Today’s lessons weave together a coherent theme that reflects both
the challenges and joy of ministry in the world and our own spiritual lives.
The gospel reading from Mark gives us a picture of dissatisfaction and
misunderstanding of God’s plan – the disciples got way in front of their skis
on this day. And the reading from James reminds us of the solution to our
problems, prayer for and service to those in need.
For the past several weeks we have watched the disciples
follow Jesus around as they try to figure out what it means to be a disciple. And
it’s evident they still have a narrow view of what the Kingdom of God is all
about. They have missed the major message of Jesus' coming... everything they
thought they knew has been redefined, again.
This passage from Mark is a nightmare for preachers. It
contains enough material for at least four normal-length sermons, or one rip-rousing
revival message, where everyone would expect to be here for a while. I have
restrained myself today. But it’s worth summarizing the main points of conflict
in Jesus' encounter with disciples, and why they (and we) struggle with what it
means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.
Last week's controversy in Mark involved the disciples' need
to be "number one." This week, they encounter followers who are
healing in the name of Jesus, and the disciples want it stopped because these
people were not given the authority to be doing such things. But Jesus explains
to them why this is backward thinking. "These people are not our enemies,
nor are they God's enemies, for whoever is not against us is for us,” and I
think implied in that is “And we need all the help we can get."
How many times have we encountered someone who "stepped
in on our territory"? It feels like they are not only stealing our service
opportunity, but also the glory that goes along with it. In essence, the
disciples were saying, "You are not an authorized dealer of Jesus’ message,
so go away." Here Jesus reminds them that they do not control the ministry
of God. They do not get to define what is a good deed and what is not. Jesus declares
that the work done in his name is to be honored, not scrutinized for
credentials. Jesus' principle is to include, not exclude."[i] Every
simple act of kindness matters.
And then comes that tricky “stumbling block” part of the passage.
In short: the penalty is high if we get in the way of someone’s journey in the
Kingdom. Jesus says our first concern must be keeping the path clear for anyone
and everyone to get to him. Our job is not just serving Christ, but keeping
others on the path, as well.
This is Jesus helping the disciples make a course correction.
Jesus calls us to see and welcome and love others, even if they are not like us,
even if they are not part of our particular tribe or denomination or flavor of
Christianity. He reminds us that our saltiness – the contribution we make to
the world that gives it flavor and brings a word of grace – is a gift we can
only bring if we are willing to live at peace with one another.[ii]
Mired in their fear of change, the disciples struggled with
the constant change that seemed to surround Jesus. Every time they thought they
understood what following Jesus would look like, something else came up. Even
though others were doing good things in Jesus’ name, giving those people control
felt precarious, at best.
As I look at our lives today, I see that same kind of fear. We
are often afraid or distrustful of people we don’t know… we allow the
difference between us to define our relationships with others, rather than celebrating
or collaborating on the things we have in common. I wonder if we are also
afraid that being in the presence of people who are different will change us,
or make our part of the story less than what we have imagined it to be. Like
the disciples, we want stability and control – And like them, we are slow to
pick up on the fact that Jesus’ will use whoever he wants to pitch in to bring
people into the Kingdom of God.
Jesus reminds us that we share the same story – the same
calling – the same responsibilities. We cannot forget that the Christian story,
in fact, the whole story of God, is about people on the run – people who find
it necessary to adapt to changing conditions and understandings about how the
world works. From the Hebrew Bible stories of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Ruth, and
Moses, to the New Testament and the ministry of Jesus, the early church, and Paul,
we see solid evidence that God’s people have always been on the move.
The disciples are fully invested in following Jesus, yes, but their focus is on their experience alone. Without taking care, we can be just like them, defining what it means to be Christian as a prescriptive for everyone and casting away anyone who doesn’t agree with us. If we’re not careful, we can make the Church nothing more than an exclusive club with elaborate initiation rituals and codes of behavior. But that is not the gospel.[iii]
This is where the book of James offers us help. Once again, we are confronted with a clear synopsis of how we are called to live in community with one another. Our reading this week skips to the second half of chapter 5, but I encourage you to go back and read chapter 4 and the first half of chapter 5 for yourself. Here James gives us great advice on how to live our faith authentically. in everything, let love be your guide.
