Sermon: Proper 21 RCL B - "Unforgivable?"

The Podcast can be found here.

 

Mark 9:38-50

 

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

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

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

Boudreaux and his good friend T-Joe are walking through dem woods one day when Boo jerks T-Joe's arm back and says, "Ooooweee, T, look at dat big hole in da groun you almost fell in, yeah!"

 

T-Joe says, "Mais oui, mon ami! Dat's some big hole. How deep you tink dat hole is?"

 

The two friends decide to throw a rock in the hole and see how long it takes to hit bottom. They wait and wait, but don't hear it hit, so dey find anudder bigger rock and chunk it in. Like da smaller rock, dey don't hear it hit neither.

 

Looking around for sumptin bigger, T-Joe spies a railroad tie under a tree. He picks it up and trows it into dat hole. While dey're waitin' for dat tie to hit da bottom of da hole, a little billy goat comes runnin' fast fast from behind da same tree and jumps down in dat deep hole.

 

In just a little bit, Boudreaux' best friend Thibodaux comes walking out of the woods. "Hey, Thib, what in da world you doin' out here in da middle of da woods?"

 

"Aw, Boo, mais, I'm way out here lookin' for my little billy goat!"

 

Boudreaux says, "You just not gonna believe dis, Thib. A little billy goat just ran out from behind dat tree and jumped straight down in dat big hole dere!"

 

"Well, dat can't be my billy goat, Boo, 'cause mine was tied to a railroad tie back behind dat tree. Dass some good luck, huh?"

 

Have you ever done anything stupid?  I often consider myself quite blessed and fortunate.. because.. unlike you.. I haven’t… unless, of course, you want to talk about the time that I went hunting without my orange vest, or the time I tried to burn the house down with the BBQ grill, or the time I went on the seven day hiking trip up in the mountains without any food… but really, none of those were my fault… I generally just blame whoever was president at the time for those mishaps.

 

In addition.. I’ve never done anything stupid that would cause harm to someone else.  I’ve never thrown someone’s goat into a bottomless hole.. there was the time when I was a kid playing with a friend and picked up a stick and used it as a sword and nearly put his eye out… and I can remember a time or two when I have lied in order to save my own skin and through someone else under the bus in the process… And on more than a few occasions I used my words to shred someone else.. but, hey – we all do what we have to in order to survive.  Right?

 

I would like to tell you that I have never done anything stupid… I would like to tell you that I have never done anything to hurt someone else… I would like to tell you that I have never done anything that would have caused another person to sin… but I can’t.  I know the things I‘ve done.. I know my sin… and on occasion.. like waves piling up on the sea shore, the memory of my sins pile up… in those times there is guilt.. regret.. sadness.. and in those times I can wonder if God will have me… How is it that He could still love me.

 

A friend shared a song with me that Johnny Cash sang.  I haven’t listened to much of his music, but this one is haunting… It is a song about hurting

 

 

I hurt myself today,

To see if I still feel,

I focus on the pain,

The only thing that's real,

 

The needle tears a hole,

The old familiar sting,

Try to kill it all away,

But I remember everything,

 

I think he’s right… there are days when it all comes flooding back and we remember everything… the song continues…

 

What have I become,

My sweetest friend,

Everyone I know,

Goes away in the end,

 

And you could have it all,

My empire of dirt,

I will let you down,

I will make you hurt,

 

I will make you hurt… I know my nature… I know my innermost thoughts.. and I know that I have hurt others in the past.. and I know that I still have a very strong capacity to hurt even more…. Jesus says to us, “"If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea.”… It would be better for you to be drowned in the sea than hurt another… to drag them down with you.  On those days when my innermost thoughts begin to rage against me.. I don’t need anyone to hang a millstone around my neck.. I can accomplish that just fine on my own.  Think of our Psalm for today…

 

If the LORD had not been on our side, *

let Israel now say;

 

If the LORD had not been on our side, *

when enemies rose up against us; -- When all these memories of my past sins came piling up on the shore…

 

Then would they have swallowed us up alive * -- they would consume me ..

in their fierce anger toward us; .. toward me..

