wizard family. So, it is a bit of a surprise when the bartender looks up, notices the scar, and says, “Harry Potter. Are you really?”

John the Baptizer hears what is being said about Jesus, that he is fulfilling the promises of God recorded in Isaiah, and asks, “Are you really?” Are you really the one? If you’re not, well, that’s not good because, you see, I’m stuck in this prison. But if you are, that’s really good news!

In both the fictional story of Harry Potter and the biblical story of Jesus, the people have been waiting for someone to come who can really change things. They have high expectations for “the one.” And everyone is a little disappointed, because the one who comes isn’t exactly like they expected.

We often set high expectations for new leaders too. A new president rides into office on a wave of hope and change, and things are mostly the same as they were before. The new pastor comes and all of our problems remain. The new principal takes over the school, but the kids are still failing.

It might be that the leaders turn out to not really be “the one.” It might be that our expectations were not realistic. Or it might be that we dropped our responsibilities as soon as someone new took charge. This is “the one,” right? Well, he or she doesn’t need me; they can handle it themselves.

This is what often happens. A new leader is put in place and everybody just drops everything. The president can’t get anything done without the congress. The pastor can’t get anything done without the congregation. And even the Messiah can’t get much done without the disciples.

John’s job is finished. He prepared the way. The one who is to come is here. Now it is time for the disciples to get to work. The baton gets passed to them, and they drop it. They stubbornly refuse to understand what Jesus is talking about, again and again. However, they keep trying. They keep learning. And they keep following, because he really is the one. He really is the Messiah, God-with-us.

Is he really the one? Well, as Isaiah wrote:

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;

then the lame shall leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.[2]

Jesus did open the eyes of the blind. “Two blind men followed him, crying loudly, ‘Have mercy on us, Son of David! … Then he touched their eyes and said, ‘According to your faith let it be done to you.’ And their eyes were opened.”[3]

Jesus did unstop the ears of the deaf, and the speechless sang. “They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech… He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears… then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, ‘Ephphatha’, that is, ‘Be opened.’ And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.”[4]

The lame did leap. “Great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the mute, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he cured them.”[5]

John needed to be sure:

“When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.’”[6]

Now, we don’t see Jesus walking around anymore, healing and teaching. We do see disciples, people like you and me, though we’re not able to heal the blind and the lame. So how are we to know if we’ve found the Holy Way, if we really are God’s people?

We know because we love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength and our neighbor as ourselves. We know because we welcome all, love all, and seek justice for all. We know because we strive to imitate the transformative life of Christ, encouraging authentic connection and compassion between individuals, local communities, and the world. If one were to look at us and wonder, are they really followers of Christ, they could see by our hope, our work for peace, our joy in believing, and in the love we share.

The work that the disciples did, and that they have continued to do down through the centuries and even today, is to bring hope to those without hope. We bring peace to those who need peace. We bring joy to those who need to be lifted up. We continue to bring the love of God to the world.

Unto us is born a Savior. Really! This is the one. And Christ will lead us. But friends, we have to follow. We must do our part, no matter how small. And when we do, we bring love to the world, and joy to God.  Amen.

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[1] The scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.

[2] Isaiah 35:5-6.

[3] Matthew 9:27-30, selected.

[4] Mark 7:32-35, selected.

[5] Matthew 15:30.

[6] Matthew 11:2-5.

The Cost of Discipleship

September 4, 2022
St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois

Philemon 1:1-21; Luke 14:25-33[1]

It might be a little hard to follow, but in Paul’s letter to Philemon Paul is asking him to free a slave. Onesimus has been helping Paul while he is in prison, and has become a follower of Jesus. Paul sends him home and asks his former master to accept him as a brother, no longer a slave but an equal. He writes, “welcome him as you would welcome me.”[2] This is not necessarily a huge loss for Philemon; after all, Paul suggests that Onesimus had been “useless”[3] before. But still, a change in that relationship, and one that Philemon may find hard to accept. There is a cost to discipleship, and it is not always easy to bear.

