TEND THE PATH

September 27, 2015

Pentecost 18

Mark 9:38-42

Esther 7:1-4; 9:1-2, 20-23

(prayer)

Last week, my spouse and I celebrated our anniversary a few weeks early by stealing away for a couple of days.

We spent time at a bed and breakfast that was on a small sheep farm on a mountainside near Mission BC.

As we headed out on a morning walk on Monday, our host encouraged us to take some bear spray along with us… just in case.

We were sticking to the road, which is darted with other farms and acreages, but coincidentally, as I was returning from a late-night trip to the gas station down the road, I did spot two young black bears along a forested part of the road.  They ran back into the woods as soon as they saw my car coming up the hill.

So, we carried the pepper spray with us, just in case.

As one would expect that the the odds would show, all we saw (in terms of non-human life) on the road were some horses, dogs, birds and insects.

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I was in a place I had never been before – on a path I had never travelled before.  I was not the first one to have been there, but it was new for me. 

And so, I needed to be open to discovery and I was wise to heed the advice of those who had traveled this way before me.

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One of the best metaphors for a life of faith is to view it akin to a journey.  Faith is the exploration of a new path that we discover as we move forward from one moment to the next.

And although many of us find companionship on our journeys, each of our faith paths are unique – we will veer off from each other from time to time; there are some, whose faith journeys we will never share; and even when we appear to be on the same path for a while, we – each – might have unique experiences.  Faith can be that varied and complex.

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As with any new paths that we, each, might explore – we might find the occasional obstacles or forks in the road that will have to respond to in some way.

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Now, consider this – as is the case when we travel a physical path, no matter how careful we are to be gentle and unassuming, we leave our footprints where we have travelled.  Even in small ways, the path behind us is changed because we have been there.

In the 21^st century, with 7-billion-plus of us, homo sapiens, on this sphere, there is almost no where one could go and not experience some impact of a previous human presence.

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One of the themes of the bible reading from Mark this morning is that we are to be mindful of the impact we are leaving on the path of faith.  You may have noticed the phrase “stumbling block” in Mark 9:42.

This is far from the only place this theme appears in our bibles.

§      The apostle Paul uses it in the letter to the Romans (14:13): Let us therefore no longer pass judgement on one another, but resolve instead never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of another.

§      In Isaiah 57 (verse 14): Build up.  Prepare the way.  Remove every obstruction from my people’s way.

§      Again from Paul’s writings (1^st Corinthian 8:9): Take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.

§      From Malachi (2:8):  You have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to stumble [by your corruption] of the covenant of Levi.

§      There are others, but one more from the letter of First John (2:10): Whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light; and in such a person there is no cause for stumbling.

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The theology behind the notion of a stumbling block is that, there are things that we can do that will negatively impact the ability of someone else to experience the fullness of their own faith journey.

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Some people deal with obstacles on the path in different ways.  Some will find ways around it, or over it, or through it.  Some may even remove the obstacle entirely.  Others will see how they can avoid the obstacle, seek out another way. Still others might just stop, give up the journey.

You may have noticed that the second movie in the Maze Runner series is now in theatres (The Scorch Trials).  My son has the whole book series; but I just started reading the first novel. 

That got me thinking that, maybe a variation on the faith is a journey metaphor, is that faith is like a maze – with dead ends, obstacles – along the way, as we seek to find something: a fulfillment, an exit a purpose? 

For some people the hope of that ending is what motivates them; for others, they appreciate the path as they go.

Most of us, I suspect, do a bit of both.  And like any maze, no two adventurers will follow the exact same path – even if they wind up at the same place eventually.

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The context of Jesus’ comments in Mark’s gospel is something that a few disciples noticed that surprised them.

They noticed a person (unknown) to them, who was doing the same work as them.  This person was successfully offering healing in Jesus’ name – in the same way that the disciples were able to do.

When this is brought up with Jesus, it is clear that John and the other disciples saw themselves as the exclusive holders of Jesus’ mission.  They could not imagine that anyone who did not share the same experiences as them could be empowered by Jesus’ Way.

