The Fifth Sunday After Pentecost ----- 24 June 2018

Job 38:1-11

The Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind:

"Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?

Gird up your loins like a man,
I will question you, and you shall declare to me.

"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.

Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?

On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone

when the morning stars sang together
and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy?

"Or who shut in the sea with doors
when it burst out from the womb?—

when I made the clouds its garment,
and thick darkness its swaddling band,

and prescribed bounds for it,
and set bars and doors,

and said, 'Thus far shall you come, and no farther,
and here shall your proud waves be stopped'?"

Mark 4:35-41

When evening had come, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

·       If you’ve ever wondered about the choices of readings that are read at the Sunday worship service, here’s a clue. The first reading and the Gospel reading are usually on the same theme or share something similar, whether it is theme, message, or wording.

·       In the reading from Job, the Lord comes to answer Job’s complaints and speaks out of a whirlwind. In the reading from the Gospel of Mark, Jesus calms a terrible whirlwind on the Sea of Galilee with a simple word of command. It is the setting – the storm with the presence of God – that is the similarity.

·       We know the story of Job. A just man, a man without sin is afflicted with loss of family, property, and livelihood as a test. The reason for this book is something for a later date or a Bible study. For most of the story, he argues with three friends who assume Job is being punished for sins. Job holds to his innocence and in the end, demands that God face him as if they were in court. God appears in a whirlwind and basically asks “Who do you think you are, Job?” The translation we use catches the Hebrew well – “Who is this…?” If we were to read this to the end of the book, we’d see that Job ends up without answers and is faced with nothing less than the mystery of God.

·       In the Gospel, a storm come up as Jesus and his disciples are crossing the Sea of Galilee in a few small boats. The disciples (who are fishermen for the most part, remember, and should be used to that body of water) feel they are going to sink and ask Jesus if he cares whether they live or die.

·       If you’ve ever been caught outside in a tremendous storm, you understand the fear and the terror the disciples endured. It is that terror that is the hinge of the entire reading.

·       The disciples are made even more fearful by Jesus’ command that calms the storm. Our reading says they were filled with great awe, a phrase that doesn’t quite express what they felt. The original says they were nothing less than terrified! (They feared a great fear.)The teacher they thought they knew has shown himself to be far, far more than they imagined. Jesus has done the unexpected, not just healing the sick or exorcising demons, but calming the fury of a tremendous storm with a word. The disciples are terrified not only because of the action, but because they are faced with someone they realize they really don’t know.

·       These two readings place us in the middle of the mystery of God at work in the world. The book of Job tells us of our littleness in the face of the greatness of God, who asks Job "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” We are also faced with the mystery of God’s ultimate will and purpose for the actions within the created universe. Like Job, we don’t know such things as the pillars of the world or the working of the mysterious oceans. We only know that they are there.

·       Jesus’ stilling of the storm shows his power over creation to an extent that is not shown in the healings and exorcisms the disciples have seen. A saint or a person blessed by God could possibly do those things, but stilling a storm… that’s beyond what even a saint could do. So to be in the presence of this person who exhibits such divine power would be mysterious and terrifying. The disciples asked one another “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

·       We then are left with the lesson of Job that God is beyond our understanding and the Gospel message that in Jesus such power is with us and around us, not in the storm or the whirlwind but in the words and the person of Jesus. He is God-with-us, mystery and all.

·       Will we know terror? In the face of the greatest of all mysteries, it’s possible. We can remember though, that all revelations in the Gospels begin with the words “Do not be afraid.”

And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost --- 17 June 2018

Mark 4:26-34

{Jesus said}, "The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come." He also said, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade." With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed…

·       I imagine you’ve all seen those reedy and ragged-looking plants along the roads; the ones that fill in the ditches – not quite cat-tails. They are called “common reeds” or “phragmites.” The authorities call them an “invasive species” which chokes out the native plant-life and takes over. They seem to have no real purpose but to grow. I’ve secretly hoped that these plant would be processed into a cure for cancer or into clean, renewable fuel for vehicles, but I’m a romantic and a dreamer and a reader of science fiction.

·       So, what we have here is an example of plants that “just grow” and one we’re familiar with. We don’t know how they get there. It’s almost as if we look away for a second and *poof* there they are! All grown up and clogging up the drainage ditches. With that in mind, the parables in our Gospel reading today could be something we could all relate to.

