Gospel for the Gerasenes

Sermon for the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 7

22 June 2013
Year C

 

On the morning I was going to be ordained my younger brother left this post on my facebook page:

Disappointed and concerned… my brother is being ordained today… he has no exorcism training… no anti-vampire or werewolf training. You can forget Zombie apocalypse training… Looks like I’ll be on point today identifying potential ‘Daywalker threats’!!!

Now to be sure he did end his post with “…In all seriousness though, I’m proud of you Steve.” He was joking. But he raises a good question, how does one know if they are ready for ministry? So when Father Mark asked if I’d like to preach today, on stories full of demons, I was glad for the opportunity to reflect on this question. In response I would like us to consider together three corresponding points. First, we need a strong foundation that readies us for action, second, we need to remember that ministry is a community effort, and third, our communities are called to be about kingdom work. First we will discuss our need of a strong foundation that readies us for action.

This is made clear in the Collect for today (a collect is a prayer that helps gather the people of God together):

O LORD, make us have perpetual love and reverence for your holy Name, for you never fail to help and govern those whom you have set upon the sure foundation of your loving-kindness; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

It is a simple truth but one that can evade us. “… you never fail to help and govern those whom you have set upon the sure foundation of your loving-kindness.” What is our foundation? We are set upon the sure foundation of God’s loving-kindness in Christ Jesus. In fact, Jesus is the loving-kindness of God in action. How is Jesus Christ our foundation and how are we readied for ministry? You are probably familiar with this great hymn of the Church:

The Church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord, she is His new creation by water and the Word. - Words by Samuel J. Stone, Music by Samuel S. Wesley

 

Jesus is made our sure foundation through belief in Jesus as the incarnate Word of God and through the waters of baptism. In baptism we are made members of Christ’s Body, the community of all faithful believers, and gifted by the Holy Spirit for ministry.

 Next, it is important to remember that ministry is a community effort. In the first reading, we hear about Elijah and some of the troubles he was facing. He had committed murder and rightly fears for his life. He pulls, what some would term, a ‘geographic’, thinking that he can leave his troubles behind. Unfortunately, our troubles have a tendency of following us. Eventually, we have to face them. Facing our difficulties can be made easier if we are part of a community.

Perhaps some of Elijah’s problems were due to his poor mental state. It is important for the Church to talk about mental health issues from time to time and help reduce the stigma and fear often associated with mental illness. Was Elijah suffering from severe depression or some other kind of mental distress or illness? The following early warning signs of mental illness are combined with what the text tells us about Elijah’s behavior and feelings:

·      Eating or sleeping too much or too little – Elijah had trouble sleeping under the broom tree, after the messenger brought him food he went back to sleep again; then he went without food for 40 days.

·      Pulling away from people and usual activities – he left the city, everyone he knew, and isolated in the wilderness.

·      Feeling numb or like nothing matters – Elijah wanted to die, saying, “It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.”

·      Having persistent thoughts and memories you can’t get out of your head – Elijah replayed the same tape in his head over and over again, he could not think of anything else.

·         Feeling helpless or hopeless – Elijah saw no solution to his problems. He felt abandoned.

 

Nb. Information gathered from Health and Human Services new website on mental health - MentalHealth.gov

 God did not abandon Elijah, but appeared to him in the sheer silence. Elijah was given a job to do for the good of the people and his own good. He later returns and anoints new and better King’s over Israel and Aram. He found a companion to share in his work and eventually to take up his mantle of leadership after he was gone. He learned that he was not alone. He learned that ministry is a community effort. He found improved mental health through connecting with others and helping others build up the kingdom.

We are also called to participate in building up of the kingdom. It is God’s desire that we live an abundant life, one of health and wholeness, which is what the Hebrew’s called shalom. Yet we know people that are troubled by demons, past trauma or abuse, face biological factors, or have a family history of mental health problems. The Gospel story is about healing and mental health.