Jesus removed that obstacle-like attitude from their path.  Do not stop this person.  Whoever is not against us is for us.

The text doesn’t give us any hint, how this strange new disciple came to heal in Jesus’ name.  Logically, he must have crossed paths with Jesus for his disciples at some point.  Perhaps he was in the crowd one day.  Maybe he had witnessed good works being done.

Jesus makes a salient point in this passage – we don’t necessarily need to fully understand how and why; but we can see the good actions and react to what we do know and see.  In this case, Jesus said, open your eyes to a wider maze of faith than you had imagined before.

To stop this stranger-healer, would be nothing less than trying to trip up the Spirit in her work in the world.

Don’t be stumbling block to Holy Work, just because you don’t fully understand why or how it works. 

In other words: Let your ‘path of faith’ embrace some mystery along the way; allow yourself to be swept up in the current of the Spirit from time to time; let the path guide you rather than the other way around.

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The book of Esther in unique among the books of the bible for a couple of reasons:

1.      It describes a slice of Hebrew history that parallels the time of Ezra and Nehemiah.  In the time of Cyrus of Persia - after the people of Judah were able to leave their exile by the rivers of Babylon - many of them returned to the land of Israel and began (what is sometimes called) the time of restoration.  But some of the people, continued to live abroad – desiring not to disrupt the lives they had come to know.  After all, the Babylonian Exile lasted about three generations, so the vast majority of those who were given the choice whether to return or not had never known life in Judah.  Esther’s story is one from a time parallel to the Restoration in Judah, when some Hebrews still lived in the lands of Persia.

2.      Curiously, it never mentions God; it is not a book about faith or theology.  For that reason, you might (rightly) wonder, why did it ‘make’ the bible?  I’ll offer an explanation later.

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King Ahasuerus [A-has-uer-us] (as he is called in the Bible or Xerxes I or Xerxes the Great as he is called in other historical records) was a king of the Persia Empire from 486 to 465 BCE.  Although biblical scholars are not 100% sure which Persian king A-has-uer-us is.

The relevant part of our story begins when the king (whichever one he was) grew displeased with his wife Vashti; apparently, she refused to do a strip tease-dance in front of his party guests one night. 

That should tell you a lot about the king’s character.

Anyway, A-has-uer-us decides to find a new queen from a selection of beautiful young women from throughout the empire.  Among them was Esther, who had been raised by her cousin Mordecai following the death of her parents.  

Long story short: Esther becomes the new queen. 

Mordecai and Esther keep their relationship secret, but her cousin stays close to the palace to watch over the new queen.

This turns out to be a good thing for the king because Mordecai helps foil a plot to assassinate A-has-uer-us.

But the tables turn when Mordecai, who spends a lot of time sitting by the palace gates (to keep an eye on Esther), draws the ire of Haman, the king’s prime minister, by refusing to bow before him as he passes by.

When Haman learns that Mordecai is Jewish, he resolves to kill, not just Mordecai, but all of the Jews in the Persian empire.  The king even approves the plan, unaware that his new wife is Jewish herself – although I doubt Haman’s plan would have included her because she kept her true hertitage a secret.

Mordecai pleads with Esther to talk to the king, but she knows she will have to get creative because she was not allowed to just talk to the king anytime she wanted.  She had to wait for her to summon him.

Again, long story short: Esther arranges for a feast that will include both the king and the prime minister – which is where we began our reading this morning.

Esther is offered by the king any request of her choosing – she reveals that she is Jewish and asks that Haman’s plan be cancelled.  The king sent out the decree – in both the language of Persia and in Hebrew – that, should anyone try to harm the jewish people according to Haman’s original edict, people were allowed to use whatever means necessary to stop them.

So, on the day that was supposed to bring the defeat of the Hebrews of Persia became a day of their liberation.  From that time forward, the 14^th of Adar was set aside as a day of celebration, which became known as Purim, meaning “lots” (because Haman chose the date by casting lots).

