Mark 14: 3-11
Ability and Opportunity
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Introduction
Trust in a dying man. In some Christian traditions, it is the practice of worshippers to bring their Bibles with them. That is not commonly our practice, but if it were, I would have you open you Bibles to Mark 14. The beginning of this chapter reveals a practice Mark uses throughout his text. Mark takes 2 stories, splits the first story in 2 sections, and places the second story in the middle. In today's text, Mark takes the story of religious leaders seeking a way to arrest and destroy Jesus, splits it in two pieces, and places the story of a woman anointing Jesus with costly perfume. This combination allows us to seek the difference between a woman who trusts Jesus with all she has and men who seek to destroy Jesus.
An Unnamed Woman Always Remembered
At the home of Simon, a man cured of leprosy by Jesus. An unnamed woman enters, opens a small container of ointment/perfume worth the average annual wage of a blue collar worker. This act, Jesus states, is an act that prepares him for his burial.
The act of bathing an anointing normally happens after death, a before burial. John Grisham, in the Chamber, writes of a mother, whose son wrongly accused of murder, is executed by the state of Texas. Her son's body is brought back to the local funeral home. The mother asks all to leave the room, and she slowly and tenderly bathes her son's body, as she did when he was a child.
I have seen wives bathe the bodies of their husbands after their death, to prepare him for burial.
We do not know the name of the woman who performed this act for Jesus, neither do we know her life story, but what we do know that her act was consistent with what Jesus had been teaching his disciples--he was to die and be buried. While many rejected this prophecy, it appears as if this faithful woman trusted Jesus, and took him at his word.
In the Gospel of Mark, trust does not typically come after an amazing sign of miraculous act, but trust precedes the act, and receives the sign or wonder as an act of God's kingdom breaking into the world.
The unnamed woman always remembers reveals the ability to trust.
Looking for the Right Moment
The story wrapped around the story of the unnamed woman, always remembered, is the story of the search for the opportunity to destroy Jesus, and the willingness of Judas to play the role of betrayer.
In the Gospel of Mark, there is an ongoing give and take about those who are insiders and those who are outsiders in the kingdom of God. We read about the call of the 12 disciples of Jesus in Mark, from a large crowd. But the list of those called insiders concludes with the mention of Judas, and his description--the one who will betray Jesus.
The desire of the religious leaders of Jesus' day to destroy him is revealed as early as the beginning of chapter 3 in Mark. The desire to destroy Jesus, appearing in the beginning of chapter 3 comes at the end of a conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders over the issue of sin. The argument starts with the question of who can forgive sin, and concludes with Jesus redefining sin. Perhaps the destruction of Jesus is rooted in how sin is defined.
In every culture, there is a purpose and there is a personal need for naming what is wrong. There is a purpose in naming what is wrong, for it allows for reconciliation; for justice; for healing.
There is also a personal need to name what is wrong--a personal need that may not serve a larger good, but is self-serving. There is a personal need for sin, to name what one believes others are doing the go against the will of God. There is a personal need for laws against what we think is wrong. Consider the moments when, offended by the actions or words of others, you have said, there should be a law against that action. There is a personal need for diagnosis. To have a diagnosis can take away a person's responsibility for creating the situation in which they find themselves. Parents, not wanting to see their own contributions to their child's problems, can actually be relieved with a diagnosis.
Jonathon Haidt, author of "Why Good People are divided by Politics and Religion," writes, Moral intuitions arise automatically and almost instantaneously, long before moral reasoning has a chance to ge started, and those first intuitions tend to drive our later reasoning...if you thing about moral reasoning as a skill we humans evolved to further our social agendas--to justify our own actions and to defend the teams we belong to--then things will make a lot more sense.
Perhaps the personal need to define what is a sin, what is illegal, and a diagnosis is a later construct to justify one's self, and an attempt to control what happens next.
Is not control the opposite of trust?
Trust, Control, and Money
Fascinatingly enough, these two stories about one who trusts and one who destroys through control have repeated references to money. Money is mention three times. We first hear of the value of the ointment of nard that is being used to anoint Jesus. We also hear of the statements of those around the woman, claiming she could have sold the ointment and given the money to the poor. Finally, we hear about the money Judas was offered to betray Jesus.
When reading scripture, we can unwittingly connect place in assume that commonly used phrases come from somewhere outside of scripture, such as "A house divided against itself cannot stand." This is attributed to Lincoln, but comes from scripture. Or, "Those who do not work, do not eat," which is attributed to John Smith, but comes from scripture. We can also place into scripture lines like, "God helps those who help themselves," which is not in scripture. And, we can adjust lines from scripture, such as "Money is the root of all evil." The actual line is, "The love of money is the root of all evil." That line is helpful to our conversation today.
In our modern day culture, money represents power and control.
Lottery. When lottery jackpots get large, more people buy tickets. Many will say, "If I win, my life won't change much. I will still go to work, but it would be nice to know that if I got tired of my boss, I could quit, and not worry about money." There is a level of control in that claim.
Giving. I once had a parishioner who rarely gave money to what he was asked to give to. For instance, if there was a death in the parish and the family indicated that memorial contributions were to be given to the music fund of the church, he would give the money to the mission fund instead. Surface wise, sounds honorable that he is striving to help those in need. Here is the curiosity, this man was the chairperson of the mission fund. He had control of the money he gave away.
Good Reasons. We have this troublesome line in the text from Jesus, "You always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me." This offends our sensibilities related to acts of charity for those in need. Perhaps this line challenges our assumptions. Perhaps giving to the poor becomes a good reason to avoid giving up control of our money. Each time I receive my paycheck, I sit at my desk and write my offering check to Trinity Church, believing that I give first to God through the church, before I do anything else with my money. Then, I write checks to the community organizations in Lancaster that I support--organizations that serve those in need.
Money, I believe is mentioned, because how we use our money reflects our desire for control over our lives and over the lives and actions of others.
Conclusion.
My cousin recently told me about a colleague of hers who had adopted at son when the child was a year and a half old. Any attempt that he and his wife made to draw the child close to them, and hold him met with complete resistance. In fact, they had to be carefully that in his efforts to push away from them, the child did not fall. One evening, at a church meeting, as the man was speaking, he saw, in the corner of the room, his wife, sobbing with tears running down her face. Concerned, he went toward her to see what was troubling her. Then he saw it, the child had stopped fighting, and was resting his head on his mother's heart.
Control gave way to trust, through the patient, loving, and trusting presence of the child's parents.
Amen.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Friday, March 23, 2012
Not Understanding. Not Asking. Not Getting Along.
Mark 9: 30-37
Not Understanding. Not Asking. Not Getting Along.
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church
Introduction
Not Understanding. Not Asking. Not Getting Along. In speaking of personal surrender to God, Oswald Chambers writes, "I became thrilled with something infinitely greater than myself.
Not Understanding
In the Gospel of Mark, this is the second, of three times, where Jesus defines the nature and character of the Son of Man. He re-states, "The Son of Man will be betrayed, killed, and on three dies, be raised from the dead." This definition finds resistance among those closest to Jesus, for it does not match their expectations.
From the post-Easter perspective, we claim that we would get it. Yet, we must remember that to believe after having heard it came true is much different than believing, before it came to pass.
Yet, even in the post-Easter perspective, the Christian tradition has struggled with defining the Son of Man and what he requires of us. There are, for example the Nomian and Anti-nomian struggles. The Nomian--the commandment driven, legalistic, law centered approach to understanding God and discipleship. The Anti-nomian--the love oriented, suspend the rules out of love for the other, acceptance through love approach to understanding God and discipleship.
We are an eclectic smattering of both approaches. I have my definitions, my beliefs about God. I prefer to think that the values that I draw from these definitions are reflective of who God is, but it is possible that I have chosen values that serve me well, and then laid them over God, expecting God to conform.
Gerhard Forde speaks of these definitions as masks we place over God. God, with divine omnipotence, power, all authority, is an overwhelming burden of judgment upon us. We mask God. Our definitions of God are the masks.
Jesus, as he offers the definition of the Son of Man, as one who is betrayed, killed, and is raised from the dead, unmasks God. When God is unmasked, we are terrified.
Not Asking.
We hear that the disciples, not understanding, were afraid to ask. Too terrified to ask.
What does this mean?
Martin Luther, in his explanation of the Lord's Prayer, offers this comment on the petition of "give us this day our daily bread."
God provides without us having to ask, yet it is good for us to ask. It is good for us to ask, for then we are reminded from whom our daily bread comes. God is the source of our very lives and all that sustain our very lives. God provides for us all that is good for us, including his Son. The God of whom we are afraid is a God who is good.
Not Getting Along.
Holding onto and defending a definition of the Son of Man, too afraid to have God revealed and unmasked in any other form, the followers of Jesus find themselves with a narrow definition of discipleship. This definition of discipleship is rooted in the paradigm of winner and losers. When defining discipleship, the argument turns to "Who is the greatest follower, most consistent with the definition of Son of Man?"
Dietrich Bonhoeffer. "Violence stands condemned by its failures to evoke counter violence." I would say that the word anger could be inserted in place of the word violence. Anger is condemned when it fails to bring about an equal or greater level of anger in the other person. If you want to convince a person, who has done something wrong, that he or she is right, then be angry with him or her. At an expression of anger, the person who has done something wrong will find all of the physical and emotional systems engaging, be offended, and become convinced he is right. Blow your horn at another driver who has illegally turned in front of you, and the other driver will yell at you. Being angry at another convinces the person he is right.
