Not Only with Our Lips: Reflections on Mark 9.38-50

Not Only with Our Lips

Reflections on Mark 9.38-50

RCL Proper 26B

30 September 2018

Holy Trinity Cathedral

New Westminster BC

Click here to listen to the Sermon as preached at the 10.00 Eucharist on Sunday the 30th.

Mark 9.38-50

                  ^9.38John said to [Jesus], “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.”  ³⁹But Jesus said, “Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me.  ⁴⁰Whoever is not against us is for us.  ⁴¹For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.

                  ⁴²“If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea.  ⁴³If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.  ⁴⁵And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell.  ⁴⁷And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, ⁴⁸where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.

                  ⁴⁹“For everyone will be salted with fire.  ⁵⁰Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

            It is no secret that the last few years has seen considerable tumult in the political lives of many countries.  Here in Canada we are no exception.  While partisanship is an inevitable dimension of human life, there are times when it seems the common good is held hostage to the demands of party membership to the detriment of everyone, regardless of where we place ourselves on the spectrum of political opinion.

            This partisanship, as I see it, has created an atmosphere where more and more people talk about ‘us’ and ‘them’ --- immigrants versus longer-settled residents, minorities versus majorities, rural versus urban, ‘free market’ versus ‘social democracy’.  The list goes on and on.  There’s even a term for what we’re seeing --- ‘identity’ politics.  If ‘identity’ politics means that we look more closely at ourselves and how we create meaningful and diverse communities where everyone can live and thrive, then I’m all for it.  But if ‘identity’ politics means that we become so focussed on ourselves, our ‘tribe’, our ‘group’, that we cease to care about anyone beyond our boundaries, then I have to say ‘no’.

            Today’s gospel is a case study in these two different ways of understanding ‘identity’.  Jesus’ followers come across a travelling exorcist who is casting out demons in Jesus’ name.  John and the others are disturbed by this and they give the man the first-century equivalent of a ‘cease and desist’ order.  After all, this fellow is not among those who are travelling with Jesus on his journey that will lead him to Jerusalem and the cross.  ‘He’s not one of “us”,’ John tells Jesus.

            But Jesus operates on a different kind of ‘identity’.  He looks at what the man is doing, regardless of whether he is physically following Jesus or not.  No one disputes that people are being freed from their bondage; no one disputes that the man is actually doing a good thing, doing something that is a sign of the kingdom.  He’s just not wearing the right team jersey.

            For Jesus, as Mark describes his ministry, the signs of the kingdom are visible and concrete.  The hungry are fed, the naked clothed.  The deaf regain their hearing, the mute their voices.  The lonely and outcast are brought into physical community, those in bondage freed.  The rich are challenged to be generous, the religious to be open.  The true disciples of Jesus are known by what they do in their daily lives more than they are known by the associations they keep.  ‘We’ and ‘they’, ‘us’ and ‘them’, are not terms to be used lightly in Jesus’ vision of the kingdom of God.

            Let me remind you of something that I said some weeks ago.  Belonging to the Christian community is a means to learning how to behave as a disciple of Jesus so that we learn to believe in the kingdom as Jesus reveals it to us.  Our gathering here Sunday after Sunday is intended to renew us with the strength of God and embrace us with the compassion of Christ so that we go forth to be agents of God’s healing and reconciliation in the world.

            Ever since I knew how to read and to participate in the worship life of the Christian community, I have held one particular prayer dear to my heart.

Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and all whom you have made.  We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.  And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up ourselves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with you and the Holy Spirit, be honour and glory throughout all ages.  Amen.[1]

We praise God ‘not only with our lips, but in our lives’ as we work with others, whether of this community faith or another or none, to make God’s justice and kindness concrete in this world, even as we pray for the promise of the world to come.  We walk ‘in holiness and righteousness’ not only with our Christian sisters and brothers but also with our sisters and brothers of many faiths and none.  With them we confront the ‘identity’ politics of ‘us’ and ‘them’, a politics that will only ruin us all by robbing us of the glorious diversity of humanity.

            So let’s keep our eyes open to see and our ears straining to hear the sights and sounds of God’s kingdom being brought into being by those who may be strangers to us. And then let’s make them our friends, because, God knows, the kingdom needs all the friends it can get.

---

[1]The Book of Alternative Service 1985, 129.