 

Then would the waters have overwhelmed us *

and the torrent gone over us; … and all that would remain of me would be a shell

 

Then would the raging waters *

have gone right over us. .. and dashed me against the rocks where I would be beaten to death as one wave of shame and regret after another picks me up and slams me into the rocks.

 

But somewhere.. in the midst of this battering.. I remember the first line of the Psalm… If the LORD had not been on our side… If the LORD had not been on MY side…. IF!.. which means, the LORD was and IS on my side… He is on OUR side… He is on YOUR side… To which we can then joyfully reply with the Psalmist… 

 

Blessed be the LORD! *

he has not given us over to be a prey for their teeth. 

 

We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowler; *

the snare is broken, and we have escaped. 

 

Our help is in the Name of the LORD, *

the maker of heaven and earth.

 

St. Paul writes to the Corinthians… “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

 

“Where, O death, is your victory?

   Where, O death, is your sting?”

 

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Our past hurts – sins against others – want to draw us down… throw us against the rocks and drown us… kill us…  but… they only have power over us – are you ready for this? – they only have power over us if we allow them to, because we have victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

You say, “But Fr. John, if you knew my sin, even you would have to say that they are too great to be forgiven!”… Believe me.. I can say the same thing to you… but let me ask you this.. .which of your sins was the cross of Christ not sufficient to cover?  I’m serious…  In our tradition we have the general confession which we say every Sunday, but we also have the Sacrament of Confession.. P. 447 of your Book of Common Prayer… You as the penitent say to the priest, “Bless me, for I have sinned.”… then the priest persons says something priesty, then you respond by saying, “I confess to Almighty God, to his Church and to you, that I have sinned by my own fault in thought, word and deed, in things done and left undone; especially {blank}.”.. and you as the penitent get to fill in the blank…. Lord, Lord.. can I tell you some of the things I’ve heard in confession, why just the other day ___ came in to see me… No!  I don’t and can’t tell anyone… anyhow.. the penitent fills in the blank.. and the priest gives absolutions and then says, “The Lord has put away all your sins {period}… not all your sins except {blank}.. but all your sins {period}… So, if the Lord has put away all your sins, then why are you still hanging on to them?  Sure, the millstone was place around your neck and you could have been dragged to the bottom of the ocean.. but.. the snare is broken, and you have escaped.

 

This week our adult spiritual education classes have reminded me of two things that good Christian people absolutely cannot and refuse to believe… Would you like to know those two things are?..  I’m gonna tell you anyways… One – Good Christian people cannot believe that God loves them – that’s just crazy talk there.  And two – Good Christian people cannot believe that God will forgive their sins… Everybody else’s, sure… but not theirs… and those two are linked… God can’t love ME, because he can’t forgive MY sins.  So again… I ask you, which of your sins is so grave that the Cross of Christ cannot absolve?... John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

 

Stop hanging the millstone around your own neck and receive the forgiveness that comes from God.. and know… KNOW.. that you are loved by Him.

 

Let us pray… Praised be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, he who in his great mercy gave us new birth, a birth unto hope which draws its life from the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead; a birth to an imperishable inheritance, incapable of fading or defilement, which is kept in heaven for us who are guarded with God's power through faith; a birth to a salvation which stands ready to be revealed in the last days. Amen.

 

Sermon: Proper 20 RCL B - "Leaders"

The podcast can be found here.

 

Mark 9:30-37

 

Jesus and his disciples went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again." But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.

 

Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the way?" But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all." Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me."

 

 

Proverbs 31… how to be the perfect wife.  OK ladies listen up!... I thought about preaching that for less than a half a second.. I realized I wanted to keep my job…  - this is mini sermon before the sermon, just think about it as the bonus material on a DVD.  Proverbs 31 does speak of a wife, but there is another way to read it… take just the first few verses… 

 

A capable wife who can find?

She is far more precious than jewels.

The heart of her husband trusts in her,

and he will have no lack of gain.

She does him good, and not harm,

all the days of her life.

 

I want you to take this one home, and for the word “wife” I want you to replace it with word “church”.. and for “husband” I want you to replace it with “Christ”… when you do… you find it reads something like this… 

 

A capable church who can find?