In that, we find the age old division of humanity--those who hold positions of honor and those who are reduced to shame. The desired position is honor, of being right, of recognition, of contentment with self. In order for one to be in a position of honor, more than likely another person will have to be shamed, relegated to a place of being wrong, opposed, and labeled undesirable.
Were there to be a power that would overturn this carnal desire? Where the first would be last and the last would be first. Where life brings about death and death brings about life.
Through the Word of God, God's righteous kingdom is established on earth. A new world order is established. As God is unmasked in the death and resurrection of Jesus, God redefines human life, and life for all creation. All eyes are on God, as all people stand in the same place, on the same plane, in the unity of faith.
Arts and Music
I do not have to work very hard to make a case that we live in a divided time, full of disagreements of what is right and wrong. I do, however, want to point out a symptom of a divisive time that we may not normally consider. In divisive times, parts of our culture that unify people are victims of budget cuts. One area of cuts is the area of the arts. I want to speak in particular about the musical arts today.
Most of us, if asked to recall a picture in our minds of community responses after the 9-11 attacks, would remember the Congress gathered together on the steps of the Capitol building. And what is it they did there? They sang God Bless America. I think that the more poignant piece of that moment is not asking for God's blessings--which is most desirable--but that they were joined in song. Male and female, gay and straight, hawk and dove, democrat and republican. Music, especially collective singing, unifies.
In communal singing, much the same in instrumental music, people full of their own oddities, can, for a brief moment, be on the same page, be of one voice, in full harmony with one another. In that moment of harmony, we experience beauty. Perhaps, in that moment of beauty, our imaginations will be inspired to something greater than ourselves.
Conclusion.
Surrender to God, wrote Chambers, is to be thrilled with something infinitely greater than myself.
Not Understanding. Not Asking. Not Getting Along.
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church
Introduction
Not Understanding. Not Asking. Not Getting Along. In speaking of personal surrender to God, Oswald Chambers writes, "I became thrilled with something infinitely greater than myself.
Not Understanding
In the Gospel of Mark, this is the second, of three times, where Jesus defines the nature and character of the Son of Man. He re-states, "The Son of Man will be betrayed, killed, and on three dies, be raised from the dead." This definition finds resistance among those closest to Jesus, for it does not match their expectations.
From the post-Easter perspective, we claim that we would get it. Yet, we must remember that to believe after having heard it came true is much different than believing, before it came to pass.
Yet, even in the post-Easter perspective, the Christian tradition has struggled with defining the Son of Man and what he requires of us. There are, for example the Nomian and Anti-nomian struggles. The Nomian--the commandment driven, legalistic, law centered approach to understanding God and discipleship. The Anti-nomian--the love oriented, suspend the rules out of love for the other, acceptance through love approach to understanding God and discipleship.
We are an eclectic smattering of both approaches. I have my definitions, my beliefs about God. I prefer to think that the values that I draw from these definitions are reflective of who God is, but it is possible that I have chosen values that serve me well, and then laid them over God, expecting God to conform.
Gerhard Forde speaks of these definitions as masks we place over God. God, with divine omnipotence, power, all authority, is an overwhelming burden of judgment upon us. We mask God. Our definitions of God are the masks.
Jesus, as he offers the definition of the Son of Man, as one who is betrayed, killed, and is raised from the dead, unmasks God. When God is unmasked, we are terrified.
Not Asking.
We hear that the disciples, not understanding, were afraid to ask. Too terrified to ask.
What does this mean?
Martin Luther, in his explanation of the Lord's Prayer, offers this comment on the petition of "give us this day our daily bread."
God provides without us having to ask, yet it is good for us to ask. It is good for us to ask, for then we are reminded from whom our daily bread comes. God is the source of our very lives and all that sustain our very lives. God provides for us all that is good for us, including his Son. The God of whom we are afraid is a God who is good.
Not Getting Along.
Holding onto and defending a definition of the Son of Man, too afraid to have God revealed and unmasked in any other form, the followers of Jesus find themselves with a narrow definition of discipleship. This definition of discipleship is rooted in the paradigm of winner and losers. When defining discipleship, the argument turns to "Who is the greatest follower, most consistent with the definition of Son of Man?"
Dietrich Bonhoeffer. "Violence stands condemned by its failures to evoke counter violence." I would say that the word anger could be inserted in place of the word violence. Anger is condemned when it fails to bring about an equal or greater level of anger in the other person. If you want to convince a person, who has done something wrong, that he or she is right, then be angry with him or her. At an expression of anger, the person who has done something wrong will find all of the physical and emotional systems engaging, be offended, and become convinced he is right. Blow your horn at another driver who has illegally turned in front of you, and the other driver will yell at you. Being angry at another convinces the person he is right.
In that, we find the age old division of humanity--those who hold positions of honor and those who are reduced to shame. The desired position is honor, of being right, of recognition, of contentment with self. In order for one to be in a position of honor, more than likely another person will have to be shamed, relegated to a place of being wrong, opposed, and labeled undesirable.
Were there to be a power that would overturn this carnal desire? Where the first would be last and the last would be first. Where life brings about death and death brings about life.
Through the Word of God, God's righteous kingdom is established on earth. A new world order is established. As God is unmasked in the death and resurrection of Jesus, God redefines human life, and life for all creation. All eyes are on God, as all people stand in the same place, on the same plane, in the unity of faith.
Arts and Music
I do not have to work very hard to make a case that we live in a divided time, full of disagreements of what is right and wrong. I do, however, want to point out a symptom of a divisive time that we may not normally consider. In divisive times, parts of our culture that unify people are victims of budget cuts. One area of cuts is the area of the arts. I want to speak in particular about the musical arts today.
Most of us, if asked to recall a picture in our minds of community responses after the 9-11 attacks, would remember the Congress gathered together on the steps of the Capitol building. And what is it they did there? They sang God Bless America. I think that the more poignant piece of that moment is not asking for God's blessings--which is most desirable--but that they were joined in song. Male and female, gay and straight, hawk and dove, democrat and republican. Music, especially collective singing, unifies.
In communal singing, much the same in instrumental music, people full of their own oddities, can, for a brief moment, be on the same page, be of one voice, in full harmony with one another. In that moment of harmony, we experience beauty. Perhaps, in that moment of beauty, our imaginations will be inspired to something greater than ourselves.
Conclusion.
Surrender to God, wrote Chambers, is to be thrilled with something infinitely greater than myself.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Shame as a Obstacle to Life
Mark 8: 31-38
Title: Shame as an Obstacle to Life
The Reverend Timothy A. Mentzer
Introduction
To bind a Roman citizen is a crime; to flog him, an abomination. To slay him is virtually an act of murder. To crucify him is--what? There is no fitting word that can possibly describe a deed so horrible? Cicero, in Against Verses.
God's will was that Jesus would die in that way, on the cross, for our salvation.
We love the cross of Christ, for what it accomplishes for us. We are also called to love our own crosses. That is much more difficult for us.
The Need To Be Offended
Until this point, the 8th chapter of the Gospel of Mark, we have seen little conversation between Jesus and his disciples. We have heard about their calls, and being set apart from the crowd. That changes in Chapter 8. In this chapter Jesus begins to ask them questions. First, he asks the disciples who other people are saying that he is. The disciples answer with a recitation of public opinion. Then, Jesus asks a more pointed question of them, "Who do YOU say that I am?" At that point, Peter shows a moment of brilliance. YOU are the messiah. As with any of us, moments of brilliance are typically followed by moments of stupidity.
After Peter's acknowledgment of Jesus as messiah, Jesus describes the nature of messiah--one who is rejoiced by the religious elite, one who suffers, one who is arrested, crucified, and is raised from the dead on the 3rd day.
Peter' moment of lucidity is followed by rejection of the definition of messiah that Jesus provides. Peter needs to defend his notion of God's one from Jesus' claim. And indeed, do we each have a notion of God and ourselves that we need to protect?
Let us speak about this in terms of needs. I need shelter. This need grows, however, as I live with the shelter that I have. So my need for shelter includes a growing number of square feet. I need water when I am thirsty, however, soon the taste of water is not exciting enough, so I require lemonade, iced tea, or even soda. I need food, however, what meets my body's requirements is not the most exciting, so the need for steak and a baked potato soon evolves.
And, I need to be offended. Each of us has a chink in our armor, an Achilles Heel, a vulnerable spot. At some moment in our lives, either by serendipity or on purpose, another person will speak a truth that cuts right to our vulnerability. That truth is painful to bear. My defense against that truth is being offended. I hold the speaker of the truth accountable for lacking sensitivity to the needs of others, and am offended by what he or she speaks.
The messiah is the one who endures suffering, is rejected by others, arrested, crucified, and will be raised from the dead. It is his death on the cross that brings our salvation. As we love his cross, we are also called to love our own crosses.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in A Testament to Freedom, writes "There are many Christians who bend their knees before the cross of Jesus Christ well enough, but who do noting but resist and struggle against every affliction in their own lives. They believe that they love Christ's cross, but they hate the cross in their own lives...They needed the cross, but did not love it....Whoever loves the cross of Jesus Christ, whoever has found peace in him, the begin to love even the sufferings in their life, and in the end, they will be able to say with Scripture, "We also rejoice in our sufferings."
Claiming the Wrong Authority
This text from Mark 8 would better be performed on stage, as there is some fascinating blocking happening. Jesus is facing the crowd, defining the role of Messiah (rejection, suffering, arrest, death, resurrection). Peter is standing behind Jesus. At Jesus' words, Peter turns Jesus around to face him, with Jesus now having his back to the crowds. He rebukes Jesus. Jesus, having been rebuked by Peter, first turns his back to Peter, to face the crowd again, rebukes Peter in front of the entire crowd.