It is a dangerous thing to be a Christian, and sometimes I wonder why we are all so keen to make sure that our children become Christians. Sure, we want them to be kind to others, give of their time and money to those in need, grow close to God. We don’t want them to end up hung on a cross, though. The thing is, following Jesus is a commitment. Being a disciple means that we cannot be shallow or uncommitted believers. Jesus points this out with some pretty strong language in this passage. To become a disciple takes total dedication, and that means careful reflection and decision making. It cannot be done on impulse, because Lord knows that this road may lead to the cross.[4]

I was baptized. I was confirmed by my church. I even went to seminary and got ordained into the ministry. Did I really sit down and estimate the cost? Did I consider what I might have to give up in order to become a disciple of Jesus? What have I gotten myself into?

Alright, alright. Let’s pick apart that first line about hating your family. We can love more than one person at a time. Each of us has enough love to go around for our parents, our brothers and sisters, our children, our girlfriends and boyfriends, our spouses, and even ourselves. But sometimes we get out of balance. A father becomes ill and dependent on his son, who must now sacrifice attention and resources that would ordinarily go to his wife and child. A mother with three children finds her time and energy consumed by the needs of a child with a disability; what belongs to the other two has been nearly used up. Conflicts of loyalty can be heartrending. [5]

It is not only family members who compete for our affection and attention. We love our friends, our school, our church, the flag, the Lord. Usually, we can keep our obligations in balance, but sometimes our competing interests come into conflict. Should I go to sleep so I can sing in the church choir in the morning, or should I stay up talking with a friend who lost her dear grandmother to a heart-attack? Should I stand up for my gay friend knowing I’ll probably get bullied too? Jesus wants to prepare us for a life of making hard choices.

Discipleship goes a step further than being a responsible human being. Jesus tells us that we need to take this business seriously. Now, I read something in the Covenant section of the Constitution of St. John’s that tells me people here have thought carefully about living as Christians: “We agree one with another to seek and respond to the Word and the will of God and to walk together in the ways of the Lord, made known and to be known to us.” [6] Responding to the Word and will of God, and doing so together, are important qualities for a Christian community.

Standing up for what is right in the face of what is wrong is not easy. It’s a risky thing to do what is right, rather than what is cool. People might laugh at you, or worse, people might get mad at you for pointing out that what they’re doing is wrong. Loving your neighbor, caring more for the well-being of others than for yourself is not the message we receive from our culture. You’re not going to be a star on America’s Got Talent if you’re concerned with those on whom the spotlight never shines.

At the same time, in all its seriousness, discipleship is a process. It takes time to learn to live as a disciple, and there will be both false starts and modest successes, as we grow in our faith and journey into the fullness of that holiness that resides in each of us. [7]

It helps to know that somebody out there knows you, knows what is going on with you, and cares. It helps to know that somebody out there is praying for you. That is what we have the church for, and that is part of the reason we are here together today.

There is a pastor named Kenneth Samuel who wrote that “Our culture is in grave danger of losing the value of shared experiences and shared expressions.” [8] iPods, smart phones, TVs, and PCs that capture our attention and limit our view of the rest of the world keep us constrained within the walls of our self-interested pursuits. The incredible array of choices we have for news and entertainment mean that we lack a common reference. I don’t watch America’s Got Talent, or Game of Thrones, so I have no idea what people are talking about half the time.

Common Core standards in schools have tried to address some of the need for common references and basic knowledge that everyone should have. But for everything that is put in, something is left out. Rev. Samuel suggests that “The lack of comprehensive standards in education means that, as a nation of people, we share very little in terms of common references.” He goes on to name some of those references: the experiences of Huckleberry Finn along the Mississippi River, or the hypocrisy revealed in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the abolitionist epic of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin or the dimensions of African American life described by James Baldwin in Go Tell It on the Mountain. “Our sense of shared values,” he says, “is in serious jeopardy.”

He goes on to say that “Much of our technology has been used to build a global network of isolated individuals.” He makes some suggestions of how to counter this trend toward isolation. Why not take off the headphones and just spend a few days talking and listening to the special people in our lives?  Or how about buying copies of the same book for a group of friends and planning to read and discuss it together?  Why not watch the same movie with your family followed by dinner at the same table while you engage in shared discussion?  Or… maybe we could all go to church together and share a common experience with God.