·       Jesus is talking about a mustard seed, which grows into a plant that is not an invasive species and actually has a number of uses, both medicinal and food-related. However the mustard plant can grow just about anywhere and can be carried on the wind or the clothing of passers-by. It is hard to catch as it grows and harder still to eradicate once its taken root. This growing plant is not confined to only certain places, but it grows where-ever it wills. Jesus says it becomes a very large shrub, providing shelter for birds and possibly other animals. This might be an exaggeration, but it makes sense in the parable.

·       What Jesus is telling the disciples and the crowd that the reign of God can appear and grow where it is least expected. What it looks like and what it can do will be unexpected as well. In Jesus’ time, the people expected a political Messiah who would run the Romans out of Judea and establish a grand kingdom, bigger and better than that of Soloman. A rabbi who turned all things on their head was not expected. A man who proclaimed himself and showed himself to be the Son of God was not expected, especially since he was seen as poor and homeless and he spent his time with sinners rather than the righteous ones.

·       The unexpected and often unlooked for nature of the growth of the reign of God will have things to say about every aspect of human life.

·       It will be political while not being partisan. By that I mean, political as in the way we live and how we govern ourselves without kneeling to one party or another. The reign of God has lots to say about that.

·       It will be down-to-earth in that living the life of a disciple of Christ will involve where our money goes, how we spend our time and talent, and ultimately what we dedicate our lives to. In short, the reign of God will affect our personal economies and in that, the wider economy. Some have said that there cannot be an economically neutral Gospel.

·       The reign of God will be quite personal. It will have to be embodied in relationships and in existence itself. It is not a theory or an idea; it is a practiced reality.

·       The reign of God will not be ultimately hidden if we know where to look. As Jesus took on the flesh of our earthly existence and lived his earthly life in a way almost any of us might, so the reign of God that he proclaimed will be seen in the lives of the disciples of Christ.

·       In truth, there will be times when that reign will look like it has failed and there will be times where it looks like it has been warped and used for the purposes of the powerful, but this will not last. We can trust in the power of the Holy Spirit with the people of God to see to that.

·       The sign of this is the same sign we’ve received for everything else about the reign of God and the presence of God in the life of the world.

·       It is simply this: There is no gospel in which Jesus remains buried in the ground like a dormant seed. His Resurrection reaches every aspect of our lives, as individual and as a community. His Resurrection has washed over us and from him we draw our strength.

·       Like those weird weeds we see in the ditches (only better!) we don’t know where the reign of God comes from and we don’t know how it grows, but grow it does and it will continue to grow. Like the tiny mustard seed with all its uses and the sheltering shrub that it grows into, there we will find our shelter.

With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed…

The Third Sunday after Pentecost ----- 10 June 2018

Mark 3:20--35

 [Jesus} went home; and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, "He has gone out of his mind." And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons." And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, "How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered. "Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin"— for they had said, "He has an unclean spirit." Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, "Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you." And he replied, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" And looking at those who sat around him, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother."

Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.

·       One of the basic ideas I use when building a sermon is to ask “What is the Good News here?” That question helps me to keep my eye on the target, namely to focus on the salvific message of Jesus. I’m not always able to do that, but I find that it helps.

·       Of course, there’s a story that goes along with this, telling why I take this direction, but this is not the time to tell it. We’d all do much better to look at the Gospel reading today and go with that.

·       Jesus and his disciples are swamped by the crowds who wish to see him. Even his family came, not to hear his words but to “restrain” him since they’d heard he was out of his mind. The scribes, in contrast, saw Jesus as a person possessed by a demon, who cast out demons by some sort of demonic power. Jesus points out that if this were so, demons are involved in some sort of civil war. Jesus goes on to say that if his critics say that he does what he does by the power of an unclean spirit, they are in a sinful situation, one that won’t be forgiven, mostly because forgiveness won’t be asked for. Could one of these people change their mind? It appear that the answer is “no.”

·       Finally, Jesus’ family arrive and wish to deal with apparent insanity. Jesus responds with what might be considered a harsh answer: My real family are here, among those who are dedicated to God. Mark does not report how Jesus’ mother and brothers responded.

·       Here is the Good News for us. Jesus declares that his family are those people who do the will of God - far more than this family by blood. This does not mean that he devalues his family or wants nothing to do with them. The family of Jesus are rarely mentioned in the Gospels, although John takes pains to place Jesus’ mother at the foot of the cross on Calvary and records Jesus giving over the care of his mother to the one known as the Beloved Disciple, so what happened is not known. The fact that the family delegation disappears from the narrative means that Jesus’ point has been made.

·       That point is this: Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother. Those who follow Jesus’ way of discipleship are his family. We who stumble along the discipleship path are Jesus’ brothers, sisters, and mothers.