That church is far more precious than jewels.

The heart of Christ trusts in his church,

and he will have no lack of gain.

The church does him good, and not harm,

all the days of its life.

 

Take it home and read it like that and see what you can learn about the church and what it is actually supposed to be about… OK.. thus endeth the bonus material… 

 

So, are you sick of the campaign ads yet or are you intently watching them as well as the debates to try and figure out the best candidate for the job?  I must say that it is at this time of the campaign season that my “mute” button gets the most use.  Who is the best candidate… in my humble opinion it is the one who shuts up first.  I think that’s how I’ll decide this year.

 

A survey came out recently on selecting a candidate and three options were given -  Candidate A: Associates with crooked politicians, and consults with astrologists. He's had two mistresses. He also chain smokes and drinks quite a few martinis a day…. Candidate B: He was kicked out of office twice, sleeps until noon, used opium in college and drinks a great deal of whisky every evening…. Candidate C: He is a decorated war hero. He's a vegetarian, doesn't smoke, drinks an occasional beer and hasn't had any extramarital affairs…. Shall we have a vote?  Who is for candidate A, the smoking carouser?  B, sleepy drug user?  And C: Mr. Upstanding citizen?  Good choice!  Candidate A is Franklin D. Roosevelt, Candidate B is Winston Churchill, and Candidate C is Adolph Hitler.  Thanks for playing, you just elected yourself a dictator with a splash of psychopath thrown in for good measure!

 

We often decide on our leaders based on very limited information and most of the time we decide based on what they say about themselves… I promise to do this, that and the other, but I will never do that.  It all comes out in those annoying ads and debates.  Folks claiming why they should be elected leader…  In our gospel reading today, Peter and the gang were having that same discussion.

 

Jesus and the disciples had been passing through the region of Galilee.  Jesus had just told them that he was going to be killed, but the disciples did not understand, so I guess as they were walking down the road they let Jesus get a little ahead of them so that they could have a private conversation.  It was probably innocent enough, but seeing Jesus up there by himself, one of them may have said something to the effect of, “So, if he were to die, God forbid” and everyone crosses themselves, “but if he were to die, which one of us would be the leader of our little gang?”  And the argument ensued… Peter, “Look fellas, we know I’m number one here.  He trusts me.  He would want it to be me – you all know it.”… “Peter, you’ve always got such a big head.  I’m John.. I’m the youngest.. I can take this well into the century – heck, you’ll likely die of a heart attack the way you eat all those matzo balls.”… James, “Fellas, I am a natural leader.  You know it and he knows it.”… on and on they would go, each providing the other with all the information they will need in order to get elected as the next Grand Poobah.

 

When they arrive in Capernaum, Jesus asks them, “What were you arguing about back there on the road?”… Jesus knows the hearts of men.. and as devoted as they were, he knows the hearts of his disciples.  They are men.  They have dreams and aspirations… some honorable, some not so much.  Yet, when Jesus asked, the disciples’ hearts plummet, for in their arguing, they had ignored the fact that Jesus was going to die.  Here he has been talking about his death just a short time before.. and now, here we are arguing over who will replace him.

 

Yes, Jesus knows the hearts of men and he knew his disciples.. and in that instant, they also knew themselves.  After all the time that they had spent with him, they still didn’t get it.  They didn’t understand that Jesus was turning things upside down, making all things new.  They did not understand that the way of life and success had nothing to do with who has the most toys when they die.  For Jesus.. and what he wanted them to understand, was that the way of life and success was the way of the cross.  It wasn’t how strong and powerful you are.. it was about how much you were willing to give up and who you were willing to give it up for … to make this point, Jesus takes a little child..

 

You’ll remember, in the time of Jesus, a child was the most expendable of people.  They could not contribute to the wellbeing of the family.. they could not earn or work.. they ate and had to be taken care of.  And Jesus says, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all." Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me."

 

Jesus did not say, “You, Peter, will succeed me to the throne.”.. or “You, James, are the general.”… He takes a little child in his arms, one that is viewed as insignificant, worthless, in some since, unlovable… and declares to the disciples, this is who I choose to associate with.. this is who I choose to serve.. Jesus says, to be a leader, you must choose to love and serve the expendable.

