Mark 9:38-50
Num. 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29 Psalm 19:7-14 James 5:13-20
Opening Prayer: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be always acceptable to you, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
Introduction: As I read about the early disciples and how they wanted to stop someone from casting out demons in Jesus’ name because that person was not one of “the group”, and think about Christians treat each other today, I am reminded of the saying, “the more things change, the more things stay the same.”
In the OT lesson we also see where Joshua, the assistant of Moses, got bent out of shape when two men in the camp were also prophesying. I love Moses’ response: “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!” Then in the reading from James, we see one of the church’s early pastors skillfully going about his work of dealing with areas of misbehavior that had turned up in congregations committed to his care.
In an excerpt from the introduction to the Letter from James in The Message (p.1669) it states: “When Christian believers gather in churches, everything that can go wrong sooner or later does. Outsiders on observing this, conclude that there is nothing to the religion business except, perhaps, business…Insiders see it differently…The church collects sinners.” We are in all different stages of sanctification. In addition, people have all kinds of different motivations for attending church.
The Problem:
We are all children of God. Unfortunately, too often we act like children that need to grow up. Moses was getting really fed up with all the wining of the Israelites! He is also fed up with what God has been laying his shoulders. He has had really broad shoulders, but has reached his limit. “Did I give birth to them that you should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a sucking child’” I had a Clinical Supervisor a number of years ago who was a very nurturing person, and she would often stop in the offices of various staff during the day to listen to their problems and how they were doing. Sometimes at the end of the day when she was worn out was to say; “I don’t have enough tits to go around!” We all have days like that at times. Moses even fed up enough to tell God: “If this is the way you are going to treat me, put me to death at once – if I have found favor in your sight…” The modern expression is “Just shoot me now!” At the end of the passage, Moses asks Joshua, “Are you jealous for my sake?”
It appears in the gospel lesson that the disciples were also struggling with jealousy. In the chapter before this, while Jesus was on the mountain top with several of his closest disciples, the disciples were trying to cast out a demon from someone and did not succeed. How embarrassed they must have been when found out that someone who was not among the “in group” was able to cast a demon out in Jesus’ name.
Are we jealous when we see another believer accomplishing for God what we could not accomplish? Are we worried that God loves that person more than us because God gave him/her a wonderful gift? I have an image of children gathered around at Christmas time opening their gifts, and looking at the other gifts that others got to make sure that no one got more gifts, or that their gifts were better.
God refuses to be put in a box:
When we deny the capacity of God to work outside human-made boundaries, we have created an idol. We are bowing down to the form of religion rather than its essence. We need to be reminded again and again: the Church is not God.
We feel more secure if everything is nice and tidy, however, sometimes God is quite messy! God frequently finds ways to confront us with the reminder that God is in charge, and we are not. If we could control God, God would not be God! It has been said that “There is no copyright on grace.” God often sends grace to and through non-Christians. Who are we to tell God who can receive grace, or how God is to send grace? After all, by its very nature, grace is unearned and undeserved.
God will recognize and reward every act of compassion that advances the kingdom of God, regardless of who performs it. Verse 39, “for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able to soon after to speak evil of me! For whoever is not against us if for us.” I have seen God perform miracles through 12 Step programs where God is referred to as Higher Power. God can and does work through whomever God chooses to. In fact, often God will work through the most unlikely person in order show that God is the one doing the work.
Conclusion: Let us learn from the disciples and be alert to jealousy in ourselves and how we might express it. God has plenty of love to go around, there is an endless supply, and God is not going to run out of love for us. God is going to give gifts to God’s people, and will give them to whoever God wants. If we are distracted by a bright, shiny gift that someone else is holding, we need to unwrap the present that we are holding; it might be very small, but very valuable, like a diamond.
Amen.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Mark 9:30-37
Opening Prayer: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be always acceptable to you, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
Introduction: We are now getting to the action packed part of Mark’s gospel. The first half of the gospel, Jesus was preaching to the crowds and healing people. However, he did a “mid-term evaluation” and found out that the disciples were not learning the essential lesson for them to know when he was crucified. Therefore, he is avoiding the crowds and focusing on teaching the disciples. Several chapters ago, he asked Peter the important question of “Who do you say that I am?” Peter gave the right answer of “The Messiah”; however, Peter’s idea of the Messiah was different than Jesus’ idea of the Messiah. Peter was looking for a military leader who would overthrow the Romans who occupied the land. Instead, Jesus told them that he would be handed over to those who would kill him, but he would rise to life three days later. Peter basically thought he was talking crazy.