Proper Prayers for RCL Proper 26B (30 September 2018)

RCL Proper 26B

Sunday between 25 September and 1 October

Esther 7.1-6, 9-10; 9.20-22; Psalm 124; James 5.13-20; Mark 9.38-50

Collect of the Day

Grant, O merciful God, that your Church, being gathered by your Holy Spirit into one, may show forth your power among all peoples, to the glory of your name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.  [The Book of Alternative Services 1985, 383]

or

Generous God, your Son gave his life that we might come to peace with you.  Give us a share of your Spirit, and in all we do empower us to bear the name of Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.  Amen. [Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006, 48 alt.]

or

O God, pour out your Spirit over all the world and inspire every heart with knowledge and love of you.  May we who confess Jesus as Lord set aside whatever obscures this faith, so that our witness to your love may shine clearly in all our days, for with him you live and reign in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever.  Amen. [Liturgy Task Force 2016, 94]

or

O God, our guide and help in strange lands:  strengthen us by the faith and courage of Esther, so that we may confront the oppressor with the justice and unity of your reign, freeing the oppressed and proclaiming your glorious liberty; in the name of Christ, our freedom.  Amen. [Liturgy Task Force 2016, 94]

or

God of welcome, your people are called to be distinct not by width of separation but depth of hospitality and peace within our lives:  root out our resentment and free us to welcome all who work for life and liberation, whatever path they tread; through Jesus Christ, the companion of many ways.  Amen.  [Prayers for an Inclusive Church 2009]

Prayer over the Gifts

Eternal God, in Jesus Christ we behold your glory.  Receive the offering of your people gathered before you, and open our hearts and mouths to praise your great salvation, the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.  [The Book of Alternative Services 1985, 383]

or

God of mercy and grace, the eyes of all wait upon you, and you open your hand in blessing.  Fill us with good things at your table, so that we may come to the help of all in need, through Jesus Christ, our redeemer and Lord.  Amen.  [Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006, 64 alt.]

or

Merciful God, as grains of wheat scattered upon the hills were gathered together to become one bread, so let your church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into your kingdom, for yours is the glory through Jesus Christ, now and forever.  Amen.  [Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006, 64]

or

Holy God, gracious and merciful, you bring forth food from the earth and nourish your whole creation.  Turn our hearts toward those who hunger in any way, so that all may know your care; and prepare us now to feast on the bread of life, Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.  Amen.  [Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006, 107 alt.]

or

God of all creation, all you have made is good, and your love endures forever.  You bring forth bread from the earth and fruit from the vine.  Nourish us with these gifts, so that we might be for the world signs of your gracious presence in Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.  Amen.  [Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006, 107 alt.]

or

Blessed are you, O God, maker of all things.  Through your goodness you have blessed us with these gifts:  our selves, our time and our possessions.  Use us and what we have gathered in feeding the world with your love, through the one who gave himself for us, Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.  Amen.  [Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006, 107 alt.]

Prayer after Communion

Father in heaven, strengthen the unity of your Church, so that we who have been fed with hoy things may fulfil your will in the world.  We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. [The Book of Alternative Services 1985, 383]

or

Gracious God, in this meal you have drawn us to your heart, and nourished us at your table with food and drink, the body and blood of Christ.  Now send us forth to be your people in the world, and to proclaim your truth this day and evermore, through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.  Amen.  [Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006, 65]

or

O God, our life, our strength, our food, we give you thanks for sustaining us with the body and blood of your Son.  By your Holy Spirit, enliven us to be his body in the world, so that more and more we will give you praise and serve your earth and its many peoples, through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.  Amen.  [Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006, 65 alt.]

or

We give you thanks, almighty God, that you have refreshed us through the healing power of this gift of life.  In your mercy, strengthen us through this gift, in faith toward you and in fervent love toward one another; for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.   Amen.  [Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006, 114]

or

O God, we give you thanks that you have set before us this feast, the body and blood of your Son.  By your Spirit strengthen us to serve all in need and to give ourselves away as bread for the hungry, through Jesus Christ our Lord.     Amen.  [Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006, 114]

or

God of abundance, with this bread of life and cup of salvation you have united us with Christ, making us one with all your people.  Now send us forth in the power of your Spirit, so that we may proclaim your redeeming love to the world and continue forever in the risen life of Jesus Christ, our Lord.     Amen.  [Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006, 114 alt.]

'Did You Know You Were My Hero?' Reflections on the Word (RCL Proper 25B, 23 September 2018)

‘Did You Know You Were My Hero?’