It is at this point that Jesus teaches, If any want to be my followers, let them take up their cross and follow me.
A point of authority is conveyed here. Peter is claiming an authority that is not his--not denying himself, but instead defining the role of Messiah--and not claiming the authority that is his--taking up his cross and following Jesus. Jesus defines his authority, as he has been doing frequently in the earlier sections of Mark.
Jesus' positioning to Peter is both a rebuke, in that his back is to Peter but also an invitation, Peter is already behind Jesus, and in the right place/position to follow.
Chaos is when a person takes responsibility for something for she has no authority and is not held accountable. This happens in families, when children want to be parents and not children. This happens in the classroom, when students want to be the teacher, instead of the student. This happens in places of employment, where people want to be the boss, and not the employee.
Shame loves chaos, as it loves to muddy the waters. If shame involves hiding from the painful spots in one's life, it also avoids accountability--not capable of owning one's own mistakes or failures. Muddying the waters, as to not be discovered. It is much easier on my soul to tell another person what he has done wrong, than to claim my own failures.
Loving the cross of Christ, and loving our own crosses is self-denial and action. It is giving Jesus authority to be the Messiah, and it is taking action on our own part to be faithful to him. This journey starts at the point of suffering, and requires perseverance.
A Systems Cosmology
The cosmology of antiquity, that is, the world view of Jesus' time, differs significantly from the cosmology or world view of today. In Jesus' day, there were believed to be 3 levels of the world. Heaven was the top layer, where God dwelt and reigned. Earth was he center--the place where humanity and creation dwelt. Hell, or the underworld, was below--the realm of Satan and his demonic forces. Earth was the battle ground between the powers of God and of Satan. This battle was shown forth in demon possession--used to explain many types of physical and mental maladies and to explain acts that destroyed the lives of others and to explain natural calamity.
In our modern, scientific world, we have a different cosmology or world view. Our world view is empirical and is commonly communicated in terms of systems. We speak of bodily systems such as the immune system, respiratory system, or the nervous system. We speak of social systems such as the legal system, the political system, or the educational system. And, there is growing interest in the emotional system. In addition, we study the interaction of each system.
When there is a physical malady, a breakdown in the social system, or a natural disaster, we turn to one or more of the systems to make sense of what happened and trust them to implement a process, set of policies, or laws that will keep the breakdown from reoccurring.
We find ourselves at a loss when our systems do not have the capacity to perform the function we desire of them. There is no system in to stop E4 tornadoes from ravaging complete towns in the mid-west. There appear to be no systems in place to stop a young man in Chardon, Ohio, from killing high school classmates. No system appears to have the authority to demand a stop to the destruction and death in this world.
We have faith. We have faith to trust in the one who all authority in heaven and on earth. One who announces that life comes from him, and nothing can separate us from his love and power to save. Salvation is more than being taken to heaven if we are good enough when we die. Salvation is the setting right of all creation.
For that reason, we love the cross of Christ, and we love our own cross. In the cross of Christ, we have life.
Conclusion
Let us pray. Lord Jesus Christ, who didst stretch out thine arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of thy saving embrace: So clothe us in thy Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know thee to the knowledge and love of thee; for the honor of thy Name. Amen.
Title: Shame as an Obstacle to Life
The Reverend Timothy A. Mentzer
Introduction
To bind a Roman citizen is a crime; to flog him, an abomination. To slay him is virtually an act of murder. To crucify him is--what? There is no fitting word that can possibly describe a deed so horrible? Cicero, in Against Verses.
God's will was that Jesus would die in that way, on the cross, for our salvation.
We love the cross of Christ, for what it accomplishes for us. We are also called to love our own crosses. That is much more difficult for us.
The Need To Be Offended
Until this point, the 8th chapter of the Gospel of Mark, we have seen little conversation between Jesus and his disciples. We have heard about their calls, and being set apart from the crowd. That changes in Chapter 8. In this chapter Jesus begins to ask them questions. First, he asks the disciples who other people are saying that he is. The disciples answer with a recitation of public opinion. Then, Jesus asks a more pointed question of them, "Who do YOU say that I am?" At that point, Peter shows a moment of brilliance. YOU are the messiah. As with any of us, moments of brilliance are typically followed by moments of stupidity.
After Peter's acknowledgment of Jesus as messiah, Jesus describes the nature of messiah--one who is rejoiced by the religious elite, one who suffers, one who is arrested, crucified, and is raised from the dead on the 3rd day.
Peter' moment of lucidity is followed by rejection of the definition of messiah that Jesus provides. Peter needs to defend his notion of God's one from Jesus' claim. And indeed, do we each have a notion of God and ourselves that we need to protect?
Let us speak about this in terms of needs. I need shelter. This need grows, however, as I live with the shelter that I have. So my need for shelter includes a growing number of square feet. I need water when I am thirsty, however, soon the taste of water is not exciting enough, so I require lemonade, iced tea, or even soda. I need food, however, what meets my body's requirements is not the most exciting, so the need for steak and a baked potato soon evolves.
And, I need to be offended. Each of us has a chink in our armor, an Achilles Heel, a vulnerable spot. At some moment in our lives, either by serendipity or on purpose, another person will speak a truth that cuts right to our vulnerability. That truth is painful to bear. My defense against that truth is being offended. I hold the speaker of the truth accountable for lacking sensitivity to the needs of others, and am offended by what he or she speaks.
The messiah is the one who endures suffering, is rejected by others, arrested, crucified, and will be raised from the dead. It is his death on the cross that brings our salvation. As we love his cross, we are also called to love our own crosses.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in A Testament to Freedom, writes "There are many Christians who bend their knees before the cross of Jesus Christ well enough, but who do noting but resist and struggle against every affliction in their own lives. They believe that they love Christ's cross, but they hate the cross in their own lives...They needed the cross, but did not love it....Whoever loves the cross of Jesus Christ, whoever has found peace in him, the begin to love even the sufferings in their life, and in the end, they will be able to say with Scripture, "We also rejoice in our sufferings."
Claiming the Wrong Authority
This text from Mark 8 would better be performed on stage, as there is some fascinating blocking happening. Jesus is facing the crowd, defining the role of Messiah (rejection, suffering, arrest, death, resurrection). Peter is standing behind Jesus. At Jesus' words, Peter turns Jesus around to face him, with Jesus now having his back to the crowds. He rebukes Jesus. Jesus, having been rebuked by Peter, first turns his back to Peter, to face the crowd again, rebukes Peter in front of the entire crowd.
It is at this point that Jesus teaches, If any want to be my followers, let them take up their cross and follow me.
A point of authority is conveyed here. Peter is claiming an authority that is not his--not denying himself, but instead defining the role of Messiah--and not claiming the authority that is his--taking up his cross and following Jesus. Jesus defines his authority, as he has been doing frequently in the earlier sections of Mark.
Jesus' positioning to Peter is both a rebuke, in that his back is to Peter but also an invitation, Peter is already behind Jesus, and in the right place/position to follow.
Chaos is when a person takes responsibility for something for she has no authority and is not held accountable. This happens in families, when children want to be parents and not children. This happens in the classroom, when students want to be the teacher, instead of the student. This happens in places of employment, where people want to be the boss, and not the employee.
Shame loves chaos, as it loves to muddy the waters. If shame involves hiding from the painful spots in one's life, it also avoids accountability--not capable of owning one's own mistakes or failures. Muddying the waters, as to not be discovered. It is much easier on my soul to tell another person what he has done wrong, than to claim my own failures.
Loving the cross of Christ, and loving our own crosses is self-denial and action. It is giving Jesus authority to be the Messiah, and it is taking action on our own part to be faithful to him. This journey starts at the point of suffering, and requires perseverance.
A Systems Cosmology
The cosmology of antiquity, that is, the world view of Jesus' time, differs significantly from the cosmology or world view of today. In Jesus' day, there were believed to be 3 levels of the world. Heaven was the top layer, where God dwelt and reigned. Earth was he center--the place where humanity and creation dwelt. Hell, or the underworld, was below--the realm of Satan and his demonic forces. Earth was the battle ground between the powers of God and of Satan. This battle was shown forth in demon possession--used to explain many types of physical and mental maladies and to explain acts that destroyed the lives of others and to explain natural calamity.
In our modern, scientific world, we have a different cosmology or world view. Our world view is empirical and is commonly communicated in terms of systems. We speak of bodily systems such as the immune system, respiratory system, or the nervous system. We speak of social systems such as the legal system, the political system, or the educational system. And, there is growing interest in the emotional system. In addition, we study the interaction of each system.
When there is a physical malady, a breakdown in the social system, or a natural disaster, we turn to one or more of the systems to make sense of what happened and trust them to implement a process, set of policies, or laws that will keep the breakdown from reoccurring.
We find ourselves at a loss when our systems do not have the capacity to perform the function we desire of them. There is no system in to stop E4 tornadoes from ravaging complete towns in the mid-west. There appear to be no systems in place to stop a young man in Chardon, Ohio, from killing high school classmates. No system appears to have the authority to demand a stop to the destruction and death in this world.
We have faith. We have faith to trust in the one who all authority in heaven and on earth. One who announces that life comes from him, and nothing can separate us from his love and power to save. Salvation is more than being taken to heaven if we are good enough when we die. Salvation is the setting right of all creation.
For that reason, we love the cross of Christ, and we love our own cross. In the cross of Christ, we have life.