 

In the following Chapter of Mark’s Gospel.. chapter 10.. Jesus says, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.  Not so with you.  Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

 

Here is a very hard question… very hard… but who would you die for?  We can always say, the Heath Bar Blizzard at DQ is “to die for.”… but in truth, it is not… but who is it that is of such great worth to you.. that you would literally die for them?.... What I am asking, who would you be willing to serve.. to love.. to the point of death?.... Jesus – taking a little expendable child in his arms says, “This is who… I am willing to die.”

 

St. Paul wrote to the Romans… “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die.  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”… Christ died for what many in the world considered “expendable”… he died for that one little child… and he died for us.

 

Jesus says, if you want to be great this is how you will serve.. how you will love… This is.. how much you will give of yourself… Please don’t leave here thinking.. Fr. John is going to ask us to drink some funny tasting Kool-Aid… I’m not asking you to do that at all.. Think of it in terms of Paul’s letter to the Galatians… “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”… that is how we – in the words of Peter – we, God’s “royal priesthood” are called to die.. that we might live to Him… Serve Him.. and are called to love Him and those He chose… it’s how we are to lead as God’s people..

 

I gave you have a homework assignment.. when I started.. I asked you to take home that reading from Proverbs and replace “wife” with “Church” and “husband” with “Christ”… I really want you to do that.. and when you do… I want you to consider what we might be as the Church if we were to be that kind of royal priesthood… a priesthood that says with Paul, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”.. because that is how we are called to be Christ’s One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church…

 

Let us Pray… Father of Mercy, forgive us our failings, keep us in Your Grace, and lead us in the way of salvation. Give us strength in serving You as followers of Christ. May the Eucharist bring us Your Forgiveness and give us freedom to serve You all our lives. May it help us to remain faithful and give us the grace we need in Your service.  May it teach us the way to eternal life.  Amen.

 

Sermon: Proper 19 RCL A - "Words"

The Podcast can be found here.

 

James 3:1-12

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits.

 

How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue-- a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.

  

 

I’m not sure if it works like this in every household, but in the morning when you are preparing for the day and the conversations are about “Whose on first” and all that.. inevitably the topic of dinner comes up... “What do you want for dinner?”  You have to get things out to thaw.  For the most part, that early in the morning, the answer that pops into my head is.. “coffee?,” but afterwards I give it a good think.  “Light and easy” is a good place to start, but every now and then the answer must be, “Red meat!”  Doesn’t really matter what kind of red meat as long as it is good and pink in the middle... a line from the movie “Cowboy Way”... “Knock its horns off, wipe its nasty ol’ behind, and chunk him on a plate.”  That’s the way I like ‘em.

 

About a month ago, Robyn asked me that question, “What do you want for dinner?”  It was one of those days and the answer was “Red meat.”  I knew which variety I wanted though, so I pulled out this delicious little steaks with the bacon wrapped around the outside (for the record, everything is better with bacon!)  We go about our day as usual.  Come home.. relax a bit.. and fire up the grill.  Dinner in about half an hour.

 

Now, I don’t mean to brag, but I can BBQ a steak.  I’ve got my preheat system down to a science.  Time everything.. and if they are thick I’ll even take their temperature before taking them off the grill so that they are just right.  So I go out, start the grill and let it preheat.  It gets up to about 550 and I ease back the burners.  Temperature is just a hair under 300 degrees when I throw the steaks on.  Put on the steaks.. timer 8 minutes.  They are on the thick side, so I’ll have to flip them more than once.  timer goes off, flip the steaks.  Another 8 minutes... but.. five minutes into it I notice a good bit of smoke coming off the grill.  Go out to check... flare up.. grab a bit of water come back out.. and it’s more than a flare up.  I’ve got flames coming out the back of the grill.  rush over look in the grill nothing - no flames.  open the bottom cabinet where the propane tank is... You know the tube that goes from the tank to the grill?  Well it was gone.. and the safety release valve on the propane tank is a blow torch.