Reflections on the Word

RCL Proper 25B

23 September 2018

Holy Trinity Cathedral

New Westminster BC

Click here to listen to the Sermon as preached at the 10.00 Eucharist on Sunday the 23rd of September.

            When Archbishop Melissa and I talked about my coming to Holy Trinity Cathedral as Vicar, she invited me to meet with a leadership ‘coach’.  She thought that this would help me serve you better as we navigate the process of property and congregational development.  We agreed on three sessions and I had the last of those sessions just this past week.  The coaching has been a gift and I know that I will be reviewing my notes and Roy’s comments in the weeks and months ahead.

            During our first session Roy asked me what I hoped to become.  Now it’s not often that someone asks a person of my ripe age of sixty-five, ‘What do you want to become?’  It was and remains an intriguing question.  I told him that I wanted to become a wiser elder after the models of some people I have always admired.

            One of those persons was Archbishop Michael Ramsey, the 100^thArchbishop of Canterbury.  After his retirement Bishop Michael spent several Michaelmas terms at my seminary in southeastern Wisconsin, returning to England before the snow came to blanket the rolling hills of the seminary grounds.  Every day he went on a walk around the two small lakes to the west of the seminary.  On each of these walks he took a seminarian along with him.  Along the way he would talk about many things and there was not a single seminarian who came back from that walk without the awareness of having walked with a wise elder and a holy person.  We used to say that Bishop Michael could come to the seminary and do nothing more than join for worship in the chapel, eat meals with us and take walks around the lakes in order to have a profound effect on everyone, whether students, faculty or staff.

            Another person whom I have admired ever since I came to British Columbia was Jim Cruickshank, the former Dean of Christ Church Cathedral and sometime Bishop of Cariboo.  In all the years I knew Jim I never heard him say anything cruel or demeaning about another person, even those who attacked him for some of the positions he had taken. Jim knew how to speak the truth in love. Jim also had the gift of deep listening. Any time I spoke with him I never sensed that he was just waiting to jump into the conversation to say what he wanted say.  He listened carefully and choose his words with an awareness of how words can heal or hurt. Even towards the end of his life when his strength was diminished, Jim radiated the charisms of wise eldership and holiness of life.

            I believe that at the centre of all three readings today there is an implicit question:  Who is your hero?  Who is your mentor?  Who do you want to become?  I know that the short answer is that we all want to become more like Jesus, more Christ-like in how we live our lives.  But I find myself saying, ‘I want to become more like Michael Ramsey.  I want to become more like Jim Cruickshank.  I want to become wiser and holier.’  And that is precisely what we hear in today’s readings.

            I know that we’ve come a long way since the time of Proverbs and the gender roles described in what can be called an ‘Ode to a Capable Wife’.  Yet she is described as practical and careful in planning for the long term.  She has many skills and does not refrain from responding to the needs of the poor.  ‘She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.’ [1]  Is there anything in this description we might not wish for ourselves?

            Then there is our friend James who continues his efforts to enlighten the people to whom he writes.  He wants them to understand the necessary connection between what we believe --- that is to say, what we love in the deepest core of our being --- and what we do ‘in all the occupations and cares of our lives’.  He knows that there have been conflicts among them.  He knows that the poor are not always treated with respect. And so he writes that ‘ . . . the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy.  And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.’ [2]  Does this sentence not describe the kind of person each one of us hopes we might become?

            And we can always count on the apostles missing the point of Jesus’ ministry and teaching as they travel the highways and the byways of ancient Palestine. He’s talking about suffering and death; they’re wondering who’s more important among their rather nondescript group of misfits.  So Jesus reaches out and brings a child into their midst as the example of how to be his disciple.  What is it about a child that Jesus finds so compelling?  Is it a child’s curiosity and wonder about the world?  Is it a child’s willingness to offer affection to the most unlikely character?  Is it a child’s ability to grow and to expand their understanding of what it means to be a human being?  Do we not wish to see the world with a child’s eyes again?  To see the possibilities that we sometimes fear are no longer possible?

            Who do we want to become?  Who are our models?  It is tempting to go off on a diatribe about the cult of personality that pervades North American society or to lament the lack of character displayed by those who would exercise leadership, whether political or social or cultural.  But I won’t.  I will only invite you to remember the wise elder, the holy person, you want to become.  I will only invite you to hear today’s scriptures and take to heart what they say about true wisdom and the fullness of human life.  And then let us see who we are and become the person God knows us to be.