Conclusion
Let us pray. Lord Jesus Christ, who didst stretch out thine arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of thy saving embrace: So clothe us in thy Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know thee to the knowledge and love of thee; for the honor of thy Name. Amen.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Dominionism and the Kingdom of God
Dominionism and the Kingdom of God
Matthew 25:
Introduction:
Woody Allen quote, "I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying." (Allen quote was found in Sam Wells, do not be afraid)
In the heat of the summer afternoon, sheep will gather together, heads in the center of the group, and provide shade for each other.
Goats will stay by themselves, many times climbing onto a rock outcropping, lying down, and slowly dying from the heat.
Metaphors in the parable--sheep and goats--neither of which refer to Christians, but to those outside of the Christian community. Some have a genuine concern for the well-being of others. Some, in the act of self-preservation, die a heat related death.
While Woody Allen center attention on immortality apart from works, this parable takes us back to works--in particular, the capacity of non-Christians to do what is good and the blessings they receive from God.
Point One. Unpacking the Parable
What leads us to make the claim that this parable is about non-Christians doing what is good?
1. The early Church, like late Judaism, had the expectation of the end of the world.
2. For Christians, that day was the time when Jesus would be revealed in majesty as the Christ/Messiah. Believers would be justified in their faith.
3. That day had been delayed.
4. Remember that expectation is an expression of faith, not faith itself.
5. Faith is maintained as the day is delayed.
6. Have to free faith from the expectation wrapped around it.
7. We are freeing faith from the expectation that those who were not believers would be blessed by God for performing acts of compassion. (Points 1-7 from Exposition of the Parables )
8. How do I make that claim?
a. The claim that people who do good deeds receive life after death was commonly held, even among the Ancient Egyptians.
b. Faith plays no role in this parable. Not mentioned.
c. Elsewhere in Matthew, other grounds for judgment given for Jews--as they reject Jesus, and for Christians--as they are faithful to Christ.
d. The word nations, used in this parable, used to refer to non-Jewish and thus non-Christian individuals.
e. Romans 2, the last verses, speak of 2 judgments. First the Jews, then the Gentiles.
f. Other Jewish texts refer to "righteous Gentiles", that despite idolatry, some pagans were genuinely good people.
9. Least of these, refers to Christian missionaries, who have made sacrifices for the sake of their mission. Travel light, as in 10:8-9, totally dependent upon those among whom they proclaim the gospel.
10. Passage encourages vulnerable missionaries that pagans will be judged by God for how they treat the followers of Christ. See 10: 40-42. (Points 8-9 made by Douglas Hare in the Interpretation Commentary on Matthew)
11. Within that judgment, some will be blessed by God for performing acts of compassion for those who are vulnerable.
Point Two. The outcomes of commonly held Christian values.
1. Customary Christian assumption that this text refers to Christians, and what they unwittingly do or do not do. Creates 4 problems of faith, spiritual dilemmas.
2. First, I am filled with fear that I have overlooked someone, or something. What if, perhaps, I fail in this endeavor and burn in hell for it.
3. Second, Leads us to overlook where the wilderness starts. Use Garden of Eden, angel guarding the entrance. Use Revelation, gates of the New Jerusalem. There is just one step between paradise and wilderness.
4. Barbara Brown Taylor illustration. Are there no predators? No. Then your participants aren't ready to live in the wilderness.
5. Where does that wilderness start. Just outside our doors. Does our light shine into the darkness that just outside our doors?
6. Third, outside, there are predators, waiting to devour those who are weak. Christians, rooted in faith in a man who is executed, for some reason, remain shocked at the darkness that is in the world. We are not ready for the predators. Psalm 23, Yea, though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I will fear no evil. (Points 4-6 are from Barbara Brown Taylor, Leaving Church )
7. Finally, Fourth, we overlook the possibility that others, not followers of Jesus, have the capacity to perform acts of compassion for those who are vulnerable.
Point Three.
1. Anonymous Christians. Jesus gathers the children to him, whoever receives the least of these, receives me. Any person, believer or not, who performs acts of compassion to those who are vulnerable, are doing God's will. (From Douglas Hare, Interpretation Commentary on Matthew )
2. Looking for good works from non-Christians, and ask how we as Christians can bless them.
a. The one who does not make issues simplistic. As we reflect upon the anti-corporation movement, those capable of doing good see the complexity of the issues. Related to shareholder, how does the anonymity of being a stakeholder and the large structure of a corporation allow stakeholders hide from a responsibility to the well-being of others? Related to directors, in addition to the ability to hide immoral actions in the corporate structure, what is the course of action in business schools related to teaching business ethics. Related to the public, protest, by nature is to be against something. To be against something does not necessarily lead to the moral or right choice, but may lead to another immoral action. Related to the legislators, do we blame only the corporations for wielding power and influence over elected officials, or do we hold elected officials responsible for a failure of nerve? And, we as votes, are called to identify our need for the quick fix and the use of the threat of voting office holders out of office if the solution is not immediate? (These considerations are from the Hedgehog Review on the morality of Corporations)
b. Government elected officials. Let us use history as our guide. In 1494, with the help of France, the people of Florence, Italy overthrew the Medici family and established a republic. The new leader was Savonarola, a Dominican Friar. He built the government on religious reforms that led to what was called the Bonfire of Vanities, when all writing and artwork not reflective of his values was destroyed. In that case, the Dominicans wanted a free government to promote religious reform. Others in Florence accepted religious reform for the purpose of achieving a free government. In the end, Savonarola was ousted and others leaders put in place. (from Mary Ann Glendon, The Forum and the Tower)
c. Acts of courage. Plato, in his Laws, defines courage as withstanding pain and refusing certain pleasures, such as prosperity. Locker room showers, child abused, step in or call the police. Acts of courage have a graduate assistant or janitor intervene in the midst of the attach.
Conclusion--Mission as Lay Preachers
1. Called to bless those, outside of the Christian faith, who perform acts of compassion for those who are vulnerable.
2. First, we can do that by providing opportunities for people to do what is good.
3. Second, we can bless the good that others do, without the Christian arrogance that contends that you can't do good without being a Christian first.
4. Third, we see that those who are doing good are seekers on a spiritual journey and who have hearts that may be open to Christian witness. This witness, however, is not one of condemnation, but of listening, striving to understand, asking questions, and speaking from a Christian framework. Finally, about sharing God's present day activity in your life.
Matthew 25:
Introduction:
Woody Allen quote, "I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying." (Allen quote was found in Sam Wells, do not be afraid)
In the heat of the summer afternoon, sheep will gather together, heads in the center of the group, and provide shade for each other.
Goats will stay by themselves, many times climbing onto a rock outcropping, lying down, and slowly dying from the heat.
Metaphors in the parable--sheep and goats--neither of which refer to Christians, but to those outside of the Christian community. Some have a genuine concern for the well-being of others. Some, in the act of self-preservation, die a heat related death.
While Woody Allen center attention on immortality apart from works, this parable takes us back to works--in particular, the capacity of non-Christians to do what is good and the blessings they receive from God.
Point One. Unpacking the Parable
What leads us to make the claim that this parable is about non-Christians doing what is good?
1. The early Church, like late Judaism, had the expectation of the end of the world.
2. For Christians, that day was the time when Jesus would be revealed in majesty as the Christ/Messiah. Believers would be justified in their faith.
3. That day had been delayed.
4. Remember that expectation is an expression of faith, not faith itself.
5. Faith is maintained as the day is delayed.
6. Have to free faith from the expectation wrapped around it.
7. We are freeing faith from the expectation that those who were not believers would be blessed by God for performing acts of compassion. (Points 1-7 from Exposition of the Parables )
8. How do I make that claim?
a. The claim that people who do good deeds receive life after death was commonly held, even among the Ancient Egyptians.
b. Faith plays no role in this parable. Not mentioned.
c. Elsewhere in Matthew, other grounds for judgment given for Jews--as they reject Jesus, and for Christians--as they are faithful to Christ.
d. The word nations, used in this parable, used to refer to non-Jewish and thus non-Christian individuals.
e. Romans 2, the last verses, speak of 2 judgments. First the Jews, then the Gentiles.
f. Other Jewish texts refer to "righteous Gentiles", that despite idolatry, some pagans were genuinely good people.
9. Least of these, refers to Christian missionaries, who have made sacrifices for the sake of their mission. Travel light, as in 10:8-9, totally dependent upon those among whom they proclaim the gospel.
10. Passage encourages vulnerable missionaries that pagans will be judged by God for how they treat the followers of Christ. See 10: 40-42. (Points 8-9 made by Douglas Hare in the Interpretation Commentary on Matthew)
11. Within that judgment, some will be blessed by God for performing acts of compassion for those who are vulnerable.
Point Two. The outcomes of commonly held Christian values.
1. Customary Christian assumption that this text refers to Christians, and what they unwittingly do or do not do. Creates 4 problems of faith, spiritual dilemmas.
2. First, I am filled with fear that I have overlooked someone, or something. What if, perhaps, I fail in this endeavor and burn in hell for it.
3. Second, Leads us to overlook where the wilderness starts. Use Garden of Eden, angel guarding the entrance. Use Revelation, gates of the New Jerusalem. There is just one step between paradise and wilderness.
4. Barbara Brown Taylor illustration. Are there no predators? No. Then your participants aren't ready to live in the wilderness.
5. Where does that wilderness start. Just outside our doors. Does our light shine into the darkness that just outside our doors?
6. Third, outside, there are predators, waiting to devour those who are weak. Christians, rooted in faith in a man who is executed, for some reason, remain shocked at the darkness that is in the world. We are not ready for the predators. Psalm 23, Yea, though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I will fear no evil. (Points 4-6 are from Barbara Brown Taylor, Leaving Church )
7. Finally, Fourth, we overlook the possibility that others, not followers of Jesus, have the capacity to perform acts of compassion for those who are vulnerable.