There is something special going on here today. There are people gathered together in this place to connect with one another the old-fashioned way – face to face. Every Sunday, when you see other people here in church, you know that they are not working at their jobs, they are not playing soccer, they are not sleeping in – they took the time and have done the work to be here, because they care about the church and they care about their faith. It is our job to make sure that each of us looks for and points out the light of Christ shining in each other, to help one another discover the strength, the goodness, and the hope we have, and the power that God has to breathe life into all we do.

Together we nurture the intimate relationship we have with God in Christ and discover that obedience to God is not blind or easy. It is a process in which we grow in our ability to ask the tough questions about life and living, not only of God but also of ourselves. [9] Part of our work here at St. John’s is to develop critical thinking and learning skills, so that blind faith and half-hearted discipleship are replaced with the power to repair broken lives, restore broken families, and revitalize broken communities.

We can’t spoon-feed a lukewarm faith to each other. If we really want to be Christians, we must stoke the fires of the Holy Spirit, prepare for the road to Calvary, and walk together as we take up the cause of God’s Kingdom of justice and peace. We cannot do it alone, but as a united church, as the one body of Christ, there is a chance that we can make a real difference in the world.

God bless you. Amen.

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[1] The scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.

[2] Philemon 1:17.

[3] Philemon 1:11.

[4] Emilie M. Townes, Theological Perspective on Luke 14:25-33 in Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year C, Volume 4, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, General Editors (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010), p. 44.

[5] Ronald P. Byars, Homiletical Perspective on Luke 14:25-33 in Feasting, p. 45.

[6] Section 4: Covenant in Saint John’s United Church of Christ, Union IL, Constitution (Revised 2/18/2018).

[7] Townes, p. 46.

[8] Kenneth M. Samuel, “A Shared Witness” from http://www.ucc.org/feed-your-spirit/daily-devotional/a-shared-witness.html.

[9] Townes, p. 48.

Worries and Distractions

July 17, 2022
St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois

Luke 10:38-42[1]

There has certainly been plenty to worry and distract a person lately. I often find it hard to focus on the task at hand. Even if I’m not actively trying to heal a broken world, comfort the afflicted, or advocate for a more humane society, it weighs on my mind. It is exhausting to live through a global pandemic, high inflation, a democracy under threat, and the erosion of the rights of those I love. And yet, the work of living day after day continues.

I imagine Martha had a lot on her mind as well. Jesus has arrived in town, and though she has welcomed him into her home, now there are seventy or so followers who need attending to. It may well be that Mary, her sister, was usually by her side managing the many tasks of a home filled with guests, but now she has left Martha to do all the work herself.

A similar scene likely played out in many homes where Jesus, the twelve, or the seventy proclaimed the gospel. Some would gather to sit at the feet of the teacher, while others would be busy with serving the needs of the visitors. Some folk find that discipleship means looking after the details of life, the meals to prepare, the sick to nurse, the dirt to clean, and the bills to pay. Others find discipleship in study and prayer, contemplation, worship, teaching and learning. Both are necessary, and we find that there are times for both working and thinking.

Here, in this scene, Jesus chides Martha for her worries and distractions, while praising Mary for choosing the better part of contemplation, learning, and worship. What does this mean for how we order our lives, and what does it say for how the church is to show hospitality?

A community that is welcoming of Christ and those who seek him must give attention to the word of God, to hearing, contemplating, and understanding the call of Jesus upon our lives. If we, as a church, are instead worried and distracted by many things, if the tasks and the work of maintaining the institution are the only focus, then discipleship can come to mean drudgery. We can become so focused on who brings what for the potluck that we can’t see Christ in the breaking of the bread. We can lose ourselves in the meetings and planning and organizing such that we lose sight of why we’re doing any of this.