Today’s reading picks up at verse 13. Here we find a model for
what it means to really live in Christian community. He lists three activities
that the church is called to live out if we are to be faithful stewards of
God’s love.
First, we are called to prayer and worship. Prayer isn’t just
about our private conversations with God. We are also called to pray with and
for one another. We are called to sing our praises together as evidence that
our joy cannot be contained.
And yet, I’m willing to bet that many of us sitting here don’t
think of ourselves as people who understand or do prayer very well. I did a
search on Amazon.com for books on prayer. There were lots. Many of them were
books of instruction and prayer journals:
Prayer: 40 Days of Practice –
Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God –
The 7 Most Powerful Prayers That Wil Change Your Life Forever
– and one of my favorites –
Prayer: Does it Make Any Difference?
Don’t get me wrong - I am 100% positive that each of those
books has helped many people grow in faith.
But as I looked at the descriptions, I was struck that these
books were mostly about individuals developing their personal skills in prayer.
James is talking about something deeper. It’s not about the words themselves.
It’s about the activity of praying with people who have needs. The same is true
with praise – our songs of praise are not about celebrating individual
accomplishments. They are about giving thanks to the God we worship –
celebrating together the things that are important to us and to God.
Second, and related to #1 – we are called to care for the sick.
James calls for a hands-on approach. The discipline of anointing the sick with
oil brings a physical reminder to those who are being prayed for… often, the
oil is scented with myrrh or lavender to heighten the senses… remember in the
Old Testament the worship of God is often accompanied by the use of aromatic
spices to represent the presence of God. Prayer – that’s important – but add to
that the physical component – anointing with oil, holding hands, even just
sharing the same space – all of these are a reminder to the one being prayed
for that they are not alone.
And lastly, our prayers should also contain our prayers of confession
and affirmation of the need for forgiveness… not just being forgiven by God,
but our need to both give and receive forgiveness with others. And that’s hard
stuff. I hate having to confess to other people my mistakes – and I am often
reluctant to forgive easily. That’s why having a prayer of confession and
affirmation of pardon are such an important part of our worship service. I’ve
been in congregations where this is only an occasional part of the service, but
for me, it feels like a necessary reset. I think about the different phrases of
the confession and think not only of the places where I have made mistakes, but
I also try to figure out how to make amends… to own up not just to God, but to
those I have sinned against.
I’ll be honest – our reading of James this fall has reminded
me what a great primer it is for people of faith. It shows us a great balance
between the personal and communal expressions of faith. It reminds us that we
as individuals are called to live out our faith … but we are also called to do
that within a community of faith. And James emphasizes the nature of lived-out
faith… our faith journeys are not an intellectual or emotional exercise. We are
called to pray, not just with our minds and our tongues, but also with our
hands and feet as we bring the message of Jesus’ love, not just to our little
worlds, but to the whole wide world, in every way we can.
You don’t think
your way into a new way of living… you live yourself into a new kind of
thinking.”
And in terms of experiential faith, that makes total sense.
But how do we do it? Nouwen gives us a clue: What will we learn about our faith
and ourselves if we ask ourselves these questions at the end of every day…
Did I offer peace today?
Did I bring a smile to someone’s face?
Did I say words of healing?
Did I let go of my anger and resentment?
Did I forgive?
Did I love?
These are the real questions.
I am more convinced than ever that our belief in the power of
prayer is directly tied to our relationship, individual and corporate, with the
who is everything – he is the God whose own name is “I AM.” Our prayers are not
a list of wants and needs to be checked off as if we were shopping at a nearby
store. They are a reflection of how much we are willing to orient ourselves to
that God and live out the life that Jesus calls us to live, even when it
doesn’t make any sense at the time.
Ultimately, we are called to trust God enough to pray, and
love God enough to serve…
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit… Amen.
[i]
Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary ‑ Year B ‑ After Pentecost 2, 1993, pages 65‑66.
[ii]
Dawn Chesser, Discipleship Ministries of the UMC, September 27, 2015, http://www.umcdiscipleship.org/worship/lectionary-calendar/eighteenth-sunday-after-pentecost3#preaching
[iii]
Robb McCoy & Eric Fistler, Pupit Fiction Podcast #134. Show Notes for
Proper 21B http://www.pulpitfiction.us/show-notes
(2015)
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