The Wrong Question

Text -- Mark 10:35-45 (Preached on Oct 18, 2009 Christ Church Greenwich)

Parts of this Gospel, sound very familiar, doesn’t it? I can only imagine that a lot of this happens every day down at mid-town and lower-Manhattan.

Two up-and-coming team members take their successful Hedge Fund boss aside and ask to be named senior executives, right on the spot - while everyone else looks on.

You can only imagine what that return look is going to be like…

Maybe these disciples thought Jesus wouldn’t see it this way. After all, he had a really “cool job” and clearly it was easy for him to preach, heal, and feed.

People often assume that a genius is someone who does things without much effort. They make everything look so easy.

But, somehow, the disciples forgot the old cliché – the one that says, genius is about “10-percent inspiration, and 90-percent perspiration.”

They all knew that following a person can be exhilarating. The roar of the crowd, preferential treatment, rubs off on those who walk in the shadow of the great.

In fact, our current UN ambassador Susan Rice just recently wrote about this feeling in Newsweek. Nevertheless, this happens and it certainly happens here in the Church. We’ve all met people who get their excitement and sense of empowerment by being on the vestry or some controlling committee. These folks get away with behavior that would not be tolerated in corporate America, or anywhere else, for that matter.

So, Jesus’ answer to these two disciples is ironic, perhaps even a little bit sarcastic.

These Zebedee brothers, nicknamed the “the sons of thunder,” were clearly into power. But the other 10 wanted Jesus to call down God’s anger on a group of seemingly disrespectful people. They wanted a share of the power Jesus seemed to exercise.

Jesus assured them all that they will indeed share his ministry. They will be baptized as he was baptized and drink of the cup from which he will drink.

But, when the other disciples hear of all this, they are annoyed.

This is interesting…because whether their annoyance is at the brothers’ boldness, or whether they had hoped to make the same request, we are not quite sure.

In any event, what happened for them and for us, too is this – Jesus gives power a whole new meaning. And this is exactly where our church words and business vocabulary need to be separated…Because if we get the vocabulary wrong, we often find ourselves asking for the same sort of “justice” James and John sought. We go searching for selfish empowerment. But the trouble is – Jesus tells us that our baptisms have given us power…dynamic power – power enough to lay down our lives.

He says, the cup we drink, the bread we consume, gives us all the strength we need to be servant-leaders.

But surely that’s not the deal, is it? Servant-hood is exactly the deal. Bernie Madoff didn’t have a clue about this deal…many don’t. The deal is this -- To be great in God’s eyes is to be a servant modeled after Jesus’ own life of service.

But it is true, the story of James and John is disconcerting. Because if James and John, who knew Jesus personally, couldn’t get it, how on earth are we to do so?

This story is a reminder to me that, try as I might, all too often my actions reflect more of motivations from the secular world than the divine.

So how do we become better servants?

Here is what has made the difference for me…looking for this in others -- I found it in my long time friend Frank Fallon at Baylor (explain).

Every person he met, he did his best to make them feel special. He modeled servant ministry over and again. When he died his son Steve, spoke at the funeral and said “I never heard my dad say a bad word about anyone.”

Now, maybe for some of us, this is a work in progress. But we can change the way we treat people. and this can transform the world, not from the top down, but from the bottom up.

The ultimate trickle-up effect, as Barbara Brown Taylor likes to say. (Bread of Angels)

The power God has given us is the strongest deal in the world…the power to serve, the power to turn the Zebedee brother’ question upside down.

And say, “Teacher, we want to do for YOU whatever you ask of us.”

Letting go of the Doorknobs

Carlos Valles, in his book Tales of the City of God, tells a story about a man who decided to have a new house built for his family. He had a friend who was an architect and went to see him to secure his services. The architect happily offered his help and asked him for details as to what he wanted in his new house.

“Tell me what kind of house you want, how many rooms, etc…whether you want a garden or lawn, what your budget is. Talk to your wife and give me whatever directions and ideas you have so I can begin to plan a comfortable house that will suite your needs.”