In today’s gospel, Jesus gives the second prediction of his death to the disciples. “But they did not understand what this teaching meant, and they were afraid to ask him.” Have you ever taken a class where they were using language of your birth (i.e. English, Inupiaq, etc.) and maybe you even had a syllabus that had the goals, objectives, and assignments on it, yet it “failed to compute?” I have had several of those. It wasn’t even microbiology! It was really frustrating to hear the explanations, but still my brain just did not compute. I think it must have been that way for the disciples. They were hearing Jesus talk about his upcoming death, and he wasn’t even doing anything to prevent it. They heard the words, but it “did not compute!” The modern word for it is that they were in denial.
Leadership
As I have been meditating on this passage this week, the first thing that came to mind was that of servant leadership. The first people that came to mind were some of the supervisors and one of the directors at Cordova Center in my early years. A number of them had served in the military. I remember hearing one of the Assistant Directors talk about why he was one of the last people in line at a potluck or other food event. He said, “The men always eat first.” It had been drilled into him that as a leader in the service that one of his jobs was to make sure his men were taken care of before himself. We see it in the Iditarod. At the stops, the mushers always take care of the dogs first. A musher who does not do that is considered a poor example. The musher knows that if the dogs are taken care of, they will take care of the musher.
My last year at summer session of the Native Ministries Program, I saw a powerful example of servant leadership. Since the dining room and regular dorms have been eliminated, there has not been the usual way for community to develop. Now we were scattered around, and went to the different restaurants for meals. We really missed the community that came from eating together. The program decided that community is really important for the Native Ministries Summer session so they decided to provide breakfast and lunch in one of the large meeting rooms. We would then be responsible for dinner. The Rev. Dr. Wendy Fletcher, the principal of the school turned out to take care of the meals. There was a real small kitchen off the side of the meeting room, and she worked out of there. She also managed to enlist some teenagers into service as well. Breakfast was cereal, fruit, toast, and of course coffee. Lunch was all kinds of different things. I saw The Rev. Dr. Harry Maier, the New Testament professor helping her as well. Wendy had plenty of things she could have been doing, but she really wanted to help keep the feeling of community. What a message!
Trust in the leader
It came to me today that the disciples started arguing with each other about who was greatest after Jesus started talking about his death. I don’t think the timing was just a coincidence. They must really been shook up, and having a few doubts about Jesus. When I am secure in the leadership of the person I report to, I don’t start to think much about who is the “favorite”. I am more likely to start wondering about rank when I am not confident that my supervisor will take care of something.
Trusting in God is an important aspect of the 12 Step programs. One of the slogans is “There is a God, and I am not Him.” Or the first three Steps have been condensed to “I can’t’; God can; I think I’ll let God.” We want to be able to control the outcomes of situations. Instead, if we really trust God, we can do the footwork and leave the results up to God.
I have found that sometimes God will give me a picture of where I am to go, but other times, God gives me direction on just the next step. Sort of like the military where information is released to the troops on a “need to know” basis. Soldiers are to follow orders, and if they need to have more information, more information will be given.
So, we have been given directions from God on what is important: "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” We then need to trust God will reveal how we are to carry that out.
Opening Prayer: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be always acceptable to you, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
Introduction: We are now getting to the action packed part of Mark’s gospel. The first half of the gospel, Jesus was preaching to the crowds and healing people. However, he did a “mid-term evaluation” and found out that the disciples were not learning the essential lesson for them to know when he was crucified. Therefore, he is avoiding the crowds and focusing on teaching the disciples. Several chapters ago, he asked Peter the important question of “Who do you say that I am?” Peter gave the right answer of “The Messiah”; however, Peter’s idea of the Messiah was different than Jesus’ idea of the Messiah. Peter was looking for a military leader who would overthrow the Romans who occupied the land. Instead, Jesus told them that he would be handed over to those who would kill him, but he would rise to life three days later. Peter basically thought he was talking crazy.