---

[1]Proverbs 31.26 (New Revised Standard Version).

[2]James 3.17-18 (New Revised Standard Version).

Proper Prayers for RCL Proper 25B (23 September 2018)

RCL Proper 25B

Sunday between 18 and 24 September

Proverbs 31.10-31; Psalm 1; James 3.13-4.13, 7-8a; Mark 9.30-37

Collect of the Day

Almighty God, you have created the heavens and the earth, and ourselves in your image. Teach us to discern your hand in all your works and to serve you with reverence and thanksgiving; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.  [The Book of Alternative Services 1985, 381]

or

O God, our teacher and guide, you draw us to yourself and welcome us as beloved children. Help us to lay aside all envy and selfish ambition, so that we may walk in your ways of wisdom and understanding as servants of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.  Amen. [Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006, 48 alt.]

or

O God, protector of the poor and defender of the just:  give us wisdom from above, so that we may find in your servant Jesus the pattern of true discipleship and persevere in following him, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever.  Amen. [Liturgy Task Force 2016, 93]

or

O God, who draws near to us and whose nature is revealed in lordship laid aside: give us grace to welcome you in the child and in the outcast; in the name of Jesus Christ, who humbled himself so that we might know eternal life.  Amen.  [Liturgy Task Force 2016, 94]

or

God of unsearchable mystery and light, your weakness is greater than our strength, your foolishness brings all our cleverness to naught, your gentleness confounds the power we would claim.  You call first to be last and last to be first, servant to be leader and ruler to be underling of all.  Pour into our hearts the wisdom of your Word and Spirit, so that we may know your purpose and live to your glory.  Amen.  [Revised Lectionary Prayers 2002, 190 alt.]

Prayer over the Gifts

God of power, the glory of your works fills us with wonder and awe.  Accept our offering this day, and help us to live in peace and harmony with all your creation, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.  [The Book of Alternative Services 1985, 382]

or

God of mercy and grace, the eyes of all wait upon you, and you open your hand in blessing.  Fill us with good things at your table, so that we may come to the help of all in need, through Jesus Christ, our redeemer and Lord.  Amen.  [Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006, 64 alt.]

or

Merciful God, as grains of wheat scattered upon the hills were gathered together to become one bread, so let your church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into your kingdom, for yours is the glory through Jesus Christ, now and forever.  Amen.  [Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006, 64]

or

Holy God, gracious and merciful, you bring forth food from the earth and nourish your whole creation.  Turn our hearts toward those who hunger in any way, so that all may know your care; and prepare us now to feast on the bread of life, Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.  Amen.  [Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006, 107 alt.]

or

God of all creation, all you have made is good, and your love endures forever.  You bring forth bread from the earth and fruit from the vine.  Nourish us with these gifts, so that we might be for the world signs of your gracious presence in Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.  Amen.  [Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006, 107 alt.]

or

Blessed are you, O God, maker of all things.  Through your goodness you have blessed us with these gifts:  our selves, our time and our possessions.  Use us and what we have gathered in feeding the world with your love, through the one who gave himself for us, Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.  Amen.  [Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006, 107 alt.]

Prayer after Communion

Ruler of the universe, all creation yearns for its fulfilment in your Son.  May we who have shared in holy things grow into maturity in him.  This we ask in the name of the same Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.  [The Book of Alternative Services 1985, 381]

or

Gracious God, in this meal you have drawn us to your heart, and nourished us at your table with food and drink, the body and blood of Christ.  Now send us forth to be your people in the world, and to proclaim your truth this day and evermore, through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord. Amen.  [Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006, 65]

or

O God, our life, our strength, our food, we give you thanks for sustaining us with the body and blood of your Son.  By your Holy Spirit, enliven us to be his body in the world, so that more and more we will give you praise and serve your earth and its many peoples, through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.  Amen.  [Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006, 65 alt.]

or

We give you thanks, almighty God, that you have refreshed us through the healing power of this gift of life.  In your mercy, strengthen us through this gift, in faith toward you and in fervent love toward one another; for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.   Amen.  [Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006, 114]

or

O God, we give you thanks that you have set before us this feast, the body and blood of your Son.  By your Spirit strengthen us to serve all in need and to give ourselves away as bread for the hungry, through Jesus Christ our Lord.     Amen.  [Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006, 114]

or

God of abundance, with this bread of life and cup of salvation you have united us with Christ, making us one with all your people.  Now send us forth in the power of your Spirit, so that we may proclaim your redeeming love to the world and continue forever in the risen life of Jesus Christ, our Lord.     Amen.  [Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006, 114 alt.]