·       Jesus says that not to deny that he has an earthly family, but to join all of those who are called to be his disciples to him as family.

·       Note that Jesus calls those who follow his brother, sister, and mother, but not his father. There will be only one Father, the one who is called “Abba” by Jesus and his disciples, a title so intimate we could translate it as “Daddy.”

·       The Good News here is not so much that we can call on God in intimate terms or that we can consider ourselves as members of Jesus family. The Good News is that God wishes us to do just that. God freely calls us to join ourselves to him in Christ Jesus. This is not an earned privilege but an invitation that is constantly offered. There is no commercial clause that tells us: “Act now! Time and spaces are limited!” The mercy and love of God knows no limit nor will it be rationed out by anyone. There is no deserving this or earning this. It is given to us; it is grace.

·       We are all sisters and brothers in the faith because we are sisters and brothers of Jesus Christ by his doing and not our own. Doing the will of God makes it so.

·       And what is the will of God? …love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. and …love your neighbour as yourself.”

·       Remember this and rejoice in it!

Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.

The Second Sunday after Pentecost ---- 3 June 2018

Mark 2:23--3:6

23 One sabbath he was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?” 25 And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? 26 He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions.” 27 Then he said to them, “The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; 28 so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”

3:1 Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. 2 They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3 And he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come forward.” 4 Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5 He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath…

·       These two stories of Sabbath controversy come quite early in the Gospel of Mark. Their placement show that they are important to Mark’s message.

·       Common wisdom takes these stories as challenges to the keeping of the Sabbath. The commandment forbids work on the Sabbath because on the seventh day “God rested.”  Jesus healing a man with a withered hand or the disciples gathering grain might appear to be breaking the Sabbath when such work was deemed forbidden by the commandment. Jesus then uses Scripture to show that what was done was not against the will of God, but was completely in tune with the will of God.

·       When it comes to the commandment regarding the Sabbath, we may have to change our focus as well. If work is forbidden on the Sabbath, why is work forbidden? The simple answer is “Because God said so.” Then comes the real question: Why did God say so?

·       The Sabbath was initiated for human rest and this applied to servants, aliens, visitors, and even the farm animals. It reminds all who “keep holy the Sabbath” that all time and space belongs to God. Worship on the Sabbath adds to the sacredness of the day.

·       So what about plucking grain, or healing the broken, or rescuing people (or animals) in danger or trouble?

·       It appears that rabbinical teaching always supported this sort of thing on the Sabbath. Jesus was completely within Jewish teaching and understanding when he said The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath… Some of the demands of the Law might be set aside to uphold greater values or greater needs, in particular if those needs promote well-being and participate in divine blessings. The Sabbath was there to promote life and uphold God as the liberator, the one who brought the people out of slavery. Seen in the right light, the entire Law could be an instrument of liberation. It could become a burden when the reason for its existence and its values were forgotten and only the demand of the Law were remembered.

·       The Pharisees were upset and we might think that this was because of Jesus’ disregard for what was lawful on the Sabbath. Both He and they knew the Law; it was the Pharisees’ specialty and Jesus was a rabbi. The Pharisees would know what Jesus was talking about, so they might not have been as upset as we might think when it came to keeping the Law.

·       What Jesus said doesn’t seem to upset them as much as the fact that he said it. His teaching threatened their place as guardians of the Law and the purest of the pure. The Law was theirs’ and they could use it with all the rules and regulations to control people. Remember when they accused Jesus of eating with prostitutes and sinners? Who the prostitutes were might be obvious, but the “sinners” were often those who were too poor, too uneducated, or too involved in the “wrong” job to keep the Law in its entirety. They were sinners because they couldn’t afford to be righteous, not because they’d done something specifically sinful. In contrast, the so-called righteous kept the letter of the Law, but often violated the spirit. They also decided who was righteous, who was acceptable, who was “in” and who was “out.” They got to draw the borders. Jesus threatened that and so they went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

·       Years ago, I asked one of my seminary professors how I could now if I loved God. He responded “Keep the commandments.” And what did Jesus say was the greatest of the commandments? ‘The first is… “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” The second is this, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.”

·       Today, in Christ, we are freed from the rules and regulation of the Law and we are free to love God and our neighbors. It is the greatest commandment and a tough one to keep, yet we can – in the grace of God and the power of the Holy Sprit.

·       I hope our worship, our keeping of a day of rest – a Sabbath, our hearing the Word together free us to keep this commandment… for ourselves and for the world around us.

The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”