In today’s gospel, Jesus gives the second prediction of his death to the disciples. “But they did not understand what this teaching meant, and they were afraid to ask him.” Have you ever taken a class where they were using language of your birth (i.e. English, Inupiaq, etc.) and maybe you even had a syllabus that had the goals, objectives, and assignments on it, yet it “failed to compute?” I have had several of those. It wasn’t even microbiology! It was really frustrating to hear the explanations, but still my brain just did not compute. I think it must have been that way for the disciples. They were hearing Jesus talk about his upcoming death, and he wasn’t even doing anything to prevent it. They heard the words, but it “did not compute!” The modern word for it is that they were in denial.
Leadership
As I have been meditating on this passage this week, the first thing that came to mind was that of servant leadership. The first people that came to mind were some of the supervisors and one of the directors at Cordova Center in my early years. A number of them had served in the military. I remember hearing one of the Assistant Directors talk about why he was one of the last people in line at a potluck or other food event. He said, “The men always eat first.” It had been drilled into him that as a leader in the service that one of his jobs was to make sure his men were taken care of before himself. We see it in the Iditarod. At the stops, the mushers always take care of the dogs first. A musher who does not do that is considered a poor example. The musher knows that if the dogs are taken care of, they will take care of the musher.
My last year at summer session of the Native Ministries Program, I saw a powerful example of servant leadership. Since the dining room and regular dorms have been eliminated, there has not been the usual way for community to develop. Now we were scattered around, and went to the different restaurants for meals. We really missed the community that came from eating together. The program decided that community is really important for the Native Ministries Summer session so they decided to provide breakfast and lunch in one of the large meeting rooms. We would then be responsible for dinner. The Rev. Dr. Wendy Fletcher, the principal of the school turned out to take care of the meals. There was a real small kitchen off the side of the meeting room, and she worked out of there. She also managed to enlist some teenagers into service as well. Breakfast was cereal, fruit, toast, and of course coffee. Lunch was all kinds of different things. I saw The Rev. Dr. Harry Maier, the New Testament professor helping her as well. Wendy had plenty of things she could have been doing, but she really wanted to help keep the feeling of community. What a message!
Trust in the leader
It came to me today that the disciples started arguing with each other about who was greatest after Jesus started talking about his death. I don’t think the timing was just a coincidence. They must really been shook up, and having a few doubts about Jesus. When I am secure in the leadership of the person I report to, I don’t start to think much about who is the “favorite”. I am more likely to start wondering about rank when I am not confident that my supervisor will take care of something.
Trusting in God is an important aspect of the 12 Step programs. One of the slogans is “There is a God, and I am not Him.” Or the first three Steps have been condensed to “I can’t’; God can; I think I’ll let God.” We want to be able to control the outcomes of situations. Instead, if we really trust God, we can do the footwork and leave the results up to God.
I have found that sometimes God will give me a picture of where I am to go, but other times, God gives me direction on just the next step. Sort of like the military where information is released to the troops on a “need to know” basis. Soldiers are to follow orders, and if they need to have more information, more information will be given.
So, we have been given directions from God on what is important: "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” We then need to trust God will reveal how we are to carry that out.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Who do you say that I am? Mark 8:27-38
Mark 8:27-38
Proverbs 1:20-33; Psalm 19; James 3:1-12
Opening Prayer: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be always acceptable to you, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
Introduction: The gospel today is a subject that gets me really excited! Christology was one of my favorite classes in seminary. Christology is a big, fancy word that basically means the study of Christ. It looks at the questions that Jesus asked the disciples: 1) Who do people say that I am? 2) Who do you say that I am? It is a subject that I would love to teach a class on sometime, but I will be merciful to you and try to keep it simple. I want to share a story with you of what happens when theologians get together and discuss Christology.
Karl Barth, Paul Tillich, Reinhold Niebuhr, and James Cone find themselves all at the same time at Caesarea Philippi. Who should come along but Jesus, and he asks the four famous theologians the same Christological question, “Who do you say that I am?”
Karl Barth stands up and says: “You are the totaliter aliter, the vestigous trinitatum who speaks to us in the modality of Christo-monism.”