The man went home and returned a few days later. “My wife has given this more thought than I have and she said I should tell you this.”

The man then took from his coat pocket an old doorknob. “We are very attached to this old doorknob; it has been in our family for many years. We want our house to match it.”

Sometimes you and I can carry doorknobs in our pockets, too. Such as preconceived ideas, and prejudices that we have “built” our lives around. We may want everything to fit in with it - forced meanings, ignoring advances in thought and life and behavior, so that the doorknob can fit it. It is almost like the whole “blueprint” of our lives must be accommodated to the “doorknob.”

In Mark 10:17-31, Jesus challenges us to let go of our “doorknobs” so we can see the whole house that really is our lives. Our task then is to let go of the comfortable prejudices and reassuring but simplistic beliefs, in order to realize the possibilities for forgiveness, justice, and compassion in our living “houses.”

*my thanks to Connections for this insight.

Letting Resentments Fly Away - Mark 9:38-50

I would imagine that you could ask about a 100 people
to identify their favorite Bible passage,
and it's very likely not one of them
would have ever chosen these verses
from the 9th chapter of Mark's Gospel:

Jesus said,
“If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off;
it’s better for you to enter life maimed
than to have two hands and go to hell,
to the unquenchable fire.

“If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off...
and if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out...”

So, what in the world….are we to do with these shocking words from Jesus;
so, early in the morning?

Many preachers across the country right now
are probably back peddling on this question
and moving on to something else.

Well, I am going to step up to the plate…
and make this bold assumption –

Jesus is really not talking about literal amputations.
He has something else on his mind…
and it’s troubling him.

We recognize that the language and culture of the Bible
is sometimes so vivid and so concrete
that it can truly perplex us.
Leave us wondering…what the heck?

At times, we may even think…
we’ve figured out what Jesus is NOT saying,
but then this knowledge by itself,
really leaves us…no where.

So, in the context of these strange verses from Mark,
what is it that Jesus calls on us to do in our lives,
right now…this week ahead?
You and me.

It might be helpful to begin by
searching around in the storerooms of your mind,
and see if you can locate a - Resentment.

A Resentment that is old and really ugly…
deep and probably still very much alive.

And if it is a person –
they may have done something, which really hurt you.
There is plenty of resentment / anger to go around.

I certainly have a couple which come to mind,
but for me it almost doesn't matter
if I am aware of these or not.

Because, they are still growing inside me,
like a huge monster pumpkin.
And at any moment are ready to pop out once again.

So, when resentments are alive like this,
they can drain our energy,
and take away life.

Some ways, Resentment becomes almost like a tumor.
It puts pressure on our healthy tissue.

Perhaps this is more likely what Jesus is talking about
when he gets all “steamed up” about amputations.

Maybe, what he means is
when our resentments need to be removed -
the removing can feel pretty painful -
but this pain…this transformation,
can also be life giving, i.e.
there can be growth after the amputation.
And growth is good.

Now, unfortunately, there is some rather dark Christian theology around this like:
“No pain, No gain;” “Suffering is good for you…”
but I am not going there this morning…
plenty of others have already done that.

Rather, what I hear Jesus warning his disciples – you and me….
is this -- Resentments are dark and can become too much apart of who we are
if we’re not careful.

In fact, our whole identity can get lost in them.
You probably can think of someone like this?
I grew up with a family full of them.

Nevertheless, Jesus has a new way forward for in this odd passage…

But, there is no way we can bring our resentments along with us
into God's kingdom.
There is simply no place for them.

In fact, those who dwell with God are all amputees…
our resentments have already been removed.
The Cross makes this possible.

Now, you may have already caught this…
but when I recently read about Tammy Duckworth’s story,
I suddenly understood this whole Gospel lesson differently.

Tammy Duckworth is a former Black Hawk helicopter pilot who lost both of her legs to a rocket-propelled grenade in Iraq five years ago.
But, today she has made a remarkable recovery
and is currently the assistant U.S. veterans affairs secretary,
and has apparently just learned how to fly again,
with her two artificial legs.