Mary’s presence at the feet of Jesus shows us a better way. Not a way that ignores the work to be done, or that fails to offer hospitality; rather, a way that remains focused on why we’re here. We gather to read Scripture and wrestle with its meaning. We come to ask for God’s blessing, to hear the good news, and to build up our faith. In the home of Martha, they sought to be together to listen to the words of Jesus, to take comfort from one another and gain strength for the journey ahead. Our gathering here is like a family gathered at a home to break bread and share the cup, to ask questions and seek for meaning and purpose in our life together.

There is still the work to be done. The food and drink must be prepared and later cleared away. The repairs need to be made and the bills need to be paid. Yet, those who have sat at the feet of Jesus now find meaning and purpose in the work that must be done. Those who will go out to teach and heal and clean and welcome will do so filled with more than bread, but with living water that gives life to all they do. The mundane tasks of daily living become the joyous work of our common life.

This way of focusing on the why, rather than the what, is the better part. When Jesus visited with Levi, someone said to him, “John’s disciples… frequently fast and pray, but your disciples eat and drink.” Jesus said to them, “You cannot make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you?”[2] I think that Mary understood this, understood that Jesus would not always be there, that this opportunity to sit and listen at his feet was a fleeting moment, a precious chance to choose the one thing that mattered most. Perhaps Martha, worried by all that needed to be done, failed to remember why any of it mattered.

Our worries and our distractions won’t disappear if we just pray and sing a hymn together. But their burden will feel lighter. Jesus said to the disciples, “Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?”[3] Our worries won’t get the work done, and our distractions keep us from hearing God speaking. Our striving for what to eat and what to drink and what to wear does not help us welcome the ones who have come through our doors. Only when we strive for the kingdom of God will we show true hospitality to those who enter our home.

So, friends, let us choose the better part. Let us lay down our burdens and listen to the word as it is spoken. Let us walk with Jesus along our pilgrim journey. The work will still be there for us; but we will be ready for it. We will be prepared to serve as disciples because we have listened at the feet of Jesus. We will be strong enough for what is to come because we will have strengthened one another. We will welcome the kingdom because we will recognize its presence all around us. We will choose the way of life, and it will not be taken from us.  Amen.

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[1] The scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.

[2] Luke 5:33-34.

[3] Luke 12:25.

What Has Changed?

May 1, 2022
St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois

John 21:1-14[1]

They went back to fishing. I suppose they were at a loss for what to do. It had been three amazing years on this journey, following Jesus whom they had come to know as Teacher, Lord, Christ, the Son of God. They had worked at the side of the Lord, seen miracles, grown to love one another like family, and now it was all over. Jesus was gone. Sure, they had seen him alive again, but then he had disappeared. It’s not so easy to follow someone you can’t see.

A few years ago, I went on a mission trip with the youth group from the church in Western Springs. We traveled together for ten days in Atlanta, Georgia. We served in a couple of soup kitchens, the food depository, a forest preserve, and two community gardens. Working side by side, we grew closer together, learned new things, and saw God at work in the world in ways that we hadn’t before. We arrived home with a tremendous feeling of camaraderie, fulfillment, and love for God. But, you know, after a month or so, the feeling had pretty much faded. Regular, everyday life had reasserted itself. The close bonds we had formed began to weaken and fray since we weren’t together all the time any more. We no longer saw God present in every moment.

You can almost hear Simon Peter say, “Now what do we do?” How do we keep going? Saving the world is all well and good, but how are we supposed to start? Well, no sense in sitting around waiting for something to happen. As the Proverb says: “an idle person will suffer hunger.”[2] So, better be sensible and get back to work. “I’m going fishing.”

Life goes on. It’s great to go off on an adventure to another place; but, when you get home, what has changed? Everyone else went on about their business. They’d like to see your pictures and hear some stories, but then we all have to get back to school, get back to work, get on with our lives.

Of course, the seven of them hadn’t gone fishing in three years. They were a bit out of practice. And it doesn’t help when some wise guy comes along and rubs salt in the wound. “Good morning! Did you catch anything for breakfast?” “No,” they replied, and probably said some other things under their breath. Their recent experience had been amazing; but, in the meantime, their skills had suffered, they were rusty and fumbling about.