Point Three.
1. Anonymous Christians. Jesus gathers the children to him, whoever receives the least of these, receives me. Any person, believer or not, who performs acts of compassion to those who are vulnerable, are doing God's will. (From Douglas Hare, Interpretation Commentary on Matthew )
2. Looking for good works from non-Christians, and ask how we as Christians can bless them.
a. The one who does not make issues simplistic. As we reflect upon the anti-corporation movement, those capable of doing good see the complexity of the issues. Related to shareholder, how does the anonymity of being a stakeholder and the large structure of a corporation allow stakeholders hide from a responsibility to the well-being of others? Related to directors, in addition to the ability to hide immoral actions in the corporate structure, what is the course of action in business schools related to teaching business ethics. Related to the public, protest, by nature is to be against something. To be against something does not necessarily lead to the moral or right choice, but may lead to another immoral action. Related to the legislators, do we blame only the corporations for wielding power and influence over elected officials, or do we hold elected officials responsible for a failure of nerve? And, we as votes, are called to identify our need for the quick fix and the use of the threat of voting office holders out of office if the solution is not immediate? (These considerations are from the Hedgehog Review on the morality of Corporations)
b. Government elected officials. Let us use history as our guide. In 1494, with the help of France, the people of Florence, Italy overthrew the Medici family and established a republic. The new leader was Savonarola, a Dominican Friar. He built the government on religious reforms that led to what was called the Bonfire of Vanities, when all writing and artwork not reflective of his values was destroyed. In that case, the Dominicans wanted a free government to promote religious reform. Others in Florence accepted religious reform for the purpose of achieving a free government. In the end, Savonarola was ousted and others leaders put in place. (from Mary Ann Glendon, The Forum and the Tower)
c. Acts of courage. Plato, in his Laws, defines courage as withstanding pain and refusing certain pleasures, such as prosperity. Locker room showers, child abused, step in or call the police. Acts of courage have a graduate assistant or janitor intervene in the midst of the attach.
Conclusion--Mission as Lay Preachers
1. Called to bless those, outside of the Christian faith, who perform acts of compassion for those who are vulnerable.
2. First, we can do that by providing opportunities for people to do what is good.
3. Second, we can bless the good that others do, without the Christian arrogance that contends that you can't do good without being a Christian first.
4. Third, we see that those who are doing good are seekers on a spiritual journey and who have hearts that may be open to Christian witness. This witness, however, is not one of condemnation, but of listening, striving to understand, asking questions, and speaking from a Christian framework. Finally, about sharing God's present day activity in your life.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Reflections on Penn State University
Greetings in Christ's name.
On Sunday morning, I invited your comments and reflections about the events at Penn State University. Please feel free to use this venue to post what you have observed, your reflections, and thoughts you think might be helpful to others.
Blessings.
Pastor Tim Mentzer
On Sunday morning, I invited your comments and reflections about the events at Penn State University. Please feel free to use this venue to post what you have observed, your reflections, and thoughts you think might be helpful to others.
Blessings.
Pastor Tim Mentzer
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Suicide: What Words Do We Use?
Suicide: What Words Do We Say?
Preached by The Reverend Sadie Pounder
Sunday, November 13, 2011
"One November morning in 1936," noted theologian and author Frederick Buechner writes in his book Telling Secrets, , “when I was 10 years old, my father got up early, put on a pair of gray slacks and a maroon sweater, opened the door to look in briefly on my younger brother and me, who were playing a game in our room, and then went down into the garage…..” That was the last time he saw his father alive. Suicide death.
There was no funeral. Neither side of his family were church members. No funeral to mark his father’s death and put a period at the end of the sentence that had been his life, and as far as he could remember, once his father died his mother, brother, and he rarely talked about him much ever again, either to each other or to anybody else. It made his mother too sad to talk about him. The truth is, his father’s suicide impacted the rest of his life. His father shows up in characters in several of his novels.
Of all the topics in the world, why a sermon on suicide?
• It’s difficult. It’s sensitive.
• For many, it’s private, very, very private.
Trinity is in the midst of “unearthing,” bringing to light a new way of conversing about difficult, sensitive and often very, very private matters. A vision of Pr Mentzer, it's the Academy of Creative Endeavor to encourage public discourse to generate vision of how culture can change. Its first gathering is Dec 14th in Fondersmith. It's a call to public conversation about a difficult subject, suicide and the loss of life by suicide while in custody at Lancaster County Prison (LCP), 3 suicides in 6 months– numbers way above the norm. To put it in perspective from Bureau of Justice Statistics, from 2000-2007 in about 3000 jail jurisdictions in US, 83% reported no deaths; 12% reported one death, (making 95% reporting none or one death by suicide). LCP is in the 5% reporting 2 or more deaths by suicide. Placing people on suicide watch or taking them off was one of my responsibilities as a mental health professional at Adams County Prison.
But this is not just about jail suicides. We know Trinity has not been immune from this kind of tragedy and frankly, with over 35,000 suicides in our country annually, it’s most likely no place has been immune. There is one suicide once every 16 minutes.
As I look around at this fellowship of faith today, I realize we are very aware of 3 things right now:
• where we are,
• who we are and
• why we are here.
We are aware of where we are:
A church sanctuary, not a police station, a jail, a sociology class or a lecture hall.
A church sanctuary - where the word of God is spoken, sung, prayed and proclaimed, and the sacraments administered.
We are aware of who we are:
Christians, children of God, with a story, a story to tell of God’s love for us in his Son Jesus Christ who died for us and our salvation. We are baptized as sons and daughter of God.
We are aware of why we are here:
Here to worship God. Offer our thanks, our prayers, our hymns, our offerings, ourselves in a time separated out from the normal, daily routines of our lives. We are here to hear the Word proclaimed, spoken. Words that give life in difficult times, difficult situations.
If you saw the beginning of the Penn State, Nebraska game yesterday, you saw a sight not seen before. Both teams, at the center of field, kneeling in prayer by a Nebraska coach. There was relative silence in the full stadium, fans watching. Prayer I’m suspecting for
• victims of abuse when children by a former football coach,
• most likely, prayers for healing and hope, words from the heart.
• Words spoken, out loud, in the midst of tragedy.
And that’s exactly what we are called to do. In the midst of tragedy, this time suicides, we, children of God in this sanctuary in worship are called to bring:
• Words of healing
• Words of hope
• Words of the heart
Words of Healing
The church has struggled with suicide over the centuries and how it speaks to it. Scripture tells of several suicides, perhaps the most known -
• Saul – taking his own life rather than be captured by the Philistines, the enemy;
• Samson, pulling a building down causing his own death as well as many others;
• and most remembered, Judas, consumed with guilt after his betrayal of Jesus.
During the early years of Christianity, many believers chose suicide over religious persecution and torture. Women committed suicide rather than be a mercy of invading soldiers. All believers who ended their own lives in these circumstances were considered martyrs. It was in part to stem this tide that Augustine, bishop of North Africa in the 4th century, said in his writings – City of God - “Scripture gives no passage permitting suicide to hasten entrance into immortality or to avoid evils of the day.” He made a strong declaration against it, denouncing it as a sin. Councils picked up on this and condemned those who took their lives, calling them sinners, no longer martyrs.
Centuries later, the 13th century, Thomas Aquinas, a leading theologian and Dominican priest, declared suicide as an act against God, a sin from which you could not repent. The civil law picked up on it. There were various punishments for those who took their own lives..
• They could no longer be buried in church cemeteries and horrible things were done to their bodies.
• Their property was forfeited to the state.
• Families were left grieving, isolated and poor.
• If one attempted suicide and failed, he would be arrested, shamed and put to death.
The word, coroner came from 11th century England, and actually means “crown’s plea” because the coroner would seek out those deaths from suicide so the crown could possess the property of the family. For hundreds of years, the families of those committing suicide were devastated.
Over the centuries church doctrine regarding suicide was questioned. In the 1930s theologians such as Barth, Tillich, Bonhoeffer and other German theologians began to concern themselves with suicide. With a single voice they said that while suicide was certainly wrong, if forgiveness for anything, it surely included suicide. They said, “We must begin to care for the survivors.”
With over 8,000,000 persons considering suicide each year, most of us have most likely
• known someone who has committed suicide or
• others whose depression or other factors have caused suicidal thinking,
• or even had those thoughts ourselves.
• I believe most people have had at the minimum a fleeting thought about suicide or may some day.
We just celebrated Veterans Day. Reports of increasing suicides with active duty as well as veterans are a huge concern for military these days as post traumatic stress disorder is just one of many reasons for what some call an epidemic, one of every 5 suicides being a veteran.
My family and I knew one. Herman was a Viet Nam veteran. He was the youth minister in the church we attended in Northern VA in the 80s. Our oldest son, a teenager, had been in his youth group and very fond of Herman who would attend our son’s baseball games and go to sporting events together.
Herman was gone about a year, moving to New York. Members of our church were still in touch with him and were aware of his depression. Two men flew to NY to bring him back to VA. Their cab pulled up to Herman’s home. It was too late. His suicide was shocking beyond belief. My son was a pall bearer. At the grave site, after the ceremony with military honors, no one moved. The teens stood still. The need for healing of emotional pain was enormous. For Herman’s family and hundreds affected, many teenagers - what words do you say?
Yes, gone are the days of being alienated by the church: no church service, no cemetery burial, and teachings of suicide as the unforgivable sin are over. But not gone are the stigma still, the search for “why” – feelings of guilt, shame, puzzlement. Not gone are the “if only’s.” No matter how many times family members try to put together pieces of the puzzle, there are always gaps.