The Way of the Cross Is the Way of Wisdom: Reflections on Mark 8.27-38 (RCL Proper 24B, 16 September 2018)

The Way of the Cross Is the Way of Wisdom

Reflections on Mark 8.27-38

RCL Proper 24B

16 September 2018

Holy Trinity Cathedral

New Westminster BC

Click here to listen to the Sermon as preached at the 10.00 Eucharist on Sunday the 16th.

Mark 8.27-38

            ^8.27Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” ²⁸And they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” ²⁹He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?”  Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.”  ³⁰And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.

            ³¹Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.  ³²He said all this quite openly.  And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.  ³³But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan!  For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

            ³⁴He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  ³⁵For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.  ³⁶For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?  ³⁷Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?  ³⁸Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

            Early in my career at Vancouver School of Theology I decided that I would cheerfully make myself available to the media.  Some of my colleagues kept their distance, but I realized that certain Christian voices dominated the media and I felt strongly that other voices needed to be heard.  So, it was in that spirit that I responded to a telephone call from a reporter with the Globe and Mail.

            He was writing an article on the use of the Bible in contemporary English and what it meant that fewer and fewer people were encountering the Bible as literature in secondary and post-secondary education.  In the main I agreed with him and said that I wished more people encountered all the scriptures of the major religious traditions, even if only in small installments.  But what really bothered me, I said, was the misuse of the Bible in contemporary English.  Let me give you a few examples.

            Have you ever heard someone say, ‘Money is the root of all evil’?  It’s a saying taken from 1 Timothy.  What the text actually says is this:  ‘For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.’[1]  As important as money is in our lives, it is a means by which we achieve particular purposes.  So money, in and of itself, is not the ‘root of all evil’.  But when it becomes something that we love, something to which we give our very selves, body and soul, then it becomes a source of ‘many pains’. By failing to quote the biblical text accurately, we lose the opportunity to explore our attitudes toward money and, in the exploring, learn how we might use our financial resources well as faithful disciples of Jesus.

            Have you ever heard someone say, ‘Do not grieve’?  I have heard people say this before and after funerals.  I have actually heard someone say that grieving is not something Christians do.  Once again, this misunderstanding comes from failing to hear the whole text from 1 Thessalonians:  ‘But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.’ [2]  It is truly Christian to grieve the death of a loved one, but we do not grieve ‘as others do who have no hope’.  Our grief is tempered by our hope that death is not God’s last word.  God’s last word is life.  Our faith leads us to believe that, as painful as death is, as wrenching a separation from our loved ones death is, it is life, life eternal, that awaits us. When we do not hear the whole text, we do not have the opportunity to look closely at what we believe and how that faith shapes our lives in the here and now as well as in the world to come.

            All this leads me to one of the more misunderstood texts in the New Testament. It is a text that has been used to encourage people to endure oppression and injustice in silence.  It is a text that has been used to exhort women to remain in abusive relationships.  It is a text that has been warped out of its context:  ‘[Jesus] called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.’ [3]  I am sure that you have all been told, at one time or another, that someone or something is ‘the cross you have to bear’.  It’s often what someone says to us when we are in an unsatisfactory situation, perhaps even one that seems unbearable.

            Friends, we have to look at this text closely and understand both what the ‘way of the cross’ is and what it is not.  Suffering injustice or abuse or harassment or discrimination without resistance is not a Christian virtue.  The way of the cross is a way of sacrifice and sacrifice is not about loss but about the choice to be Christ-like, even it means taking risks.  The word ‘sacrifice’, after all, does not mean ‘giving something up’; it means ‘making something holy by offering it to God’. The way of the cross may mean self-denial, but it is self-denial for a purpose.  That purpose is making Christ present in the midst of suffering as well as joy, in the midst of failure as well as success, in the midst of criticism as well as praise.  It is a way made known to us both by the crucifixion and by Jesus’ righteous anger when he chastises those who have turned God’s temple into the first-century equivalent of a shabby shopping mall.

            When we take up the cross of Christ in our baptism and when we renew our commitment to this way of life each time we celebrate a baptism and each time we receive communion, we choose to make this present moment holy by offering it to God. To be sure we often go through our daily lives unmindful of the opportunities to use our time, our talent and our treasure wisely, so that God’s new creation can be experienced by others.  This is why we gather Sunday after Sunday to renew ourselves.