 

In a moment of brilliance I reach in there to try and turn it off.  That didn’t work.. too hot to touch.  Run inside to grab - not a fire extinguisher, been meaning to get one of those for a while now - but I grab an oven mitt.  Run back out.. flames bigger.. reach in.. turn.. nothing happens... run back inside... less than a minute has passed.. and dial 911. . explain what’s happening.  The operator says, “so you have propane blowing from the tank.”.. “No ma’am.. I have fire blowing from the tank.”  Within two minutes the grill is totally engulfed in flames.  Flames are lapping up the side of the house to the second story.. 15 to 20 feet high.  Robyn helps the neighbor out of her house in case the tank explodes and I’m standing there waiting for the cavalry to arrive.  A few minutes later they do... four fire trucks and one ambulance.

 

After all was said and done, the firefighters told us that if we had had a one story brick house or a wooden house we would be homeless.  It was that bad.  Insurance adjuster says the temperature reached at least 1,000 degrees.  The garden nearby is toast from the heat.  The grill... parts of the grill were reduced to puddles.. puddles! of molten aluminum and plastic... All this because I spoke two words, “Red meat.”... Now, when Robyn asks me what I want for dinner... I often think, “A salad sounds good.”

 

Listen to the words of James again.. this is from The Message translation, “It only takes a spark, remember, to set a forest fire.  A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that.  By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony into chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell... This is scary.. he says.. You can tame a tiger, but you can’t tame a tongue--It’s never been done.  The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer.  With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image.  Curses and blessings out of the same mouth!... James concludes.. My friends, this can’t go on.

 

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.  The Word... God... with his breath he spoke all that you see into creation.  From sky and ocean.. the platypus and Polar Bear.. from you.. and me.  All these things he spoke.. and all these things were created.

 

For us.. sometimes words are just words with no significance.  We give directions or dictate the grocery list. We take care of business with words.. we order a double beef whopper with cheese, large fries and coke with words.

 

But at other times, our words like God’s, have the power to create as well... your words have the ability to create music.. poetry.. praise.  And with your words you can create life - one kind word from your lips can draw someone out of whatever abyss they were dying in.  You can create beauty with your words... Your words can create relationships.. they can create love between two people.  And with words we can destroy it all... A single word spoken harshly, “Bitch!”.. Or a string of them, “Look what you’ve done you worthless pig!”... You can tear someone down with those kinds of words, and if used frequently enough you can break their soul.

 

Other times we are not so overt.. we fly just below the radar and instead of destroying everything at once, we take it out one chink at a time, but the result is the same... “You fixed that for dinner?” ... “What were you thinking?” ... “If that’s the best you can do.”..

 

And still there are other times we go through the back door... “Did you hear what Fr. John did?”... “I guess she thinks she looks cute wearing that.”... With a word you can create.. and with a word you can destroy.

 

It’s one of those points that I argue with my good friend Thomas a Kempis on... He says that if someone says something evil of you, then not only should you believe what they say, but even think far worse of yourself... “You’re a jerk!”.. “Well yes I am and thanks for noticing, but if you really knew me you would call me much worse.”... but I think what he has in mind is if someone calls you a “Sinner”.. to which I am always confident in responding, “If you only knew.”

 

However, I’m willing to wager that 99.9% of the time, when we say something critical, it’s not designed to cause the other person to reflect and repent, but is instead designed to destroy... to set things on fire.  Why?... often, the answer is actually quite simple... it is so that we can take the focus off ourselves.  If I spend all my time pointing at you and discoursing all your faults, then I don’t have to look at myself and all my faults... King David wrote in the Psalms, “I know my sins and my transgressions are ever before me.”... but, instead of responding in similar humility, we respond by saying, “Well, David, I know your sins and they are ever before me as well.  May I enumerate?” 

 

In our Gospel, Jesus said, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”... From that we end up saying of every trial in our lives, “This is my cross to bear.”... I hate my job, but it’s my cross to bear... I’m sick, but it’s my cross to bear... I have all this responsibility, but it’s my cross to bear.... Well, this may sound extremely harsh, but the cross you have to bear is the one you carry for yourself... it’s you.  It is the cross that you must be crucified upon so that you might die and rise to new life in Christ Jesus.... Yet we would willingly burn the world down around us with our words - destroying others - rather than to destroy our old selves, so that we might have a resurrected life in Him... In the words of James, “My friends, this can’t go on.”