When the three men took their lives this past year at LCP, their families now experience not only the shame of being in prison and the many unknowns surrounding their deaths but also the shame and stigma of taking their own lives.
Some in the world say:
• It’s one less case to prosecute.
• Close the books on this one.
• See, it shows how guilty they are.
What are we willing to say?
• They, too, were human beings? God’s story is for them, too?
• They are people Jesus died for? Is that what we are willing to say?
• Can we use words Paul speaks in I Thess today? “For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through Jesus.” “Therefore, encourage one another. Build each other up.”
We’ve been given this incredibly generous treasure from God - eternal life, salvation, forgiveness, grace. Is it buried within us, kept safe, or can we unearth it, perhaps buried too long, and share it with a world so distracted from the things, the words of God?
Words of Hope
We not only bring words of healing to families of those who committed suicide, we bring words of hope. Albert Schweitzer said, “The tragedy is not that a man (person) dies, the tragedy of life is what dies inside a man (person) while he (or she) lives.” Hope would be one of those things.
An authority on suicide (Edwin Schneidman), says the common emotions of suicide are hopelessness and helplessness. The common symptom is pain – physical, emotional or both. There's no question persons thinking of suicide are experiencing pain – emotional and/or physical. On a scale of zero to ten, their pain is 10+.
You may have seen Montel Williams, talk host, diagnosed with MS 10 years ago, speaking out about how his constant, excruciating pain led him to a suicide attempt. He simply could not see a future without debilitating pain and could not see living with it 24/7 the rest of his life. He could not see the road ahead. What does that feel like? We cannot experience exactly what another is going through but we can experience the emotion. What does it feel like to not see road ahead?
I can remember driving from Lancaster one evening to go to Harrisburg. Had a passenger with me. It was raining when we left but not significantly. It wasn’t long before we were in the midst of a torrential downpour. Blinding rain. I remember saying, “I can’t see.” No road lines were visible. How will I know I am still on the road? All I could see was blinding rainstorm. I experienced fear! You may have been on the road during a dense fog. Same thing.
Edwin Schneidman says there’s a common cognitive state for people who are suicidal, called “constriction” (tunnel vision). A narrowing of the range of options that leads to the person thinking: I have “one” and only one option. Herman, I am convinced, at the moment he took his life, he could not see the road ahead. Not his wife. Not his 8 year old daughter. He saw nothing but the storm, the endless blinding storm.
Words of the Heart
Besides words of healing and hope, we are called on to speak words of the heart most of all. Authors Arterburn and Felton, in their book, Toxic Faith, talk about false ideas that can poison a believer’s life.
One of the toxic beliefs of Christians is: “When tragedy strikes, true believers should have a real peace about it.” It is the belief that no matter the tragedy, suicide, sudden death in an accident, or other, a Christian, if he/she really is a believer, should have peace, a “wonderful” God-given peace very soon.
The truth is our natural reaction to sudden death is shock, disbelief, denial,and anger. Death, the loss of a loved one, breaks our hearts, especially suicides and the mystery that often surrounds them and the complexity of factors (mental state, multiple stress, physical pain, guilt, shame, just plain tiredness of the struggle). God can, of course, work supernatural healing in survivors, family members and friends but by far, for most, healing is a long, hard process.
A heart that is broken needs words that will speak to the heart. Our heartfelt response is to allow people to go to their places of woundedness and pain, not with “corrections” or “advice” but with unconditional love, as Jesus does for us.
God has given to each of us incredible treasure in His Word. Words like:
• “I will never leave you or forsake you.”
• Nothing can separate you from the love of God.
• Child of God, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.”
These words are not to be kept safe and buried within us or kept safely in this sanctuary.
When we go out doors today, they are to go with us -to feed not only our hearts and our own struggles but for those outside the doors in need.
Where are we? In the sanctuary - a safe haven.
Who are we? Children of God.
Why we are here? To worship. Be refueled, nourished so when we do go out those doors, we go as people with something so good, we want to share it!
All in all, there is so much we do not know about why a person takes one’s own life. But this we do know. God assures us through the words of Paul, “Now we see through a glass dimly, but then face to face.” We are people of the promises of God. People of faith. That’s our healing, our hope and our heart. Amen.
Preached by The Reverend Sadie Pounder
Sunday, November 13, 2011
"One November morning in 1936," noted theologian and author Frederick Buechner writes in his book Telling Secrets, , “when I was 10 years old, my father got up early, put on a pair of gray slacks and a maroon sweater, opened the door to look in briefly on my younger brother and me, who were playing a game in our room, and then went down into the garage…..” That was the last time he saw his father alive. Suicide death.
There was no funeral. Neither side of his family were church members. No funeral to mark his father’s death and put a period at the end of the sentence that had been his life, and as far as he could remember, once his father died his mother, brother, and he rarely talked about him much ever again, either to each other or to anybody else. It made his mother too sad to talk about him. The truth is, his father’s suicide impacted the rest of his life. His father shows up in characters in several of his novels.
Of all the topics in the world, why a sermon on suicide?
• It’s difficult. It’s sensitive.
• For many, it’s private, very, very private.
Trinity is in the midst of “unearthing,” bringing to light a new way of conversing about difficult, sensitive and often very, very private matters. A vision of Pr Mentzer, it's the Academy of Creative Endeavor to encourage public discourse to generate vision of how culture can change. Its first gathering is Dec 14th in Fondersmith. It's a call to public conversation about a difficult subject, suicide and the loss of life by suicide while in custody at Lancaster County Prison (LCP), 3 suicides in 6 months– numbers way above the norm. To put it in perspective from Bureau of Justice Statistics, from 2000-2007 in about 3000 jail jurisdictions in US, 83% reported no deaths; 12% reported one death, (making 95% reporting none or one death by suicide). LCP is in the 5% reporting 2 or more deaths by suicide. Placing people on suicide watch or taking them off was one of my responsibilities as a mental health professional at Adams County Prison.
But this is not just about jail suicides. We know Trinity has not been immune from this kind of tragedy and frankly, with over 35,000 suicides in our country annually, it’s most likely no place has been immune. There is one suicide once every 16 minutes.
As I look around at this fellowship of faith today, I realize we are very aware of 3 things right now:
• where we are,
• who we are and
• why we are here.
We are aware of where we are:
A church sanctuary, not a police station, a jail, a sociology class or a lecture hall.
A church sanctuary - where the word of God is spoken, sung, prayed and proclaimed, and the sacraments administered.
We are aware of who we are:
Christians, children of God, with a story, a story to tell of God’s love for us in his Son Jesus Christ who died for us and our salvation. We are baptized as sons and daughter of God.
We are aware of why we are here:
Here to worship God. Offer our thanks, our prayers, our hymns, our offerings, ourselves in a time separated out from the normal, daily routines of our lives. We are here to hear the Word proclaimed, spoken. Words that give life in difficult times, difficult situations.
If you saw the beginning of the Penn State, Nebraska game yesterday, you saw a sight not seen before. Both teams, at the center of field, kneeling in prayer by a Nebraska coach. There was relative silence in the full stadium, fans watching. Prayer I’m suspecting for
• victims of abuse when children by a former football coach,
• most likely, prayers for healing and hope, words from the heart.
• Words spoken, out loud, in the midst of tragedy.
And that’s exactly what we are called to do. In the midst of tragedy, this time suicides, we, children of God in this sanctuary in worship are called to bring:
• Words of healing
• Words of hope
• Words of the heart
Words of Healing
The church has struggled with suicide over the centuries and how it speaks to it. Scripture tells of several suicides, perhaps the most known -
• Saul – taking his own life rather than be captured by the Philistines, the enemy;
• Samson, pulling a building down causing his own death as well as many others;
• and most remembered, Judas, consumed with guilt after his betrayal of Jesus.
During the early years of Christianity, many believers chose suicide over religious persecution and torture. Women committed suicide rather than be a mercy of invading soldiers. All believers who ended their own lives in these circumstances were considered martyrs. It was in part to stem this tide that Augustine, bishop of North Africa in the 4th century, said in his writings – City of God - “Scripture gives no passage permitting suicide to hasten entrance into immortality or to avoid evils of the day.” He made a strong declaration against it, denouncing it as a sin. Councils picked up on this and condemned those who took their lives, calling them sinners, no longer martyrs.
Centuries later, the 13th century, Thomas Aquinas, a leading theologian and Dominican priest, declared suicide as an act against God, a sin from which you could not repent. The civil law picked up on it. There were various punishments for those who took their own lives..
• They could no longer be buried in church cemeteries and horrible things were done to their bodies.
• Their property was forfeited to the state.
• Families were left grieving, isolated and poor.
• If one attempted suicide and failed, he would be arrested, shamed and put to death.
The word, coroner came from 11th century England, and actually means “crown’s plea” because the coroner would seek out those deaths from suicide so the crown could possess the property of the family. For hundreds of years, the families of those committing suicide were devastated.
Over the centuries church doctrine regarding suicide was questioned. In the 1930s theologians such as Barth, Tillich, Bonhoeffer and other German theologians began to concern themselves with suicide. With a single voice they said that while suicide was certainly wrong, if forgiveness for anything, it surely included suicide. They said, “We must begin to care for the survivors.”
With over 8,000,000 persons considering suicide each year, most of us have most likely
• known someone who has committed suicide or
• others whose depression or other factors have caused suicidal thinking,
• or even had those thoughts ourselves.
• I believe most people have had at the minimum a fleeting thought about suicide or may some day.