But this guy on the shore was really wise and knew just where the fish were. “It is the Lord!” cried John. Jesus has come again, calling them out of their stupor, away from their attempt to return to an ordinary life, and toward the changed life they had been preparing for. What has changed? They have. They are no longer fishermen, but disciples, apostles, preachers, teachers, bearers of the gospel, and when they eat breakfast on the shore it is Jesus who prepares the meal.

The journey, the adventure, changes us. The journey doesn’t have to be a physical one – I have gone on many adventures through novels, films, and occasionally sitting in church. What matters is getting outside of the ordinary, the things we are used to and that are so familiar that we don’t even notice them anymore. We go, and when we come back, we are different. It’s kind of like visiting your old elementary school. The hallways seem shorter, the ceiling lower, the desks smaller. The school is the same; it is we who have changed. We are different because of the journey. We have learned new things, seen wonders, and our perspective has expanded. We can try to go back to our old ways, but we’re out of practice. We used to do this stuff without thinking, but now we can’t stop thinking.

Not everyone is so changed by the journey that they go off to start a religion. Jesus didn’t call the crowds to breakfast on the shore. It was the disciples, the ones who had been in training, that were reminded that their life was to be radically different. But the story speaks to us as well, about the change that can happen in us.

“Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them.” A rather ordinary act for people gathered for a meal – someone please pass the bread. But this simple act was, for the disciples, infused with meaning. “They knew it was the Lord.” They had been changed by their journey with Jesus, and now the sharing of the bread held oceans of meaning – the last supper, the broken body, the sacrifice of the Son, the spiritual food. Because of their experiences, everything took on new meaning, and even who they were had changed. They were no longer fishermen, they were disciples who fished.

This can happen for us as well. We can be changed by our journey, by our adventures, by our walk with Jesus. We only need allow our perspective to be changed, remember that we are a changed people, and not slip back into old ways of thinking. I am no longer a farmer; I tend God’s garden. I am no longer a baker; I prepare bread for the Lord’s Supper. I am a servant of God, and everything I do can be done in the name of God. The temple of the Lord is no longer a building, but encompasses the whole world.

My vocation is being a Christian. Ministry is more than the work that I do, it is a way of living, and we are all called by God to our own ministry. Each of us is invited to share the meal, and we can all find the living God in the bread that is shared. When we allow the journey to change us, we can live in a new way, as new people.

Living a Christian life means bringing a sense of the sacred to ordinary tasks, doing the small things with great love, and viewing the world with awe. It means remembering that we belong to God, that we work for God, and that God is present with us in every moment. It means to pray without ceasing, to praise God with every breath, to make every action count. Our intention, our purpose, can change the day-to-day living of a life into an act of holy worship.

What has changed? Only everything.

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[1] The scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.

[2] Proverbs 19:15.

A Better Tomorrow

October 24, 2021
St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois

Mark 10:35-45[1]

This is the 30^th year of the National Observance of Children’s Sabbaths. Across this nation, people of faith are turning their attention to the urgent problems facing children across our nation and around the world, and responding in many different ways to improve children’s lives. Official poverty data released by the U.S. Census Bureau on September 15, 2020 show nearly 10.5 million children in America lived in poverty in 2019.[2] Although 2019 data showed a decline in poverty numbers from 2018, these estimates do not reflect what has happened since the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is painful to think about children who are hungry or homeless, who have no access to health care, who are abused or neglected, who are victims of gun violence, who are left alone because of a lack of money for child care, or who are denied access to safe and affordable schools. Despite efforts to make schools safer, school shootings are still all too common. On August 13 of this year, a 13-year-old boy at Albuquerque’s Washington Middle School was taken into custody Friday afternoon after police say he shot and killed a fellow student during a lunch break on campus.[3]

Closer to home, in 2020, more than 183,000 pounds of food passed through the M.O.R.E. Center.[4] The M.O.R.E. Center also distributed 125 new children’s coats last year. During the 2020 fiscal year, Home of the Sparrow directly served over 500 women and children, including 216 children.[5]