            For me the gathering of the Christian people can be compared to an old-fashioned charcoal barbeque.  If you start a charcoal fire and then scatter the coals, the fire burns cooler and burns out faster than if you keep the coals close together.  It’s counterintuitive, but the hotter and closely-packed charcoal becomes a powerful tool of transformation.  Each Sunday we gather and together we are ‘strangely warmed’ by Word and Sacrament.  We are empowered to become more self-giving in our relationships, our work, our daily lives in the wider community.

            Taking up the cross is what we do as Christians.  We take up the cross in our choices to act justly.  We take up the cross in our choices to love our neighbours as God has loved us.  We take up the cross in our choices to choose the humility of stewardship rather than the arrogance of thoughtless and meaningless consumption.  And in taking up the cross we make holy the present and participate in God’s work of renewing the creation and restoring right relationships.

            The way of the cross is the way of wisdom.  It cries out in the streets and public squares of our time just as surely as it cried out in the time of Jesus.  Its demands are rebuffed by those trapped by their love of acquiring more and more things.  The knowledge it offers seems obscure to those who do not live as we live in the hope of a world restored and liberated by the good news of God in Jesus.  To those who choose this way and who listen to its wisdom it the way of the cross offers the freedom of perfect service and the fullness of life, not just in the future, but in the here and now.

            Even as we celebrate this eucharist the wisdom of God reveals itself in the voice of Wisdom in the streets, in the words of Jesus to his disciples and in James’ plea for self-control and careful speech.  This wisdom invites us all ‘ . . . by the mercies of God, to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual worship.  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds, so that we may discern what is the will of God — what is good and acceptable and perfect.’ [4]  So let us hear what the Spirit is saying to us, the disciples of Christ, the followers of the Way, so that this moment and each moment to come may be made holy -- for our sakes and for the sake of all creation.

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[1]1 Timothy 6.10 (New Revised Standard Version).

[2]1 Thessalonians 4.13 (New Revised Standard Version).

[3]Mark 8.34 (New Revised Standard Version).

[4]Romans 12.1-2 (New Revised Standard Version).

Proper Prayers for RCL Proper 24B (16 September 2018)

RCL Proper 24B

Sunday between 11 and 17 September

Proverbs 1.20-33; Psalm 19 or Wisdom of Solomon 7.26-8.1; James 3.1-12; Mark 8.27-38

Collect of the Day

Almighty God, you call your Church to witness that in Christ we are reconciled to you.  Help us so to proclaim the good news of your love, that all who hear it may turn to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.  [The Book of Alternative Services 1985, 380]

or

O God, through suffering and rejection you bring forth our salvation, and by the glory of the cross you transform our lives.  Grant that for the sake of the gospel we may turn form the lure of evil, take up our cross, and follow your Son, Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.  Amen. [Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006, 47]

or

Unite us, O God, in acknowledging Jesus as the Christ.  Give us strength to take up his cross and courage to lose our lives for his sake; for we ask this in his name, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever.  Amen.  [Liturgy Task Force 2016, 93]

or

Wisdom of God, from the street corners and at the entrances to the city you proclaim the way of life and of death.  Grant us wisdom to recognize your Messiah, so that following in the way of the cross, we may know the way of life and glory; in the name of Christ we pray.  Amen. [Liturgy Task Force 2016, 93]

or

Scandalous God, you suffer our will to power, the narrowness of our faith:  lead us on the path of loos where empires tremble and terror yields to wisdom’s cry and the open hands of love; through Jesus Christ, the crucified Lord.  Amen.  [Prayers for an Inclusive Church 2009, 70]

Prayer over the Gifts

Holy God, accept all we offer you this day.  May we who are reconciled at this table bring wholeness to our broken world. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord.  Amen.  [The Book of Alternative Services 1985, 380]

or

God of mercy and grace, the eyes of all wait upon you, and you open your hand in blessing.  Fill us with good things at your table, so that we may come to the help of all in need, through Jesus Christ, our redeemer and Lord.  Amen.  [Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006, 64 alt.]