Mark Allan Powell’s book, Introducing the New Testament, helps place stories about demons in perspective. Powell states, “Healing stories overlap considerably with accounts of exorcism. In the Bible, possession by an evil spirit does not cause a person to become sinful or immoral; rather, it causes the person to become blind or deaf, to have seizures or be crippled, or to experience some other sort of physical or emotional distress.”

There was a man who once lived in the city among family, friends, and neighbors. How he came to be plagued by demons we are not told. What we do know is that his poor mental health caused him to live in isolation. He became homeless. He may even have tried to hurt himself. He feared God was against him. When asked his name all he could talk about was the legion of problems in which he felt trapped.

Jesus healed him. The word Luke uses here for healing can also mean “salvation.” Healing is a sign of God’s salvation. Salvation is at the heart of Luke’s Gospel. After meeting Jesus the man was restored – to relationship with God, with himself, and with his community. Even though some in his community were a little uncomfortable with someone who had been plagued by mental health problems, Jesus asked him to return home. Now clothed in his right mind he was filled with gratitude and told everyone who would listen about what Jesus had done for him.

          Both Elijah and the man from the country of the Gerasenes had their share of problems. God’s loving-kindness served as their foundation. In community they found an end to their isolation. They found companionship. They found greater peace. They were asked to participate in the building up of the kingdom. May we also find our home, our foundation in God’s loving-kindness, and answer God’s call to participate in the building up of the kingdom, for our own good and the good of all people.

Video: The Gospel of Intolerance

The Gospel of Intolerance by filmmaker Ross Williams is an inside look into the connection between US conservatives and the deadly anti-gay bill before parliament.

The Twelfth Day of Christmas and Soteriology

In seminary we learn a lot of big words and confounding concepts. One of which is soteriology. It is more or less the study of what Christ's atonement means for humanity. Now we are stuck with another big word - atonement. Atonement, at least according to The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, has to do with "man's reconciliation with God through the sacrificial death of Christ." Though there are many theories of atonement, one stands out at this time of year, Christmastide, and shines light on what the presence of God among us means - Emmanuel!

One of my friends in seminary was trying to explain to me something about Relational Atonement. I'm pretty thick when it comes to theology and though I did not fully appreciate it at the time it did make an impression. Relational Atonement speaks of God sending his only son, Jesus Christ, to share, not only our experience as humans, but to take on our human nature. By taking on our nature, he has effected a change in human nature, and has brought our nature into communication/union with God. This idea was held by St. Athanasius and many theologians of the Eastern Orthodox tradition. Athanasius held that Jesus became man that we might be made divine (De Inc. 54). This divinization, enabled by God in Jesus Christ, focuses less on theories of satisfaction and substitution, and more on the incarnation. It is the nature of God that saves us! We are mystically embraced in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Relationship is restored with our heavenly Father. 

Another eastern theologian, St. Chrysostom, wrote a poem for Christmas that echoes this approach. I love this poem because it focuses on the mystery of atonement. The last two lines, "Because God is now on earth, and man in heaven; on every side all things commingle." also speak of the effect of the Babe of Bethlehem's presence among us. These are truly days of wonder and hope for all peoples!

God on Earth

Truly wondrous is the whole chronicle of the nativity.

For this day the ancient slavery is ended,

the devil confounded,

the demons take to flight,

the power of death is broken.

For this day paradise is unlocked,

the curse is taken away,

sin is removed,

error driven out,

truth has been brought back,

the speech of kindliness diffused

and spread on every side--

a heavenly way of life

has been implanted on the earth,

angels communicate with us

without fear.



Why is this?

Because God is now on earth,

and man in heaven;

on every side all things commingle.

Sermon for Advent IV - St. Thomas the Apostle

The Work of Christmas by Howard Thurman

When the song of the angels is stilled,

When the star in the sky is gone,

When the kings and princes are home,

When the shepherds are back with their flocks,


The work of Christmas begins:



To find the lost,

To heal the broken,

To feed the hungry,

To release the prisoner,

To rebuild the nations,

To bring peace among people,

To make music in the heart.