Why is it important for us to give our attention to the plight of children, to focus in worship on the lives of poor children? God calls us to seek justice for children, especially the most vulnerable, the orphan. It is a law written in Deuteronomy: “You shall not deprive a resident alien or an orphan of justice; you shall not take a widow’s garment in pledge.”[6] It is a command from Isaiah: “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.”[7]

The Rev. Dr. Shannon Daley-Harris, Director of Religious Affairs for the Children’s Defense Fund explains the importance of this day. She writes:

Our children only get one shot at childhood. If we leave them mired in poverty and robbed of the enrichment for which their minds, bodies, and spirits thirst; sick or dying for lack of care we could have ensured they had; or locked up and out of sight in prison, they will never get that lost childhood back. The effects of having their childhood robbed will remain with them—and us— for a lifetime.[8]

Jesus said to the disciples, “Let the little children come to me… for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.”[9] Jesus has concern for the “least of these” – people who are young, poor, and in need of healing – and those who follow him are called to share that concern. But too often we get caught up in the struggle for power, in competition to be the “biggest” or the “best.” Even the disciples miss the message of Jesus over and over, and instead focus on securing positions of power in the coming kingdom. “And they said to him, ‘Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory’” (Mark 10:37).

Of course, those of us who know how the story ends find this request by James and John to be silly, or naïve at best. “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink?” (Mark 10:38). This is a cup of suffering; this is the way of the cross. Do they really know what they are asking? And yet, in the end, they will remain faithful disciples, true followers; they will share the cup of Christ and live the way of the cross. They might not receive the seats of Moses and Elijah, but they will have seats at the table.

The way of Jesus is the way of the cross. The professor and theologian, Walter Wink, wrote that the way of the cross is the way of resistance to the Domination System,[10] which is characterized by power exercised over others, control of others, ranking as the primary principle of social organization, hierarchies of dominant and subordinate, winners and losers, insiders and outsiders, honored and shamed.[11] It is this system of domination that keeps the weakest and most vulnerable members of society, primarily children, trapped in the web of poverty.

True discipleship is the way of service and self-sacrifice. A Biblical scholar, the Rev. Dr. Lamar Williamson, Jr. wrote, “True discipleship is characterized by a costly pouring out of one’s life for another, whether it be an aging parent, a difficult spouse, a special child, another member of the Christian fellowship who has unusual needs, or any person whose situation elicits neighborly service at personal cost.”[12] Christian discipleship calls us to a life of service to the least of these, to children in need.

The prophet Isaiah’s words give us hope that things can be different. “The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.”[13] The Lord seeks justice for children, and with God all things are possible.

The service to which we are called is not only to reach out in charity, but also to change the structures and systems that are hurting and failing children. When children are the poorest group of Americans, when millions of children are poor, there is a need for change to our nation’s structures and systems. When nine million children do not have health coverage, there is a need for change on a national scale. When the odds are stacked against our nation’s Black, Latino, and poor children, sending so many of them into prison or an early grave, there is a need for change and for justice in the system that works against them.

The Zebedee brothers, James and John, perhaps think the system is good, it’s just that the wrong people are in the places of power; once they come into their own, alongside Jesus, everything will be fixed from the top down. Meanwhile, Jesus is turning over the tables and paying far more attention to serving than being served.

In our day, as it was in Jesus’ day, those who are young, poor, and without power are likely to be trampled in the stampede for the best seats, the most power, the most privilege, the most wealth, the greatest advantage. James and John, the sons of Zebedee, want to be great, and risk getting caught up in the Domination System. But Jesus calls them, and us, to servant-hood. “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant” (Mark 10:42-43).

The needs of children in poverty, without access to health care and at risk of imprisonment, call us to demonstrate true greatness through servant leadership. And we cannot afford to look the other way, hiding from our calling or feeling that we are not equal to the task. These words of Martin Luther King, Jr. are a helpful reminder:

Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity to serve. You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant. [14]

Together, let us bring a message to all children who suffer that God knows and shares their pain; God is present with them and will not abandon them even in their most painful times. “Then Jesus said to them, ‘The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized’” (Mark 10:39) We can be great. We can answer the call of Jesus Christ to be disciples by serving others in the world, and we can promise to the children of the world a better tomorrow.  Amen.