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Even though, Esther and Mordecai don’t evoke the name of God in any of the narratives, it is clear that there remained identifiable groups of Hebrews throughout the Persian Empire, who (it is fair to assume) worshipped and celebrated their faith in some way.

The fact that an on-going festival (Purim) is the end result of the story, is enough for us to agree that Esther’s liberating tale has earned a place within the Hebrew Scriptures.

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Esther could have held to her comfortable life in the palace – she had no real connection to the Hebrew people or their faith.  But a strong relationship with her cousin / adopted father helped her see a bigger picture. 

She would do what she could to clear a path for the liberation of ‘her’ people.

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Whether the obstacles to living peace-filled and faith-filled are ones of violence or inconvenience, those of us who care about ‘the path’ have an obligation to remove whatever stumbling blocks and barriers that are within our power to change.

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I can think I can sum up stumbling blocks to faith in one broad category:

·            Making the arrogant assumption that ‘my’ path (which works for me) is the only path that can work for others: I sometimes call this approach rigid fundamentalism and it can be found in all faith groups all along the spectrum from progressive to conservative;

·            One of the ways this happens is that we can confuse interpretation with having complete understanding and knowledge.  We can read the same scriptures, even share some common experiences, but the meaning and impact on each of us might not be the same.  Why is mine better than yours?

·            That is a way of saying that a stumbling block we can place in front of others is born out of a refusing to accept humility as a mark of faith (to accept, as a fact, that I don’t know everything and that that is all right);

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I try very hard not to be bothered by others whose spiritual path is not exactly the same as mine.

I draw confidence from the way Jesus is said to have phrased his teaching to his disciples in the passage from Mark today:  Whoever is not against us is for us.

Behind this phrase is an indication that at some level people either support what Jesus is doing or not (those for and against him). 

In another passage in Matthew (12:30), when Jesus is talking about being watchful in faith, he uses the image of a person protecting the home from thieves, he says ‘whoever is not with me is against me.’  That makes sense in that context, speaking about an active and obvious threat to the household of faith.

And yet, I think that it is significant that in the context today, Jesus chooses to phrase this concept in the most positive way – he says ‘until it is clear that the support is not there, assume it is.’

I found a few blogs online today that suggested an inconsistency in Jesus teaching because in one place he is quoted as saying ‘whoever is not for me is against me” and in another “whoever is not against me is for me”.  Either way, the phrase assumes that there is some way of telling which of the two sides this ‘other’ is on.  In the end, you’re either with Jesus or not. 

The negative phraseology is used in a context where the opposition is obvious.  That doesn’t have to negate the more open attitude of the positive phrase – until I see that you are against the mission and ministry of Jesus, you are not a threat or worry that should concern us.

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The paths we travel as Christians are journeys where we are seeking some spiritual enlightenment; where we are desiring a closer relationship with the Holy Mystery that is called God; we are guided by the example and teachings of Jesus.

The influence of God is vast.

We are encouraged to enjoy our journey – to be made better by it.

Feel blessed in those times when we share the road for a while.

And above all, let us take care that – as we move along – that we do not leave unnecessary clutter behind us that will be a stumbling block to others.

May we know God among us as we move further into this holy mystery.

Let us pray:

God, grateful for your deep love for us, we will take care to be kind to all of your creation – this world, ourselves and each other.  Amen

#402VU  “We Are One”

PROPHET MARGIN

September 13, 2015

Pentecost 16

Mark 8:29-37

James 3:1-10

(prayer)

You may have noticed - earlier in the service - when we (together) celebrated baptism, that, although we may have said common prayers and answered common questions, [that] the actual acts of baptism were unique events for both Avery and Brandon. 

Sure, it might have been fun for me to try to spray water on a whole group of people and create some mass baptism ritual - that is not how we typically do things.  And there is a reason why this is the case.

You may also have noticed that the first thing I said at the start of each baptism was “what is the name of this person?”

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In some church traditions, baptism is tied to the formal naming of the person:  you may have heard the word christening, which literally means to take on Christ, is often associated by the practice of giving a person their Christian names.  In many circles, christening is a synonym for baptism, particularly of infants.