 

It takes a great deal of strength and humility to turn our critical tongues away from the world and direct them at ourselves; however, when we do, the result is not molten piles of ego and scorched flesh.  The result is grace - grace from God that is not only received by you, but passed on to others.  The result is joy - joy in knowing that you are loved by God, not because of who you THINK you are, but because of who you ARE.  The result is freedom - Freedom to love the Lord your God with all your heart, body, mind and soul and freedom to love your neighbor as yourself.

 

Jesus said, “Take up your cross and follow me”… Take up YOUR cross.. not someone else’s.. Take up your cross, and follow Him.

 

Let us pray... O God, send forth your Holy Spirit into our hearts that we may perceive... into our minds that we may remember... and into our souls that we may meditate.  Inspire us to speak with piety, holiness, tenderness and mercy.  Teach, guide and direct our thoughts and senses from beginning to end.  May your grace ever help and correct us, and may we be strengthened now with wisdom from on high, for the sake of your infinite mercy.  Amen.

September 2012 SJARM Newsletter

Sermon: Proper 18 RCL B - "Ephphatha... Be open."

The Podcast can be found here.

Mark 7:24-37

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

 

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

 

 

I want to thank you all for your kind words and prayers for the passing of my Granma.  She was a 101 years old.  There were many wonderful stories told, but the one that always makes me smile I will share with you – I hope you don’t mind – After my Papa died, she had to make a living somehow, so she started making pies for restaurants… We’re talking thirty to forty pies every day, crust and all handmade from scratch – and as Po Melvin in Dallas says when advertising his restaurant, her pie was “ so good it’ll make you want to slap your mama!”… She would get up at O’dark thirty to make them, load them up in the car before sunrise and make her deliveries.  I guess, one time as she was loading up the car she had to make several trips back into the house, but she eventually gets them all loaded and heads to her first stop.  Along the way she feels something brush up against the back of her legs.  It startled her, but she didn’t worry.. figured it was one of the cats that lived around the house, so she gives it a push with her foot to get it out from under her so that it wouldn’t get caught up in the gas or break pedals.  When she arrives at her first drop off, she gets out, opens the back door for the pies and to see who the stowaway is… turns out… it’s not a cat… It’s a skunk.  I’m thinking she must have had a pretty bad head cold that day not to smell it, but to take it for a ride, kick it around a bit and not get herself sprayed is a bit of miracle in my book.  The way I see it.. the Devil himself knew better than to mess with Janie Toles and I figure that skunk was taking his lead from the Devil that day.

 

 

I do honestly believe that the Devil was deeply afraid of Janie Toles… If she had been Roman Catholic she would have already surpassed Pope John Paul II on the road to canonization.  She was Church of God.. never wore make-up, a pair of pants and I’m fairly certain that she never cut her hair.  For many, that is a very legalistic approach to Christianity… following rules that you think you are supposed to in order to receive salvation – many think that way – but there was quite the difference in my Granma following those rules set out by her church.  She followed them not to impress or to earn something, instead she followed them because that was who she was.. it was a part of her as much as breathing.  And instead of following them to impress those around her like the Pharisees and all their laws had done in the time of Jesus, she followed them because she believed they honored God and brought glory to Him.

 

I may have told you this in the past, but both my grandfather and my great-grandfather were Church of God ministers… and they are probably wondering right now how I could have fallen so far from the promise land by being an Episcopalian, but truthfully, I don’t think they would have minded because for them and for folks like my Granma, it really has never been about flavor.. or variety in their life with Christ – it simply came down to a life with Christ and recognizing in Him, God and the salvation we receive through Him.  Not only that, the reason they lived such lives was not so that they could isolate themselves away from the rest of the world, but so that they could be a witness in the world of God’s grace.  After my ordination to the priesthood, my Granma told me that when I was about four that my Papa and I had been sitting on the front porch sharing a Coke.. when we came in.. my Granma says that my Papa put his hand on my head and said, “He’s going to be my little preacher.”  A bit prophetic if you ask me and my Granma didn’t tell until after I was ordained in order to let God’s plan unfold as opposed to me trying to fulfill it on my own.