Source: The Mood of Christmas; by way of Church of Our Saviour, D. C.

My Iconography Class Project 2012

This project was conceived as an aid to meditation and reflection for a parish retreat during the season of Lent. The "icon" is revealed during the description of the image and a short reflection may follow. This may be a conversation or may be privately journaled.

Understanding Iconography: The “Veronica”
 

              The Gospels are full of stories of people wanting to see Jesus. Everyone from shepherds watching their flocks to wise men from the East, prophets, such as Simeon and Anna, Zacchaeus, the tree climbing tax collector, the sick, the lame, the hemorrhaging woman, crowds on mountain tops, people in the plains, multitudes in the dessert, wanted to see this Jesus from Nazareth. Even after his death we are told he appeared to crowds until he was taken up into heaven. Early “followers of the way” gathered around those who had known Jesus, house churches met to remember Jesus in special meals, and new disciples corresponded with old disciples for instruction in the faith. Gospels were written to preserve important moments of Jesus life and teaching. Christians began visiting important locations associated with Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection and anamnestic liturgies were created to help Christians enter into the Paschal mystery. As reverence for these holy places grew there was an equal interest and veneration of objects made sacred through contact with Jesus.

The most important object or relic was that of the True Cross (or fragments of it) discovered by St. Helena during her pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 326. Relics of Jesus life and passion also drew attention and included his umbilical cord, supposed crib, the holy chalice, nails from the cross, the crown of thorns, the spear that pierced his side, among others. Whether or not these sacred objects and legends are “true” or not does not diminish their hold  on our imagination and the powerful truths they represent.

Another source of veneration were the Acheiropoieta. These images, usually of Jesus or the Virgin Mary, were considered of miraculous origin and not made by human hands. Examples include the Mandylion (towel), revered in the Eastern Church, and in the West, the Veil of Veronica and the Shroud of Turin. Another example of acheiropoieton would be Juan Diego’s tilma cloak with the image of the Virgin Mary. These images continue to be regarded as powerful relics as well as icons.

One of the ways to see Jesus is found in the Veil of Veronica or Sudarium (Latin for “sweat-cloth”). Veronica in Greek means "true icon" or "true image." Her story recounts an encounter with Jesus carrying his cross. She wipes the sweat off his face with her veil and the image of Jesus’ face is miraculously imprinted on the cloth. The event is memorialized by one of the Stations of the Cross. According to legend, Veronica later traveled to Rome to present the cloth to the Roman Emperor Tiberius. The veil is reported to have miraculous properties, being able to quench thirst, restore sight, and even raise the dead.

 ----- Reveal "The Veronica" -----

The veil was eventually translated to St. Peter's and publically displayed during the first Jubilee in 1300. The Veronica became one of the "Mirabilia Urbis" ("wonders of the City") for the pilgrims who visited Rome. For the next two hundred years the Veronica, retained at Old St Peter's, was considered one of the most precious of all Christian relics. A Spanish visitor in 1436, Pedro Tafur, wrote:

On the right hand is a pillar as high as a small tower, and in it is the holy Veronica. When it is to be exhibited an opening is made in the roof of the church and a wooden chest or cradle is let down, in which are two clerics, and when they have descended, the chest or cradle is drawn up, and they, with the greatest reverence, take out the Veronica and show it to the people, who make concourse there upon the appointed day. It happens often that the worshippers are in danger of their lives, so many are they and so great is the press.

 Some believe the image was destroyed during the Sack of Rome in 1527. Artistic reproductions of the image, though popular, were prohibited by Pope Paul V in 1616, and, in 1629, Pope Urban VIII not only prohibited reproductions of the Veronica, but also ordered the destruction of all existing copies. This has led to speculation that the Veronica was “misplaced” or stolen from the Basilica.