But listen to what she told the Chicago Tribune --
"When, I leave my wheelchair behind, and get back in the air,
all my resentment flies away...it’s gone. And I am Free again."

Freedom – but it’s not easy, is it?

When we've been significantly injured by another person,
we can not simply yank the injury from our self
and expect all that bitterness, malice, and emotion
to be gone.

Resentment can hide under the surface.
And so, the only way to become truly free again…like Tammy has,
is to remember that Jesus said,
“Salt is always good.” It’s God’s sacred spice.
Salt – meaning God’s goodness and Grace,
is what we can use once again to begin to find Peace,
with our selves, and one another.

God promises us that when we ask for help,
and cut loose of our resentments
we will be surprised to find
that where our resentment was amputated
there will not be a gaping wound,
but a place of renewed health
and unexpected vitality.

May God grant each of us…
the courage and faith
to let go and be Free.
And fly again.

Labor Day 2009

Sermon – Sept 6, 2009 – Christ Church Greenwich
Proper 18 year B (Mark 7:24-37)

This passage from Mark’s Gospel is a great text for us to look at
here on this beautiful Labor Day weekend?

I mean, we’ve got all the perfect Labor Day themes, if you think about it…
healing – restoration
a few surprises, we like surprises, don’t we – the good ones, anyway.
Fresh hopes and expectations for the coming year

And then what I think is really perfect…
is this -- we gain a very short but clear insight into some of Jesus’ work – his Labor for God.

Mark sets out for us - two of Jesus’ working miracle stories –
first, we are introduced to a very troubled parent, and my goodness who couldn’t identity with this poor frantic woman? even those of us without children, must know what it feels like to care for a loved one who faces serious health issues.

This mother is prepared to do anything in the world for her mentally challenged little girl. She is doing what every good mother or father does for their kids…help when there is a need. But unfortunately, this little girl has worn her mom down, with these relentless, unexplained issues. Anyone living with or aware of someone with Autism today can identify with this mother. She and her daughter are both at the end of their ropes, if ever there was a need for a saving miracle, this was the child.

Then next in Mark’s story he shifts our attention to a second miracle – this time for a much older person. A man who has throughout most of his adult years slowly, but surely lost his hearing. He was frustrated…angry in some ways, I would imagine. Bet some of you can, connect here too. Vision and/or hearing challenges…are no fun.

Well, this guy’s family I am sure and many others must have tried everything to help him regain connection…communication with the larger world. But the day in and day out care for him, like the mother earlier, has worn them all down. He can’t see or speak clearly and they are tired of caring for him. “something has got to give….”
My brothers and I know what that is like right now as we try to care for our failing 86 year old mother…it’s hard.

Well, presumably for Jesus, none of this is new for him. He has seen it all before and then some. Jesus must have encountered hundreds, if not thousands of people just like you and me, caring for our failing parents, people who actually live with significant health issues. The mental, emotional and physical strain on human beings can be enormous at times, can’t it??

But on this occasion in Mark’s story, I suspect Jesus was actually looking forward to his Labor Day weekend..away from all this. He was tired.

He was tired of walking, preaching, healing, eating, traveling around this whole region of Tyre –
and if you sign up for the exciting new trip to the Holy Land with Jim/Rabbi Mitch in February,
you can see first hand that this same area where he walked in the north country of Galilee.
It’s beautiful, very hilly, and certainly hot most of the year.

But down by the lakeside in Galilee, I found it to be much cooler there in the evening…
more olive and cedar trees to provide shade.

Nevertheless, Jesus’ work continued…he moves on and the locals brought him this man who had hearing and speech issues. And what Jesus said to this man is remarkable -- here in this Gospel reading we encounter one of the most amazing words in all of the Bible – it is Aramaic, but our English word sounds like this “Ephphatha”

Actually, the Church’s whole tradition around baptism and our full sweep of Christian initiation are captured right here in this single word. “Ephphatha!,”

Priests in the early church said this to each person being baptized. The presiding minister at baptism would blow on the ears, nose, mouth and eyes of the new person in Christ. And simply say -- “Be opened!”