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[1] The scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.

[2] U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey. 2020. “2019 Annual Social and Economic Supplement,” Table POV-01 (Below 100 percent and 50 percent of poverty, all races). https://www.census.gov/topics/income-poverty/data/tables.html.

[3] https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/one-teen-killed-another-arrested-in-shooting-at-albuquerque-middle-school/article_05311a2a-fc87-11eb-95ad-23b73065d32c.html.

[4] http://marengomorecenter.org/index.shtml.

[5] https://www.hosparrow.org/about/statistics/.

[6] Deuteronomy 24:17.

[7] Isaiah 1:16-17.

[8] Shannon Daley-Harris, Create Change for Children Today: Bring Hope and a Better Tomorrow – National Observance of Children’s Sabbaths® Manual – A Multi-Faith Resource for Year-Round Child Advocacy, Volume 18 © 2009 Children’s Defense Fund, p. 12.

[9] Mark 10:14.

[10] Walter Wink, Engaging the Powers: Discernment and Resistance in a World of Domination (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992), 33-104.

[11] Charles L. Campbell, Homiletical Perspective on Mark 10:35-45 in David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, editors, Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year B, Volume 4 (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009), p. 193.

[12] Lamar Williamson Jr., Mark: Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Westminster John Knox Press, 1983).

[13] Isaiah 11:6.

[14] The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “The Drum Major Instinct,” Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia, February4, 1968.

Crosses

February 28, 2021
St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois

Mark 8:31-38[1]

Almost every Christian gathering place has one. Often made of gold, silver, or brass, sometimes of wood, glass, or even plastic, they hold a depiction of Christ crucified or stand empty to symbolize resurrection. The cross, the Roman tool of public execution, is a focal point, present in almost every sanctuary, chapel, and home where God in Christ is worshiped.

That was where the journey of Jesus was headed. He knew it. His message was too disruptive, too threatening to the powerful for him to be ignored or swept aside. The empire lined the roads with them, the crucified rebels, bandits, and thieves. Go against the power of Rome and this will be your end. Jesus knew where the journey would take him.

He knew also that his path would set him against the religious authorities, the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes. They would be disturbed, disrupted by this holy man who healed on the sabbath and tried to connect people to God, not through the Temple with its economy of sacrifices, but directly, without intermediary. Not loved, but tolerated by the empire, the religious leaders feared the heavy hand of Rome would crush them given any excuse. Yet Jesus knew they would reject him, said so openly, and tried to teach the disciples that this was the way.

Until now, the disciples had mainly heard the parables, witnessed the healings, and experienced a few miracles. The death of John the Baptist had been upsetting, but not unnerving. Excitement is building. The foreshadowing of the crucifixion and resurrection comes as Peter has just proclaimed his belief that Jesus is the Messiah. Perhaps knowing that they did not truly grasp the meaning of that title, Jesus begins to teach them about betrayal, denial, suffering, death, and still unimagined resurrection. You’ve come this far with me, he seems to say, do you think you’re ready for what comes next? “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”[2]

Living the life of discipleship means losing your life, sacrificing your own personal success and achievement in sacrificial love for others. You might gain the whole world, but to what end, if you forfeit your life? If you want to save your life, you must lose it for the sake of the gospel. You must take up your own cross, take the journey that may bring you suffering because it leads through suffering to the saving grace of redemption and resurrection. The salvation of the cross happens for us, but also through and within us. Do we have to suffer all that Jesus suffered? No, but the road through life is painful at times for us all; and each of us can know that God understands what we have suffered.

The writers of the New Testament, and all the theologians since, have tried to explain what happened on the cross. Paul’s letters had already worked out saving work of the crucifixion and the Good News of Christ’s death and resurrection long before Mark wrote down this Gospel. Already the church had formed and begun to preserve and interpret the meaning of the cross. But as one recent writer explains, “Mark has put this teaching moment of Jesus with his disciples and with those who desired to become his disciples at the center of his Gospel.”[3] The first call to ministry was not to ordination, or to teach theology, or even to be apostles; it was to be disciples, to deny themselves, take up their cross and follow Jesus on the journey of faith.