The Veronica housed in St Peter’s Basilica is still displayed each year on the 5th Sunday of Lent, Passion Sunday. After the 5:00 pm Vespers the Veronica is carried in procession, accompanied by the Roman litany, and displayed on the balcony above the statue of St. Veronica holding the veil. No image is discernible from that distance but "a square piece of light coloured material, somewhat faded through age, which bear two faint rust-brown stains” in a gilded frame.

The Veronica appears as a religious Rorschach test and reveals more of the observer than what is displayed. It is like looking in a mirror, dimly, and squinting your eyes this way and that, in order to see the face of God. We learn from the first chapter of Genesis that humankind is created in the image of God. In Baptism we are joined to the body of Christ and, in some mystical way, we are imprinted with the image of Jesus. Christian ministry, according to the Catechism, “is to represent Christ and his Church; to bear witness” to a broken world of God’s love.

 The crowds that gather under the image trying to get a glimpse of Jesus echo the effort of now over two millennia. They ask, “Show us Jesus.” Perhaps, as we strive to see Jesus, we will see our own reflection in the glass, and, with incarnational wonder and grace, see in our own face, however dimly, and in the faces of those around us, the image of God! For Saint Teresa of Avila once said, "Christ has no body on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ's compassion for the world is to look out; yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good; and yours are the hands with which He is to bless us now." I believe we can respond to those asking to see Jesus by looking in their faces and respond to their inherent divinity. This sacred Triduum I encourage you to keep in mind Jesus’ exhortation, found in the 25^th Chapter of Matthew:

Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’

 

Jesus goes on to say, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”  In the words of an old song, “They will know we are Christians by our love, by our love, yes they will know we are Christians by our love.”

 

Questions for reflection:

 

1.      What do you see? How are Icons widows? What are the reflections/mirrors that are helpful in our own lives?

 

2.      Are you disappointed in what you see?

a.      How are we like/unlike questioning Thomas who said, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger I the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe”?

b.      How are we like/unlike Paul who, though his eyes were open, he could see nothing? Paul writes later, “I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called and apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.”

3.      How do we as a community see and experience Jesus?



 

 

Sermon for 14 October 2012 | Church of the Messiah, Santa Ana, CA

Readings: Amos 5:6-7, 10-15  Psalm 90:12-17  Hebrews 4:12-16  Mark 10:17-31
 

               The Gospel of Mark is in a hurry. A young man is in a hurry to find out how to inherit eternal life. This young person asks, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” When you are young you want everything right away. You want answers. Yet, for us, this passage calls on us to pause and answer some important questions.  

The meeting between Christ and the young person begins very promising. The fact that this person runs up to Christ shows humility; he wasn’t carried on a litter, he didn’t sent for Christ, he didn’t ask for a private conference at night, like Nicodemus. The young man ran. Running shows a longing to be in conversation with Christ. He came to Jesus and knelt down – showing respect for Jesus’ reputation as a great teacher. He wanted to learn from him. He was serious and sincere Pharisee who believed in eternal life. He was a devout observer of the Torah. Though he regularly attended religious services and knew when to sit, stand, kneel, and give the right responses, Jesus called him to something deeper.    

 Jesus, asks the young person to answer his question. Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.” These verses have caused some considerable trouble. Over the centuries scholars have tried to answer Jesus’ question. One scholar claims that Jesus was using a rhetorical device in asking “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.” The emphasis is on goodness. Jesus is not questioning his own goodness. He is agreeing that He is good, bringing attention to the fact that goodness comes from God. Jesus is God’s representative. Therefore, Jesus is good because he comes from God - He is light from light, true God from true God.

Another scholar claims that, since Jesus was fully human and fully divine, perhaps he was still wrestling with the idea of his divinity. Jesus slowly developed an understanding of who he was over time. Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, explains that though Jesus was in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited and instead humbled – emptying himself by incarnation – taking the form of a servant.

There is a third way to look at this passage. Both of the first two scholars read the passage emphasizing the word “good”, “Why do you call me good?” What would happen if we emphasized the word “you”, “Why do you call me good?”