 

In my family – and I’ll stop talking about myself here in just a second – but in my family our Christian faith is not something that is picked up from one generation to the next as each person discovers or doesn’t discover their relationship to Christ… Many today say that they are going to let their kids grow up and come to their own understanding of God.  I don’t think that’s right.  I think parents have an obligation to bring them up in the faith… but in my family, our Christian identity is part of our heritage.. our legacy.  Janie Toles sold a lot of pies, but in the end she had very little, but by passing on that heritage of faith to her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and even great-great grandchildren, she passed along something that this world cannot give… she passed along life eternal through Christ Jesus our Lord.  There is no greater inheritance.  Never has been.. never will be.. than the knowledge and love of the Lord.

 

And it is this knowledge and love of the Lord that has been passed on to me that I’m so passionate about passing on to others.. and it is what struck me as I was reading through our lessons today.  As always, there is so much depth.. so many lessons, but I was struck by just a few lines from our Gospel today and could go no further… 

 

Jesus has performed the miracle of raising Syrophoenician woman’s daughter.  Then he goes into the Decapolis.  He is looking for some time away, but the people find him.  They bring to him a man, a deaf mute to heal.  Scripture then says that Jesus, “Took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue.  Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, ‘Ephphatha,’ that is ‘Be opened.’”

 

Jesus took the man aside.. away from everyone else.. and spoke, “Ephphatha.. be open.”… be open to God and His healing grace.  When he was healed.. the man went away praising God, sharing all that Jesus had done for him.  His faith was no longer between him and Jesus.  His faith was not a singular event in time that had a beginning or ending.  His faith became a part of his being.. of his heritage and legacy… and it was an inheritance that – like my Granma who followed her rules not to impress or cry to the world “look at me and how special I am.”… It was an inheritance that he HAD to pass along to others so that he might bring glory to God.. and so that others could and would do the same.

 

This was the Syrophoenician woman’s inheritance that she passed on… it was the deaf mute’s inheritance.. it was my Granma’s.. mine… and it is yours.  Yours.

 

We are often amazed at the miracles of Jesus… the water into wine.. the walking on the water.. the healings.. and feedings… We are amazed at the power he held in his hands, his ability to speak a single word, “Ephphatha” and the grace of God flows from Him… but here is another of Jesus’ miracles that is just as awesome… that power to dispense the grace of God.. that power he held in his hands… that same power.. grace.. those same miracles are in your hands as well… it is your inheritance from God Himself.

 

You have the power to go into a lost and broken world… into a single life that is shattered and slipping away, to reach out your hand and speak that word, “Ephphatha.. Be open”… be open to the Word of God and live life eternal…. Not everyone is a missionary or an evangelist, but we all have this Word of God within us – Jesus prayed, “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me.  I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”  Not everyone is a missionary or an evangelist, but we all have this Word of God – Christ – within us.. but he is in us, not to sit there like a lump of coal at the bottom of the barrel.. he is in us so that we might shine forth our inheritance… that we may shine forth his glory and grace to a world that walks in the valley of the shadow of death, so that they too might also have life eternal…

 

Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”  Jesus says.. go into the world and speak to those you encounter that Word of life.. speak “Ephphatha.. be open”… Be opened to God… This is your inheritance.. it is your commission from God.  Granma Toles and many others have fulfilled that commission so that we may have life eternal… it is now ours.. our inheritance to pass along.

 

Let us pray… O Virgin Mary, Help of Christians, we dedicate ourselves to your service.  We concentrate our minds, hearts, and bodies and promise to work always for the glory of God and the salvation of man.  Protect the young and help the aged, save sinners and console the dying.  You are our hope, Mary, Mother of Mercy and Gate of Heaven.  Pray to your Son for us so that we may be filled with selfless charity and deep faith.  Ask Jesus for those things which we cannot obtain through our own actions and help us in this our present necessity.  May we always see the Will of the Father in our lives.  We ask you this, sweet Spouse of the Spirit, so that we may come to your Son in Grace.  Amen.