Beyond the church, the word christening is a used to describe the formal naming and launching of a ship.

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Part of what we are trying to express in the ceremony of baptism in our church is that - each of us is a unique and special creation of God.  Regardless of how many people might also share in that ceremony on the same day, each baptism is its own event.

Theologically, I would argue that we (each of us) is not simply an almost invisible part of a wider family of God, but that each one of us is known by God, is loved by God, and is important to the maker of all.

Who we are matters to God.

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That brings us to our gospel reading today - sometimes called “Peter’s Confession”.  We started reading today at verse 29 in Mark chapter 8, but the passage really begins a few verses early, when Jesus asks the disciples about ‘the word on the street’:  who do people say that I am?

And they shared the rumours they had heard:

§  some say you are John the Baptist or one of the ancient prophets (come back to life);

§  others are more specific and say that you are the prophet Elijah (who did not die a natural death because he was taken up to heaven on a fiery chariot and is believed by some -  destined to return to earth some day).

We heard Jesus’ follow-up question in what we read today: who do YOU say that I am?  My friends, my disciples/students - you who have travelled with me, healed with me, taught with me, experienced so much spirit with me - who do YOU say that I am?

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It’s easy to be a reporter... of what others have said.  It is more challenging to dig deep into your heart, soul and mind and admit - out loud - what you actually think and feel yourself.  This was not an easy question for Jesus’ followers to be asked.

The text of Mark (and Matthew and Luke, where the story is also told) doesn’t give us any indication how quickly Peter gave his answer, or even if anyone else had an opinion of the subject.  What we have is the reader’s digest version of what (we can imagine could have been a far more involved conversation):  Peter answers:  Jesus, you are the Ma-shi-ach’ - an Aramaic-Hebrew word (אחישמ; מָשִׁיחַ) meaning the anointed;  in English, we pronounce this word Messiah.  In the Greek of the New Testament, the early Christians would have read Χριστός: Christos, which is where we get the English word, Christ).  They all mean the same thing - anointed.

Messiah is a word loaded with meaning for Pharisaic Jews like Jesus and Peter.

Originally, it refers to the ritualistic practice of pouring oil over the head of a high priest when they were installed in that office.  It was also used in Hebrew history as part of the coronation ceremonies for the kings of Israel.

Within the Pharisaic tradition of the first century (which was a time when the Roman Empire was an occupying force Judea and Galilee), there was an established belief that God would - one day - re-establish the throne of King David and that a new David would be anointed as king over the Hebrew people.  In some circles this was taken quite literally, a new human king who would rule with the authority of David of old.  Still for others, this was a theological belief, that God would again reign in people’s heart (regardless of any system of human governance) and that a messianic era would commence, where people would be judged on how well they lived in God’s way.  We can see these differing views between a redeemer and redemption if we look at the tenants of the various sects of modern Judaism:  Orthodox and Conservative Judaism is more like to speak about a messiah; whereas Reformed and Reconstructionist Judaism often speaks about a messianic era.

Today and in the Judaism of the first century, there was even overlap between these two approaches - many longed for the coming of a messiah who would usher in a messianic era.

I think we see hints of both of these desires in the passage we read from Mark eight today.

By directly calling Jesus, Ma-shi-ach, Peter clearly views the Messiah as a person.  And we can tell by the next conversation between Peter and Jesus, that Peter had certain expectation about what the future might hold - given the fact that Jesus is (in his words) The Messiah.

He did not like what he heard from Jesus.  It was not what he wanted to hear.

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The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, Jesus said.  I always find it interesting to note that Jesus doesn’t confirm or deny Peter’s assertion that he is the Messiah.  Instead, he speaks in the third person using the phrase Son of Man: a Hebrew phrase used more than 100 times in the Old Testament.  In Hebrew, it is ben-adam (םדא–ןב), or son of adam, son of earth.  A fair English translation is son of humanity (because adam is not ‘man’ in relation to ‘woman’, but ‘man’ in relation to ‘animal’: the human species, mankind or humankind - some inclusive language bibles translate ben-adam as Human One: also a faithful rendition of original Hebrew. 