To get to the meaning of our own crosses, we need to have an understanding of the cross of Christ. A Lutheran Pastor from Denver, Nadia Bolz-Weber, was interviewed for a film series called The Work of the People. In the segment entitled “The Antidote,” she explores what happened on the cross. She remarks that “I’ve always felt like the cross was about God saying, ‘I’d rather die than be in the sin-accounting business anymore.’”[4] Jesus doesn’t condemn, let alone do violence to, his own crucifiers. To have all the power of the universe, to be entirely justified in using it, and to choose not to. Incredible. How incredibly redemptive.

It is shocking, then, to me that so many ascribe to condemnation and violence as integral to the Christian faith. One form this takes is Substitutionary Atonement – the idea that sinners deserve to die and face God’s judgement because of their sin. Jesus Christ, by dying on the cross, was the substitute for sinners, paying the price of death for us. That theology is in the Bible; it’s in Mark, in chapter 10 where we read “For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”[5] And it’s in 1 Peter: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross.”[6] In the way it tries to explain salvation, Substitutionary Atonement says that God is not a god of peace and love but an angry and vengeful god who demands that the cost of sin be paid in death.

Imagine, God had a little boy, and loved that little boy so much. But God had to kill him because you stole a candy bar, or disobeyed to your parents, or looked at another man’s wife with lust. And now you have to be grateful for your whole life that God killed Jesus. Really? That’s messed up!

That theology is not what I believe happened on the cross. And it’s not Trinitarian. You see, that’s not God’s little boy on the cross, that’s God. Jesus is God. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three Persons in one Godhead. They share the same essence or substance.[7] That’s God on the cross, taking in all of our sin, all of our brokenness, all of how messed up we are into that broken human body. God takes in all of our desire for vengeance, all of our hatred and anger and fear, all of our desire to use power against other people, and gives back only forgiveness and grace.

It is God’s nature to create and to redeem creation. God is continually trying to redeem us, all the time, even if we don’t see it. God is continually trying to heal a broken world, and our broken hearts, our broken minds and bodies. That is the nature of God, not to punish, not to harm, but to heal, and to love, and to forgive.

To take up our own crosses, then, is to take on the work of redemption, of healing and loving a broken world. As people who have received God’s mercy, God’s forgiveness, we might just get the chance to help bring that into the world. We can, in spite of our often selfish, fearful, broken nature, offer healing, peace, love, and grace as the hands of Christ in the world. In that way, by having been redeemed ourselves, it is possible for us to offer redemption to others. “Opportunities are daily before us, times when we may give our lives sacrificially to acts of love, compassion, justice, and peace, even in the face of the same imperial forces of sin and death that confronted Jesus.”[8]

Now, we’re not suddenly made perfect. We’re still broken, but we’re healing. We can’t make the bad things of the world go away, but we can be companions for others on the road to healing. If we want to be disciples of Jesus, the suffering and brokenness of the world should cause us to offer healing, forgiveness, and love. Having carried our crosses, having suffered brokenness and received healing ourselves, mercy and love that heal can pour out of us like an antidote to the sickness that infects the human condition. Let us set our minds on divine things, and go out to love and serve the world.  Amen.

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[1] The scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.

[2] Mark 8:34.

[3] Paul C. Shupe, “Pastoral Perspective on Mark 8:31-38” in Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year B, Vol. 2, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, General Editors (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008), p. 70.

[4] The Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber, “The Antidote” featured on The Work of the People: Films for Discovery and Transformation, Copyright © 2021 The Work of the People, online at: https://www.theworkofthepeople.com/the-antidote.

[5] Mark 10:45.

[6] 1 Peter 2:24.

[7] See “Trinity, doctrine of the” in Donald K. McKim, Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996), p. 288.

[8] Shupe, 72.