This was the first word heard after coming up from the waters of their salvation: “Ephphatha!” “Be opened!”

Amazing, the power of these words,
for the man presented to Jesus so long ago,
and now for you and me right here this morning.

God says to each and every person in this room – Ephphathal – be open and live.
Live with God fully and completely aware that we are not perfect,
but confident that we are always forgiven and resurrected.

In Baptism, we are empowered for ministry
and every day we draw a breath,
we are transformed and renewed to begin again.
This bread and wine remind us of God’s loving presence.

So, our task on this Labor Day weekend is this – listen for God’s words.
Listen very quietly and prayerfully…
because when we do,
somehow and in some miraculous way,
God says
Ephphata – Be opened…
Be healed,
Be alive in Christ, forever!
Amen.

Palm Sunday Sermon 2009

First, let me just say -- Thank you!

My thanks to each of you for your prayers and support throughout my three month sabbatical. It was an enormously helpful time, both for me and my family. And we are very grateful.

Now, stating the obvious…I have to say,

Palm Sunday is truly an amazing experience, isn’t it?

And, especially this year! When Holy Week, impacts our spiritual life in a whole new way. Regardless, it’s been a very long Lent for many folks here in Lower Fairfield County.

We long for a Savior. And not just on Wall Street…”but that would be very nice, thank you.” But, what we long for is the Joy of Easter to shine once more. We need the sudden surprise of good news. We need Easter.

Well, the Mark community understands this…but makes it very clear – that any hope of a Bullish Resurrection has got to run its way through a field of disappointment and even death.

It is…as if Mark is saying to us…from across the ages…we have a lot of ground to cover before that refurbished stone is rolled away.

So, the Passion and Death of Jesus the Christ remains the focus of our Christian faith.

During some of the last three months, I focused on the popular topic of –“Technology and Faith.” Everyone seems to be writing about it today. So, I started a Blog, too.

People who have Blackberry’s, iPhone’s or some other PDA, are becoming more and more fascinated with this new ability to send each other Links… Links to videos, Links to newspapers, Links to photos.

Links are flying all over the place these days… especially on Facebook and Twitter.

Some people are fascinated by Links to the past… Something which might give understanding, even some degree of certainty, as to why things are… as they are. And this is a good thing, I believe.

But whether you are a “techy” or not, I actually believe most folks come to Church, because they are searching for a new Link, if you will, in their life.

A Link...to trust when it hurts. A link to something we might even worship, or believe in.

When I send email links to friends, it’s my way of saying: Hey, look at this. It’s important.

Week after week that’s what we do here at Christ Church, isn’t it? We share links which reveal the Bible story… the drama of God’s involvement with this earth, and His people.

So, we hold up these stories and say, Hey, this might change your life. Check it out!

But unfortunately, for many… these God links simply go unopened. Lost in the trash bin of life.

But here on Palm Sunday morning…God’s Link is not discarded. In fact, it opens up very nicely for us, on the big screen. We can see it clearly…experience it, and believe in it – the transforming power of God. But the truth of the matter is…even with this insight, this belief… I can still separate myself from the Goodness of God.

St Paul says, “I don’t know why I do the things I do”…but, whatever the reason, it is still called Sin. So, when Jesus rebukes his friends—for their spiritual A.D.D.—I know how hard it is to stay awake, and follow Him every day.

And then when Judas, turns Jesus in, I am afraid to look around for fear that I can discover how easy we can betray our values, our friends, our family.

The story of Jesus’ life is a Link to the complexities and the failings of the human spirit. This is not a missing link. These failings are always with us. They are all landmarks on the very geography of our souls.

And so, today…just like so long ago, Jesus extends his wounded hands to us, and links his story, God’s Story…to ours – yours and mine.

We are linked to God. Forgiven, and redeemed, in spite of our sin. Easter Morning is coming isn’t it?…I can feel it. I know it. But for now, Good Friday has its strong grip on us…doesn’t it?