Ben-adam is used in two main ways in the OT.  First, in the most literal sense, referring to a human being.  In this way, it is meant to contrast the lowly status of humanity as compared to the exalted nature of God.

The prophet Ezekiel is addressed by God as ben-adam many times in the book that bears his name.  The NRSV bibles (like we have in the pews translate ben-adam in Ezekiel as ‘mortal’.  In the valley of dry bones, God says to the prophet: ‘mortal, can these bones live?’

Secondly, ben-adam, particularly in the book of Daniel, seems to be a special title for one particular human or at least someone who appears like a human.  In Daniel chapter 7, it describes how God will give dominion of the earth to ‘one like a son of man’.  This dominion is everlasting: a kingship that shall never be destroyed.

It bears noting hear that the book of Daniel describes a time in Israel’s history when the people were living in exile during the Babylonian empire.  And further, the book of Daniel became a common part of the Hebrew scriptures during the time of Roman empire a couple of centuries before Jesus’ time.  It is easy to see why a belief in a figure like the son of man would gain popularity during a time of exile and occupation at the hands of an oppressive empire.

Now, it would not be fair to say that the author of Daniel intended this son of man to be the Messiah as Peter understood it, but in other old Hebrew writings - particularly some that are not part of the formal books in our Bibles, but were written in the times between the old and new testaments do make that connection.  The first book of Enoch describes a son of man who is pre-existent, hidden but will be revealed as righteous judge and universal ruler.

It seems from our reading from Mark eight, that this is what Peter imagined the Messiah-SonOfMan to be like.  He saw Jesus in this way.

It makes sense that Peter did not see how Jesus’ description of a suffering and betrayed son of man fit into his expectations.

Peter, so called because Jesus called him a ‘rock’ in the faith, openly disputed Jesus’ view of the Messiah (or Son of Man).

God doesn’t always think the way humans think, Peter.

To me that can mean that, as humans, we often limit our thinking to the world and environment which we know - we think (primarily) of what affects us.  We can be a bit short-sighted.

Jesus seems to make it clear that, regardless of what Peter or anyone else imagined about the nearness of a messianic era of peace and harmony in God’s way, that it would not (could not) be known without some hard work and suffering beforehand.

Of course, to the readers of Mark in the late first century, these words were true by their experience:  the followers of Jesus’ Way knew about Jesus’ betrayal, arrest and execution.  They knew about the difficulty that many early churches experienced; they lived through a time of rebellion in Jerusalem, which resulted in the Roman forces destroying (once and for all) the Hebrew Temple.

Even by the mid-70s of the first century, the readers of Mark knew the truth of Jesus’ words.  But in the moment, it was a hard truth for Peter to consider: that being a disciple might mean following Jesus on a path of suffering; it might mean a willingness to literally die for the cause: to lose one’s life for the sake of Jesus’ gospel.

Jesus wants Peter and the others to think beyond our experience in this world right now and see themselves as something much larger and not limited by what we can see and experience in the days when our bodies have breath.  Jesus wants them to consider seeing the broader perspective of God - who is eternal and who loves us eternally. 

It is this theme that we see in other New Testament writings like when the Apostle Paul pens “death, where is your sting; where is your victory?”

In is this theme that we see in the words of the United Church Creed which we said together earlier:

“in life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us.’

And it is this theme that Jesus states in his proverb spoken in the passage from Mark:  “what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?”

Peter, Peter.  You are setting your mind on human things, not divine things.

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The pun only works in English, so we can’t seriously ascribe it to the author of the gospel of Mark or the early Christian church.  But, I love the modern juxtaposition of the homonyms:

- prophet (p-r-o-p-h-e-t), and

- profit (p-r-o-f-i-t).

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A prophet (ph) is one who guides, instructs, inspires us in the ways of God.  Such a prophet gives us glimpses into the mind and purpose of a holiness beyond our own experience, even beyond our own time and human existence.

