Saint Faith’s Anglican Church
Vancouver BC
27 September 2015
From
time to time as we travel through the lectionary, a reading will come that
reminds us of some of the basic expectations of following Jesus of
Nazareth. Today’s reading from the
Gospel according to Mark is one such reading.
Because it is really a collection of various sayings of Jesus, I want to
remind you of its context.
Over the
course of the last several weeks Jesus has been on the road to Jerusalem where,
as we all know, he will be arrested, tried and executed by the Roman
authorities with the collusion of some of the Temple leadership. As he travels this road, Jesus has taken
pains to use this time to instruct his followers, both the Twelve, the
apostles, and the many others who follow him, the disciples. What he has to say is not always easy to
accept, but it is what Jesus means when he tells the apostles and disciples to
carry the cross. In today’s reading we
hear four teachings crucial to being a disciple.
The
first teaching is counter-intuitive in today’s politicized climate where the
mere mention of a possible coalition government can be used against one or
another political leader. It also runs
counter to the way some media sources and others portray the world: there are ‘good’ guys and ‘bad’ guys or there
are ‘liberals’ and ‘conservatives’ or there are ‘progressives’ and there are
‘regressives’. What Jesus says in the
gospel today overthrows that kind of thinking:
not being a card-carrying follower of Jesus is not an adequate reason to
consider another person as working against God’s purposes as revealed in Jesus
of Nazareth. [i]
Just
think about this for a moment. What
Jesus is saying is this: Look at what a
person is doing. If what he or she is
doing is what I am doing, then that person is ‘one of us’. Those of us who have chosen to follow the way
of Jesus know what is expected of us, but the ‘anonymous’ Christian, the
‘unintentional’ Christian can be an even more effective agent than one
Christian who quote the Scriptures copiously but who fails to live the good
news of God in Christ. [ii]
Creating
coalitions of believers and non-believers, Christians and non-Christians, to
work to bring about the common good of our communities is what we are
about. Saint Faith’s, for example, is a
partner in the Westside Seniors Hub, an initiative based at Kitsilano
Neighbourhood House, that brings together religious and non-religious
organizations who are committed to serve the seniors of our
neighbourhoods. Our Community Pastoral
Resource Centre, through the work of our Deacon, Christine Wilson, links people
with particular needs with the agencies and programmes that will serve them,
regardless of the faith orientation of those agencies and programmes.
Jesus’
second teaching also challenges some commonly-held expectations. You may remember the advertisement for a
particular credit card that said, “Membership has its privileges.” Well, in today’s gospel, Jesus says,
“Membership has its obligations, and these include offering hospitality to
others freely and with a low threshold as far as who is welcomed.” [iii] One of the on-going debates about housing
those with addictions is whether such housing should be made available only
after a person has been sober or clean for a period of time. Some cities have chosen to make housing
available without such expectations.
They believe that the best way for someone to overcome an addiction is
to be housed first and then, in safer surroundings, they can take the first
steps to sobriety and a more stable life.
We who
have chosen the Christian path open the doors of our buildings to any and to
all who would come in. We welcome
preschools and recitals, Twelve Step groups and Toastmasters, quilters and
mourners. We offer a roof to shelter
those who want to come together, whether for mutual support or for mutual joy.
When
Jesus places a child in his lap, he offers us a third teaching: those who are new to our community of faith
are to be treated with special care and consideration. [iv] I remember vividly how differently I was
treated by two priests when I was younger.
In the first case I was in university and was serving as an acolyte for
the first time. I made several errors
and, after the liturgy was over, the priest said to me, “Please tell the
Chaplain that the next time I come, I want a competent acolyte.” He turned his back and left.
In the
second case I was asked, while in seminary, to serve as the acolyte for a
retired priest who was very traditional and still said ‘his’ mass every
day. Arrangements were made for him to
use one of the smaller chapels at the seminary and I was deputized to be his
acolyte and to be there at 6.00 a.m. I
was not a happy camper, but I went. The
retired priest celebrated the eucharist beautifully and meaningfully. After the gospel he turned to me and asked,
“What did you hear God say to you in the readings this morning?” I was surprised, but I managed something
coherent. He then offered a brief
reflection. I cannot remember exactly
what he said, but it built on my thoughts and it carried me spiritually for the
rest of the week.
Which of
these two men, do you think, placed a stumbling block in the way of a young
person seeking to follow God? Which one,
do you think, offered me a taste of the kingdom?
All of
today’s gospel can be brought together in one word: integrity. [v] God has placed you and me in this time and in
this place to season our neighbourhood with the good news. We are the right amount of salt that can make
this place in this time a place of peace, a place of compassion and a place
where everyone can become more fully alive.
But for that to happen we must put the words we pray into action. This is not world-shattering news, I know,
but it bears repeating every once and a while.
Our lives must proclaim just a little bit louder and a little bit
clearer the generosity of God, the wide embrace of God and the welcome of
God. Why? Because there are religious voices, many
within our own community of faith, who proclaim a miserly God, a narrow God, an
exclusive God who bears no resemblance to the God we know and the God made
known to us in Jesus of Nazareth.
So, my
friends, welcome back to the school of the gospel. We’ve just heard the refresher. Now we set down to the hard work of training
our hearts, minds and souls to be who we are:
disciples of Christ and agents of the kingdom.
[i] Craddock, Preaching Through the Christian Year: Year B (1993), 426.
[ii] ‘Anonymous Christian’ is a concept of Karl Rahner, the Jesuit
theologian.
[iii] Craddock, Preaching Through the Christian Year: Year B (1993), 427.
[iv] Craddock, Preaching Through the Christian Year: Year B (1993), 427.
[v] Craddock, Preaching Through the Christian Year: Year B (1993), 427.
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