or

Merciful God, as grains of wheat scattered upon the hills were gathered together to become one bread, so let your church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into your kingdom, for yours is the glory through Jesus Christ, now and forever.  Amen.  [Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006, 64]

or

Holy God, gracious and merciful, you bring forth food from the earth and nourish your whole creation.  Turn our hearts toward those who hunger in any way, so that all may know your care; and prepare us now to feast on the bread of life, Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.  Amen.  [Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006, 107 alt.]

or

God of all creation, all you have made is good, and your love endures forever.  You bring forth bread from the earth and fruit from the vine.  Nourish us with these gifts, so that we might be for the world signs of your gracious presence in Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.  Amen.  [Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006, 107 alt.]

or

Blessed are you, O God, maker of all things.  Through your goodness you have blessed us with these gifts:  our selves, our time and our possessions.  Use us and what we have gathered in feeding the world with your love, through the one who gave himself for us, Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.  Amen.  [Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006, 107 alt.]

Prayer after Communion

God of peace, in this eucharist we have been reconciled to you and to our neighbours. May we who have been nourished by holy things always gave the courage to forgive.  We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord.  Amen. [The Book of Alternative Services 1985, 381]

or

Gracious God, in this meal you have drawn us to your heart, and nourished us at your table with food and drink, the body and blood of Christ.  Now send us forth to be your people in the world, and to proclaim your truth this day and evermore, through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.  Amen.  [Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006, 65]

or

O God, our life, our strength, our food, we give you thanks for sustaining us with the body and blood of your Son.  By your Holy Spirit, enliven us to be his body in the world, so that more and more we will give you praise and serve your earth and its many peoples, through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.  Amen.  [Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006, 65 alt.]

or

We give you thanks, almighty God, that you have refreshed us through the healing power of this gift of life.  In your mercy, strengthen us through this gift, in faith toward you and in fervent love toward one another; for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.   Amen.  [Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006, 114]

or

O God, we give you thanks that you have set before us this feast, the body and blood of your Son.  By your Spirit strengthen us to serve all in need and to give ourselves away as bread for the hungry, through Jesus Christ our Lord.     Amen.  [Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006, 114]

or

God of abundance, with this bread of life and cup of salvation you have united us with Christ, making us one with all your people.  Now send us forth in the power of your Spirit, so that we may proclaim your redeeming love to the world and continue forever in the risen life of Jesus Christ, our Lord.     Amen. [Evangelical Lutheran Worship 2006, 114 alt.]

Call Us by Our Name: Reflections on Mark 7.24-37 (RCL Proper 23B, 9 September 2018)

Call Us by Our Name

Reflections on Mark 7.24-37

RCL Proper 23B

9 September 2018

Holy Trinity Cathedral

New Westminster BC

Click here to listen to the Sermon as preached at Holy Trinity Cathedral at the 10.00 Eucharist on Sunday the 9th.

Mark 7.24-37

            ^7.24From there [Jesus] set out and went away to the region of Tyre.  He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there.  Yet he could not escape notice, ²⁵but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet.  ²⁶Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin.  She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter.  ²⁷He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”  ²⁸But she answered him, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”  ²⁹Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go — the demon has left your daughter.”  ³⁰So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

            

            ³¹Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis.  ³²They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him.  ³³He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue.  ³⁴Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.”  ³⁵And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.  ³⁶Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it.  ³⁷They were astounded beyond measure, saying, “He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”

            Some years ago I travelled to England to attend a conference.  As I went through immigration at Heathrow, the young immigration officer looked carefully at my Canadian passport.  ‘So,’ she said, ‘you were born here in the United Kingdom.’  ‘Yes,’ I said, ‘my mother is English, my father American and I now live in Canada where I’ve chosen to live permanently.’  ‘Well,’ she said, ‘welcome home.’  Her smile and warm welcome was a gift after what had been a particularly long flight that had not been as pleasant as I hoped it might have been.  It was only when I picked up my luggage from the carousel that I realized what had just happened.  A young Muslim woman wearing a hijab and speaking with a metropolitan London accent had just welcomed me ‘home’.  I remember saying to myself, ‘Well, home isn’t what it used to be!’

            When Jesus and his disciples were on their missionary journeys throughout what we know call Israel and Palestine, they frequently had experiences which could have led them to say something similar to what I said to myself at Heathrow. The ancient kingdom of Solomon, reaching to the Euphrates River in the north, to the Jordan River in the east, to the Sinai in the west and to the Red Sea in the south, was now broken into small princedoms.  Some of these princedoms were ruled by princes or kings who were marginally Jewish.  Others were under the control of non-Jewish Semitic rulers.  But the real power lay in the hands of the Roman governor.