We just celebrated Veterans Day. Reports of increasing suicides with active duty as well as veterans are a huge concern for military these days as post traumatic stress disorder is just one of many reasons for what some call an epidemic, one of every 5 suicides being a veteran.
My family and I knew one. Herman was a Viet Nam veteran. He was the youth minister in the church we attended in Northern VA in the 80s. Our oldest son, a teenager, had been in his youth group and very fond of Herman who would attend our son’s baseball games and go to sporting events together.
Herman was gone about a year, moving to New York. Members of our church were still in touch with him and were aware of his depression. Two men flew to NY to bring him back to VA. Their cab pulled up to Herman’s home. It was too late. His suicide was shocking beyond belief. My son was a pall bearer. At the grave site, after the ceremony with military honors, no one moved. The teens stood still. The need for healing of emotional pain was enormous. For Herman’s family and hundreds affected, many teenagers - what words do you say?
Yes, gone are the days of being alienated by the church: no church service, no cemetery burial, and teachings of suicide as the unforgivable sin are over. But not gone are the stigma still, the search for “why” – feelings of guilt, shame, puzzlement. Not gone are the “if only’s.” No matter how many times family members try to put together pieces of the puzzle, there are always gaps.
When the three men took their lives this past year at LCP, their families now experience not only the shame of being in prison and the many unknowns surrounding their deaths but also the shame and stigma of taking their own lives.
Some in the world say:
• It’s one less case to prosecute.
• Close the books on this one.
• See, it shows how guilty they are.
What are we willing to say?
• They, too, were human beings? God’s story is for them, too?
• They are people Jesus died for? Is that what we are willing to say?
• Can we use words Paul speaks in I Thess today? “For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through Jesus.” “Therefore, encourage one another. Build each other up.”
We’ve been given this incredibly generous treasure from God - eternal life, salvation, forgiveness, grace. Is it buried within us, kept safe, or can we unearth it, perhaps buried too long, and share it with a world so distracted from the things, the words of God?
Words of Hope
We not only bring words of healing to families of those who committed suicide, we bring words of hope. Albert Schweitzer said, “The tragedy is not that a man (person) dies, the tragedy of life is what dies inside a man (person) while he (or she) lives.” Hope would be one of those things.
An authority on suicide (Edwin Schneidman), says the common emotions of suicide are hopelessness and helplessness. The common symptom is pain – physical, emotional or both. There's no question persons thinking of suicide are experiencing pain – emotional and/or physical. On a scale of zero to ten, their pain is 10+.
You may have seen Montel Williams, talk host, diagnosed with MS 10 years ago, speaking out about how his constant, excruciating pain led him to a suicide attempt. He simply could not see a future without debilitating pain and could not see living with it 24/7 the rest of his life. He could not see the road ahead. What does that feel like? We cannot experience exactly what another is going through but we can experience the emotion. What does it feel like to not see road ahead?
I can remember driving from Lancaster one evening to go to Harrisburg. Had a passenger with me. It was raining when we left but not significantly. It wasn’t long before we were in the midst of a torrential downpour. Blinding rain. I remember saying, “I can’t see.” No road lines were visible. How will I know I am still on the road? All I could see was blinding rainstorm. I experienced fear! You may have been on the road during a dense fog. Same thing.
Edwin Schneidman says there’s a common cognitive state for people who are suicidal, called “constriction” (tunnel vision). A narrowing of the range of options that leads to the person thinking: I have “one” and only one option. Herman, I am convinced, at the moment he took his life, he could not see the road ahead. Not his wife. Not his 8 year old daughter. He saw nothing but the storm, the endless blinding storm.
Words of the Heart
Besides words of healing and hope, we are called on to speak words of the heart most of all. Authors Arterburn and Felton, in their book, Toxic Faith, talk about false ideas that can poison a believer’s life.
One of the toxic beliefs of Christians is: “When tragedy strikes, true believers should have a real peace about it.” It is the belief that no matter the tragedy, suicide, sudden death in an accident, or other, a Christian, if he/she really is a believer, should have peace, a “wonderful” God-given peace very soon.
The truth is our natural reaction to sudden death is shock, disbelief, denial,and anger. Death, the loss of a loved one, breaks our hearts, especially suicides and the mystery that often surrounds them and the complexity of factors (mental state, multiple stress, physical pain, guilt, shame, just plain tiredness of the struggle). God can, of course, work supernatural healing in survivors, family members and friends but by far, for most, healing is a long, hard process.
A heart that is broken needs words that will speak to the heart. Our heartfelt response is to allow people to go to their places of woundedness and pain, not with “corrections” or “advice” but with unconditional love, as Jesus does for us.
God has given to each of us incredible treasure in His Word. Words like:
• “I will never leave you or forsake you.”
• Nothing can separate you from the love of God.
• Child of God, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.”
These words are not to be kept safe and buried within us or kept safely in this sanctuary.
When we go out doors today, they are to go with us -to feed not only our hearts and our own struggles but for those outside the doors in need.
Where are we? In the sanctuary - a safe haven.
Who are we? Children of God.
Why we are here? To worship. Be refueled, nourished so when we do go out those doors, we go as people with something so good, we want to share it!
All in all, there is so much we do not know about why a person takes one’s own life. But this we do know. God assures us through the words of Paul, “Now we see through a glass dimly, but then face to face.” We are people of the promises of God. People of faith. That’s our healing, our hope and our heart. Amen.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Meant to be Offensive
Meant To Be Offensive
Matthew 22: 1-14
Three Deaths in Seven Months
On Tuesday, March 22nd, John Kruger, aged 50, fell from an upper level of the Lancaster County Prison. He died of traumatic head injuries. He had been arrested and was facing assault charges.
On Thursday, July 21st, Matthew McNamara, aged 45, jumped from an upper level of the Lancaster County Prison. He died 3 days later of traumatic head injuries. He had been arrested for homicide by vehicle and other charges.
On Wednesday, September 28th, Ronald Snyder, aged 26, hung himself in his cell at the Lancaster County Prison. He was found dead by prison staff at 5:42 p.m. He had been arrested and was facing rape charges.
All three of these men were in pre-trial detention. None was serving a sentence.
Words of consolation must be extended, first, to the families and friends of the people these three men had violated or killed. I will not be presumptuousness enough to presume I know what they are experiencing.
Words of consolation must be extended, second, to the prison staff, who witnessed or were first on the scene at the times of these deaths.
Words of consolation are also extended to the families, children, and friends of these three men.
County and prison officials have reviewed the situation and determined proper protocol was followed. It appears as if the three deaths in seven months falls into the category of what is considered acceptable.
Framing the Topic
In the Gospel of Matthew, read today, we have a parable.
Parables can be handled allegorically, matching the situation and characters with real life situations and characters, as Pastor Sadie did masterfully last week. But, I want to offer another use of parables. This additional way was suggested by Professor Amy Jill Levine, from Vanderbilt, speaking at the Chautauqua Institute. Parables can be used to offend.
Let’s look at this parable.
1. About a wedding banquet. An evening meal, normally begun in the late hours of the afternoon.
2. Host has issued first invitation prior to the event. Politeness leads him to send servants out to remind and gather.
3. Guest begin to excuse themselves. In Mark or Luke, bought a cow or a piece of land. Not poor excuses. Must inspect them, and must do so in the light of day.
4. Not that they would not attend, but that they would arrive late. This was an acceptable custom. Etiquette allowed them to arrive as late as the end of 1st course. After that, sign removed from house. Indicated not to come in.
5. Issue, not that they were not coming to the feast, but that they were not coming NOW.
There was a Jewish expectation of the kingdom of God that led Jews to claim, “How well it will be one day for those who have been invited to the banquet that God will prepare for the righteous at the time when he will reveal his kingdom.” It was believed that there would be a time when God fulfilled the promise and comes out of hiding. This day, in the hereafter, will be a time of great joy. For that reason, [in the present moment] many held fast to the laws of the time. (From Exposition of Parables)
The invitation to the banquet. The time is NOW. The kingdom of God has arrived NOW, in the presence of Jesus. As they, good religious folk, wait for the hereafter, Jesus is giving the riches of the kingdom to the outcast and lost.
When taking this parable allegorically, the theme becomes who is in and who is out. When taken as a story meant to offend, we are confronted with NOW. We may be doing what is acceptable, but there is more.
Why is the NOW significant? NOW is about seeing more than what is currently held as acceptable.
This parable and its teaching could speak to many parts of our lives, how do I get to the point where I apply it to the suicide deaths in the Lancaster County Prison. Christian precedent. Nicodemus, gathered the body of Jesus, and took him to a tomb. Women went the next day to prepare the body with spices.
Christian precedent is for the followers of Jesus to tend to the bodies of dead criminals.(Walt Wangerin)
Now as More than What is Acceptable
God is present in Jesus. Jesus is present in the church. The church is present in the world.
The NOW is a call to move beyond what is considered acceptable or reasonable within the limitations of what we have, and hold fast the present kingdom of God.
The NOW is a call to MORE.
1. More than Meets the Eye.
Hardened people have an ability to adapt to the prison setting more easily. For those with no such experience in life, there is terror. In the face of the horror of suicide, we may miss the reality that for some, taking one’s life is the least painful option they have in front of them. And, it may not be guilt that motivates it. We must also consider the implications of mental illness, not that it removes culpability, but that a different set of standards apply.