So, let us journey this week, all the way to the Cross, stumbling and falling along the way. But when we get up and repent, let us never forget that out there waiting on that lonely Hill is a New Link. A Link to Eternal Life. Amen.

Anglimergent

Today, I discovered an excellent new resource called Anglimergent http://tinyurl.com/5vcow2 And on their website I found the following helpful link. I really do recommend watching Brian McLaren's recent keynote at Diocese of Washington (Seattle) http://tinyurl.com/dmcujs

It is an excellent approach for those interested in a better way forward (Evangelism). It's not short, but is well worth the time.

NYT Magazine article still has me pondering - see what you think!

Molly Worthen has written a fascinating article entitled: Who Would Jesus Smack Down? and it appeared in the Jan 11, 2009 New York Times Magazine. Isn't the title alone something to step back and ask, "what is this?" So, from a journalistic/marketing standpoint, it worked perfectly for me, as I immediately turned to read it.

I recommend reading it, especially if you are now curious like I was. It has much to say about fridge (dare I say, radical) popular faith trends in communities around this country. However, I must say at the beginning, this piece is deeply troubling to me, as I wrestle with my own faith and belief systems as an Episcopalian/Anglican.

Now, I am sure Mark Driscoll and his religious movement at Mars Hill in Seattle must believe they are being faithful to what they see/interpret as the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But I can not understand completely where and how these beliefs take shape, i.e. how they got where they are today. So, I am looking for help from others who might like to read and share your thoughts.

A few conservative blogs have recently responded to Driscoll and they are generally pleased with Worthen's take on his ministry/theology at Mars Hill. However, there is wide agreement among other blogs which I have noted, who are obviously very critical of his provocative sermons. Sermons, which often have titles such as "Biblical Oral Sex." Now, that is a sermon title! Anyway, there is much to be read and compared to here in his work, and I would welcome references to more moderate/mainline Christian commentaries on this and related subjects.

What is my interest? Well, today I write because I find this story continues to stir up in me disappointment and confusion as to what appears to be taking place in our American Religious communities, i.e. especially Christianity. So, I ask myself -- what are the historical, political, sociological, and cultural dimensions to this experience today? In other words, where the heck are these theological/ideological trends in American Christianity coming from? And why does it seem to be getting even more polarizing, darker and complex?

Clearly, there is much to respond to with Driscoll's use of scripture, his Christology, ethics, and very stark views around soteriology, etc... Also, Whorthen reveals some insights here into Driscoll's personal background, and perhaps there is something to be learned by these clues. He is the oldest of five, son of a union drywaller, and was raised Roman Catholic in a rough Seattle neighborhood. He was married at the age of 19, and says he was called by God to plant churches at age 25.

Driscoll's view of Christianity (his interpretation of the Bible) is being recognized and followed now by many across the Seattle area and other parts of the country. This fact alone is fascinating to me as Seattle does not appear to me to be a hotbed of American evangelical thought. Certainly, I am in no way implying that his faith community are sinful people and wrong; and that I offer the only "correct" way to truth, as the enlightened (saved) disciple. Rather, this seems to be their interpretation of the Bible's views on election (one chosen or predestined). I believe strongly in religious freedom in this country and celebrate diversity of thought and practice. However, I do continue to be filled with many challenging thoughts and feelings around these issues/trends in ministry and theology.

Clearly, we can see the historical roots of movements like Driscoll's in America with swings left/right (Jonathon Edwards, Great Awakening, rise of Fundamentalism, etc...). But as a moderate (broad church) Anglican, I now want to ponder some of these events in the coming days here on my blog. I believe now is the time for our church and others to take a hard look at ourselves and ask: where have we failed to completely respond to the Gospel of Jesus of Nazareth? And equally important, where must we now change or die (as Bill Spong, and others so correctly point out!).

Finally, the Letter's to the Editor were no help to me either, especially my fellow Episcopalian's response. In fact, they made me even more compelled to begin something here on my blog in order to try and make sense of things.

Once again, please consider reading this article and offering up any insights as you see fit.

Every blessing,
Mark