            In today’s gospel Jesus and his disciples are travelling near the ancient port city of Tyre in the northwest corner of the Roman province.  Many Gentile settlers have moved from the city into the border areas and it’s likely that there were many conflicts between the Gentile settlers and the ‘people of the land’, Semitic communities both Jewish and non-Jewish.  Why Jesus is in this area is not entirely clear; he has thus far made clear that his ministry is to the Jewish people.  But here he is and here he has an encounter with this Syro-Phoenician woman.

            Let me be clear about some key aspects of this story.  The first is Jesus’ dismissive attitude towards her and the insult he levels at her.  While there may have been people in Jesus’ time who had pet dogs, dogs were, for the most part, tolerated at best.  If they were working dogs, then they were valuable, but for the most part they were not warmly regarded.  Jesus responds to this woman’s request as the average Jewish male of his time would. She’s a Gentile.  She’s a woman.  She’s an immigrant putting pressure on the local population.  Jesus has no obligation to help her and every cultural and religious reason to put considerable distance between her and him.

            It shocks us to have such a story and there are many Christian writers who try to sugar-coat what Jesus says by suggesting that Jesus is just trying to test her faith or by reminding us that Jesus, as Son of God, knew what he was going to do and that this is all some divine morality play.  I don’t buy it.  If we have learned anything about Jesus, it’s that he is a Jew of his time and Mark, our oldest canonical gospel, is not afraid to show us this side of Jesus.

            But what is remarkable is that the woman doesn’t back down.  Perhaps she’s desperate and is willing to put everything on the line to help her daughter.  Perhaps she’s fed up with Jewish arrogance and wants to put this Jewish rabbi in his place.  Who knows? But what we do know is this:  she is the first person in Mark’s gospel to call Jesus ‘Lord’.  

            Now in the English translation we use here the word ‘Lord’ is hidden behind the word ‘Sir’.  In the Greek original of Mark’s gospel the word used is ‘Kyrios’.  True, it’s a common form of address in the world of Jesus’ time, but here, in this challenging encounter, we cannot ignore the implication of a Gentile, immigrant woman calling Jesus ‘Lord’, something no one else has done, even his closest disciples.

            And with this word she snags Jesus.  She knows who he is.  She knows what authority he has been given.  She knows that he needs to be reminded of who he is and what he is called to do.

            Friends, we are living through significant changes in the communities in which we live.    It’s not just here in the Lower Mainland that cultural and ethnic diversity has made its mark.  The small city of Morden, Manitoba has doubled in size over the last decade as a growing number of immigrants from India and elsewhere have found meaningful work as well as a place to call home.  A growing number of our neighbours identify themselves as ‘non-religious’ and other religious communities are eager to purchase redundant church buildings for their own use.

            It is tempting to react as Jesus reacted to the Syro-Phoenician woman --- a knee-jerk anger and dismissal of those who represent change.  But just as she addressed Jesus and reminded him of who he is --- the Lord --- so many of our neighbours address us and remind us of who we are --- Christians, disciples of Jesus, followers of the Way.  My late colleague, David Lochhead, was a pioneer in Buddhist-Christian dialogue.  At one conference David was trying to minimize the distinctiveness of the Christian tradition in order to engage his Buddhist colleagues, it was his Buddhist colleagues who told him that they needed him to be a Christian for true dialogue to occur.

            It is precisely in such a changing and challenging context as ours that our non-Christian neighbours need us to be who we are, a community who, as Archbishop William Temple once said, exist primarily for its ‘non-members’.  We are a people for the ‘other’, however we describe the ‘other’, whomever we consider the ‘other’.  Just as Jesus came to serve not to be served, so do we, as his disciples, ‘ . . . seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving [our] neighbour as [ourselves]’. [1]  One of the more powerful acts of witness undertaken by Christians during the centuries of persecution was our care for the widowed and orphaned, for the poor and homeless, for those who were imprisoned and those who had no helper. Some, because of our actions, chose to join us as disciples, but our service, our caring for others, was an end in itself not a means.

Let us pray.

O God, you have called us to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown and by voices we may have wanted to ignore.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but knowing that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us, through Jesus the Christ, whom we call Lord.  Amen. [2]

---

[1]The Book of Alternative Services1985, 159.

[2]Evangelical Lutheran Worship2006, 317 alt.