Just a few chapters earlier, Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”  The answers were all over the place until Peter, repeating what he heard other people say, was asked by Jesus, “Who do you say that I am?” It didn’t matter what others thought about Jesus. Jesus asked Peter to make up his own mind. Now put both questions together: "Who do you say that I am?" and "Why do you call me good?" Jesus invites the young person into a deeper relationship.

Now let’s take a closer look at the young person’s question about eternal life. The young person did not ask, “How do I inherit eternal life?” but “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” This should be making your inner Protestant jump up and down. We know that there is nothing we can do, in and of ourselves, to merit eternal life. We are saved by faith.

Jesus knew that the young person was just beginning to understand what it means to love God and love God’s people. The young person tells Jesus that he have tried to be nice to everyone. Jesus does not comment on the truthfulness of this claim, but instead points out a flaw in the young person’s reasoning. Being nice isn’t the point. Loving God and loving your neighbor involves right relationship. Right relationship with our neighbors, especially with the poor, requires a right relationship with money.

Jesus asks the young person to examine his relationship with money. Our relationship with money is telling. Giving money doesn’t save us or make us merit heaven, but living sacrificially helps us learn to value rightly. Our money claims that we trust in God. Each coin and bill clearly states “In God we trust”, but many of us are caught up in what money can buy - our wants and our desires for material comfort.  Jesus includes the command not to defraud our neighbor. We are commanded not to seek to own welfare in any way that lessens the welfare of another. Justice requires us not to advance or enrich ourselves by doing wrong or injury to any other. Valuing money above relationships is idolatry. Living into the kingdom of God is hard for people. 

Jesus tells us it is hard for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom. Jesus goes on to say that “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone to enter the kingdom of God.” This is an incredible statement. Most of us have heard it before, but do we know what it means.

There is a medieval legend that the “eye of the needle” refers to a gate in Jerusalem where a camel could not pass unless it stooped and first had all its baggage first removed. After dark, when the main gates were shut, travelers and merchants had to use this smaller gate. The camel could only enter with its pack taken off and crawling on its knees!

This became a great metaphor for sermons on stewardship – pointing out the need of coming to God on our knees without all our baggage. Unfortunately there is no evidence to support this story.

There are other explanations to the problem of getting through the “eye of a needle” but I think that we are working too hard. What if we are not meant to reason away the apparent difficulty of getting a camel through the eye of a needle? Remember when Jesus spoke about trying to take a speck out of someone’s eye when you have a whole tree growing out of your own? Jesus is making an exaggerated statement to point out that it is impossible to “do” something to get into heaven.

Many people believed, and still believe, that wealth and prosperity was a sign of God's blessing - being poor means that you are lazy and somehow undeserving. Imagine how surprised they were at the idea that being rich did not mean that you were more righteous any more than being poor or sick or even unemployed means that you necessarily did something wrong.

Some Christians have used this story to point out that wealth itself is evil and therefore the wealthy are bad and the poor are good. This is a false dichotomy. The truth is that salvation is made impossible through our own efforts. There is nothing we can do to deserve it.  

The good news is that what seems impossible for us is possible with God. God only needs us to open up a crack for the Spirit to enter.  Even the tiny opening in the eye of a needle is big enough for God. God, who created heaven and earth, all living things, including camels, wants us to deepen our relationships.  

Jesus asked the young person to take ownership of their faith and trust in God. Mark wrote this Gospel in order to draw us into the most important conversation ever held.

Jesus is asking us “Why do you call me good?” and by doing so invites us into a deep conversation about our relationships. Jesus wants us to value people over possessions and examine our relationship with money. Bowing your knee to Jesus the great Teacher is only a good beginning. You are also invited to bow your pocket book to the needs around you. Bring your relationships, all your relationships, before the throne of grace and into the light of the Gospel. Entrust them to God; for with God all things are possible.