Whereas profit (f), is a measure of winners and losers: of personal gain, often at the expense of others or even the world we share.  I don’t mean to universally vilify ‘profit’ because we all set financial goals and try to achieve them.  In this context, I am thinking about unabashed, heartless, completely laissez-faire economics.  The results of this attitude, I believe history shows only benefits a very small portion of the human community in any real way.

Prophet (p-r-o-p-h-e-t) is about long-term, community well-being.

Profit (p-r-o-f-i-t) is too often about short-term, individual selfishness.

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I can think of no better example of this juxtaposition that the ‘debates’ that continue to be sought out around the reality of climate change.

We have had the voices of geologists, meteorologists and other scientists for decades about the changes we are beginning to experience now with greater frequency.  Several years back, Patti and I went to Calgary to attend a lecture by former US VP Al Gore - the same message was made into his academy award winning film “An Inconvenient Truth”.

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Back in May, comedian John Oliver referred to a survey that found one in four Americans are sceptical of global warming.  I won’t quote Oliver precisely, but he said “who gives a [bleep], you don’t need people’s opinions on a fact.  You might as well have a poll on which number is bigger, fifteen or five; or do owls exist; or are there hats ... of the thousands of scientific papers that took a position on climate change found that 97% endorsed the position that humans are causing global warming.”  Then, instead of having the normal news program one-on-one debate between pro and con global warming people, John Oliver brought out 100 people: 97 of whom took the climate change is real stance and 3 said no.

WARNING: course language; funny, but course

I say that this issue is a modern example of the prophet-profit juxtaposition because I have yet to hear any anti-climate-change argument that did not also include the impact on economies and corporate profit margins as part of the denial.

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Part of what I am hearing from Jesus in his words to Peter and the other disciples is that we need to look beyond our own limited perspective.  Look at the picture on the screen - at first glance, it might appear to be a picture of buildings, but it is also a picture of the sky... beyond what is the product of human hands.

I think Jesus is inviting us to follow a gospel that is bigger than anyone of us - a gospel that will run into conflict with those who are unable to see beyond themselves.

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I like the simple but profound metaphors in the letter of James (our other reading for today): even though a bridle is small compared to a horse or a rudder is small compared to a ship, those small items can have effects far beyond their size.  Specifically, James wants to church to be mindful of the power of the tongue - to be fully honest and aware this relatively small muscle can be a source for both great good and great evil: blessing and curse.

Jesus’ challenge to his disciples (and by extension through the book of Mark, to us) is to use what influence they/we have for the greater good of the gospel of God’s compassion that is infinite.

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That means that we will pay greater heed to the value of the prophets of ages past and the prophets among us than to the finite riches of any profit margin.

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The role of disciples is not necessarily to live in the midst of the perfect messianic age, but to give the world glimpses of what that can be like, if we live with hearts in tune with God’s heart.

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Peter found this a hard truth to consider.  So may we.  But our hope in is a messiah that is beyond any measure of human suffering and our grace is in a God who is so much more than we can imagine.

In this life, beyond this life, God is with us.  Thanks be to God.

Let us pray:

Wonderful God, you speak in acts of mercy and justice and grace. May we learn to speak your mission, O God, by trusting who Jesus is for us and for all. May we recognize your Spirit in the renewing of our lives and communities. Amen.

#651VU

“Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah

IF IT WAS GOOD ENOUGH FOR JESUS

September 6, 2015

Pentecost 15

Mark 7:24-30

Mark 7:31-37

(prayer)

·     ad lib sermon - Jesus travelling to gentile regions (Lebanon, Syria);

·     why would Jesus travel there?

·     dramatically re-telling the story of Jesus and the gentile woman;

·     focusing on what is said - what it means (backhanded compliments);

·     change of heart as a response to deep commitment;

·     next encounter is very different;

·     no more ‘lost sheep of Israel’;

·     problems with isolationist attitudes (trump; Syrian migrants) - reference Wilcox Video from last week;

·    we are not alone; so why act like we are?

Let us pray:

Hear us when we call to you, O God. Sharpen us to hear when you call.  Amen.

***offering***