2. More than Intensity.
The situation in which we find ourselves is more than intensity. Thomas de Zengotita writes of intensity. He writes “People felt motivated to coherent action only by something they could consistently ‘identify with’ or, more occasionally, by something so compelling it could not be resisted, at least for as long as the excitement lasted.” From this intensity, we move from stating “the reality is” which leads to the necessity of action to optionality. When is it, that we cross the line, and there is one suicide death is too many? How do we determine that number? Statistically? By conscience?
People who have been hurt, or have had friends hurt or killed impacts are at a different place emotionally and mentally.
3. More than Election.
We have been taught to accept that the political realm is the realm where all our societal ills are solved. We vie for the controlling stake in that realm. The party in power changes the course. Presumption that ousting one elected official for another will bring about change in government. We overlook the reality that the majority of our government is not elected official, but institution. These institutions are staffed by people who are not up for election. (From James Davison Hunter)
The head of the institution sets the tone for the rest of the institution. If we claim we do not believe that, listen to the conversation about Steve Jobs, after his death.
The Warden of the Lancaster County Prison sets the tone for the entire staff of the prison. He is accountable for the decisions, and the tone of the prison. We desire a leader who has a fire in his belly to do what is right, as opposed to one who make corrections only when challenged. Can the warden do that?
4. More than Political
Our political system will give us a functional solution, with the support of a simple majority, that may or may not be moral.(Robert Jenson)
We must lay over that political system a public discourse, outside of the political arena.
This is where each of you, as lay preachers, is called to work.
Let me describe what that may look like for you:
One on One Conversation: Talk with each other, talk with your neighbor, talk with your co-workers and friends. Disagree with me. Many of you naturally do anyway, so that won’t be too hard.
Educator: College or High School. Have this conversation as part of your classes on sociology, history, psychology, government. Share the reports of those conversations with our elected officials. These officials are not resident experts in all disciplines.
Legal Profession: Ask the question, what happens to our criminal justice system when a suspect commits suicide prior to a conviction. Is justice served, is there a conclusion for the victims or family of the victims, is there the presumption that the one who took his own life is guilty, without the benefits of a trial?
5. More than Compulsion
In the parable, there is one man at the banquet, who is not wearing the wedding garb. He has chosen not to engage.
Wallace Fisher, my predecessor, states, “Continuity and change go hand in hand. Dynamic conversation and responsible innovation are interdependent.”
The call to renewal confronts the leaders of the Lancaster County Prison with language that creates and honors life. That Word confronts each leader. However, here is where we have difficulty, each person has the God-given freedom to respond. (Wallace Fisher, From Tradition to Mission)
They have the freedom to respond, and they are held accountable for those decisions.
Conclusion
The Gospel is present tense language. It is the language of NOW. Now is the acceptable time. Now is the day of salvation. NOW means more than what is commonly considered acceptable. NOW is the very in-breaking of the kingdom of God.
Martin Luther King, Jr. “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
Go out and start preaching.
Amen.
Matthew 22: 1-14
Three Deaths in Seven Months
On Tuesday, March 22nd, John Kruger, aged 50, fell from an upper level of the Lancaster County Prison. He died of traumatic head injuries. He had been arrested and was facing assault charges.
On Thursday, July 21st, Matthew McNamara, aged 45, jumped from an upper level of the Lancaster County Prison. He died 3 days later of traumatic head injuries. He had been arrested for homicide by vehicle and other charges.
On Wednesday, September 28th, Ronald Snyder, aged 26, hung himself in his cell at the Lancaster County Prison. He was found dead by prison staff at 5:42 p.m. He had been arrested and was facing rape charges.
All three of these men were in pre-trial detention. None was serving a sentence.
Words of consolation must be extended, first, to the families and friends of the people these three men had violated or killed. I will not be presumptuousness enough to presume I know what they are experiencing.
Words of consolation must be extended, second, to the prison staff, who witnessed or were first on the scene at the times of these deaths.
Words of consolation are also extended to the families, children, and friends of these three men.
County and prison officials have reviewed the situation and determined proper protocol was followed. It appears as if the three deaths in seven months falls into the category of what is considered acceptable.
Framing the Topic
In the Gospel of Matthew, read today, we have a parable.
Parables can be handled allegorically, matching the situation and characters with real life situations and characters, as Pastor Sadie did masterfully last week. But, I want to offer another use of parables. This additional way was suggested by Professor Amy Jill Levine, from Vanderbilt, speaking at the Chautauqua Institute. Parables can be used to offend.
Let’s look at this parable.
1. About a wedding banquet. An evening meal, normally begun in the late hours of the afternoon.
2. Host has issued first invitation prior to the event. Politeness leads him to send servants out to remind and gather.
3. Guest begin to excuse themselves. In Mark or Luke, bought a cow or a piece of land. Not poor excuses. Must inspect them, and must do so in the light of day.
4. Not that they would not attend, but that they would arrive late. This was an acceptable custom. Etiquette allowed them to arrive as late as the end of 1st course. After that, sign removed from house. Indicated not to come in.
5. Issue, not that they were not coming to the feast, but that they were not coming NOW.
There was a Jewish expectation of the kingdom of God that led Jews to claim, “How well it will be one day for those who have been invited to the banquet that God will prepare for the righteous at the time when he will reveal his kingdom.” It was believed that there would be a time when God fulfilled the promise and comes out of hiding. This day, in the hereafter, will be a time of great joy. For that reason, [in the present moment] many held fast to the laws of the time. (From Exposition of Parables)
The invitation to the banquet. The time is NOW. The kingdom of God has arrived NOW, in the presence of Jesus. As they, good religious folk, wait for the hereafter, Jesus is giving the riches of the kingdom to the outcast and lost.
When taking this parable allegorically, the theme becomes who is in and who is out. When taken as a story meant to offend, we are confronted with NOW. We may be doing what is acceptable, but there is more.
Why is the NOW significant? NOW is about seeing more than what is currently held as acceptable.
This parable and its teaching could speak to many parts of our lives, how do I get to the point where I apply it to the suicide deaths in the Lancaster County Prison. Christian precedent. Nicodemus, gathered the body of Jesus, and took him to a tomb. Women went the next day to prepare the body with spices.
Christian precedent is for the followers of Jesus to tend to the bodies of dead criminals.(Walt Wangerin)
Now as More than What is Acceptable
God is present in Jesus. Jesus is present in the church. The church is present in the world.
The NOW is a call to move beyond what is considered acceptable or reasonable within the limitations of what we have, and hold fast the present kingdom of God.
The NOW is a call to MORE.
1. More than Meets the Eye.
Hardened people have an ability to adapt to the prison setting more easily. For those with no such experience in life, there is terror. In the face of the horror of suicide, we may miss the reality that for some, taking one’s life is the least painful option they have in front of them. And, it may not be guilt that motivates it. We must also consider the implications of mental illness, not that it removes culpability, but that a different set of standards apply.
2. More than Intensity.
The situation in which we find ourselves is more than intensity. Thomas de Zengotita writes of intensity. He writes “People felt motivated to coherent action only by something they could consistently ‘identify with’ or, more occasionally, by something so compelling it could not be resisted, at least for as long as the excitement lasted.” From this intensity, we move from stating “the reality is” which leads to the necessity of action to optionality. When is it, that we cross the line, and there is one suicide death is too many? How do we determine that number? Statistically? By conscience?
People who have been hurt, or have had friends hurt or killed impacts are at a different place emotionally and mentally.
3. More than Election.
We have been taught to accept that the political realm is the realm where all our societal ills are solved. We vie for the controlling stake in that realm. The party in power changes the course. Presumption that ousting one elected official for another will bring about change in government. We overlook the reality that the majority of our government is not elected official, but institution. These institutions are staffed by people who are not up for election. (From James Davison Hunter)
The head of the institution sets the tone for the rest of the institution. If we claim we do not believe that, listen to the conversation about Steve Jobs, after his death.
The Warden of the Lancaster County Prison sets the tone for the entire staff of the prison. He is accountable for the decisions, and the tone of the prison. We desire a leader who has a fire in his belly to do what is right, as opposed to one who make corrections only when challenged. Can the warden do that?
4. More than Political
Our political system will give us a functional solution, with the support of a simple majority, that may or may not be moral.(Robert Jenson)
We must lay over that political system a public discourse, outside of the political arena.
This is where each of you, as lay preachers, is called to work.
Let me describe what that may look like for you:
One on One Conversation: Talk with each other, talk with your neighbor, talk with your co-workers and friends. Disagree with me. Many of you naturally do anyway, so that won’t be too hard.
Educator: College or High School. Have this conversation as part of your classes on sociology, history, psychology, government. Share the reports of those conversations with our elected officials. These officials are not resident experts in all disciplines.
Legal Profession: Ask the question, what happens to our criminal justice system when a suspect commits suicide prior to a conviction. Is justice served, is there a conclusion for the victims or family of the victims, is there the presumption that the one who took his own life is guilty, without the benefits of a trial?
5. More than Compulsion
In the parable, there is one man at the banquet, who is not wearing the wedding garb. He has chosen not to engage.
Wallace Fisher, my predecessor, states, “Continuity and change go hand in hand. Dynamic conversation and responsible innovation are interdependent.”
The call to renewal confronts the leaders of the Lancaster County Prison with language that creates and honors life. That Word confronts each leader. However, here is where we have difficulty, each person has the God-given freedom to respond. (Wallace Fisher, From Tradition to Mission)
They have the freedom to respond, and they are held accountable for those decisions.
Conclusion
The Gospel is present tense language. It is the language of NOW. Now is the acceptable time. Now is the day of salvation. NOW means more than what is commonly considered acceptable. NOW is the very in-breaking of the kingdom of God.
Martin Luther King, Jr. “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
Go out and start preaching.
Amen.
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