Not prepared to Barth’s brevity, Paul Tillich stumbles out: “You are he who heals our ambiguities and overcomes the split of angst and existential estrangement; you are he who speaks of the theonomous viewpoint of the analogia entis, the analogy of our being and the ground of all possibilities.”
Reinhold Niebuhr gives a cough for effect and says, in one breath: “You are the impossible possibility who brings to us, your children of light and children of darkness, the overwhelming oughtness in the midst of our fraught condition of estrangement and brokenness in the contiguity and existential anxieties of our ontological relationships.”
Finally James Cone gets up, and raises his voice: “You are my Oppressed One, my soul’s shalom, the One who was, who is, and who shall be, who has never left us alone in the struggle, the event of liberation in the lives of the oppressed struggling for freedom, and whose blackness is both literal and symbolic.”
And Jesus writes in the sand, “Huh?”
Quoted, source unknown. Found in Synthesis, September 13, 2009, Year B, p.3.
“Who do you say that I am?” That is thought to be one of the most famous questions in human history.
When Jesus asked this question of the disciples, it was sort of the midterm evaluation for Jesus to see if his students were learning what he wanted them to learn. I can just see Peter jumping up and down, waving his hand in the air, “I know, I know!...You are the Messiah!” Well, Peter was right, but at the same time, he wasn’t right. What Peter meant by Messiah appeared to be different from what Jesus meant by Messiah. Messiah is Hebrew for the Anointed One. In the Greek of the New Testament, Messiah is translated as Christos, which means the same thing. In ancient Israel a new king was anointed with oil to show that he had been set apart to be king. So Jesus the Messiah would mean something like King Jesus. That was exciting to Peter; after all, the Romans were occupying their land. Jesus must have been sent to set them free from the Roman occupation, get rid of the corrupted religious leaders, and then rule over the land as a priest-king.
Then Jesus starts teaching them that he must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. -- Can you imagine how that clashed with Peter’s idea of what Jesus was supported to do! – It would be like, “That does not compute!” After Jesus rebukes Peter, he spoke to the crowd and his disciples and said, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me….”
I like the way The Message put it:
But Peter grabbed him in protest. Turning and seeing his disciples wavering, wondering what to believe, Jesus confronted Peter. “Peter, get out of my way! Satan, get lost! You have no idea how God works.”
Calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for?
If any of you are embarrassed over me and the way I’m leading you when you get around your fickle and unfocused friends, know that you’ll be an even greater embarrassment to the Son of Man when he arrives in all the splendor of God, his Father, with an army of the holy angels.”
After the “Midterm Evaluation” with the disciples, apparently Jesus decided that he needed to do some private tutoring with them, because after this, we hear little about healing and teaching with the crowds, instead he is spending a lot of time with the disciples and teaching them.
How we answer the question of “Who do you say that I am?” says a lot about how you interpret discipleship.
You might remember the PTL Club days with Jim Bakker. He seemed to interpret Jesus as King more like Peter did. He talked about us being a “King’s kid” and so we ought to live like one. The facilities on the land were very extravagant, and his wife, Tammy Faye, wore a lot of jewelry. On the other hand, there are others who look at what Jesus did and how he ministered. They may be professionals, such as health care providers, but live a simple lifestyle because they don’t need to have a lot of material possessions. They see themselves as being the hands and feet of Jesus, and are there to continue what Jesus was doing. Sometimes that means being with those who are suffering and walking beside them.
Many of the people that I work with indicate they have a relationship with God, but do not go to church, or to the Bible Studies that are held at the Cordova Center. They trust very few people. Some of them have had bad experiences with Churches, and others base their distrust by what they have heard from other people. For many of them, their favorite hymn would be, “I come to the garden alone.”
My theology is very communal oriented. It comes from having good experiences with Churches as I was growing up. In addition, it comes from looking beyond what Jesus said and including looking at what Jesus did. Jesus was with his disciples most of the time even though they were far from perfect. He taught in the Synagogues, and worshiped at the Temple. There were times when he “went off to a lonely place to pray” but that was not often.
As you ask yourself the question that Jesus asked: “Who do you say that I am?”, is the answer consistent with how you live your life as a disciple?
Proverbs 1:20-33; Psalm 19; James 3:1-12
Opening Prayer: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be always acceptable to you, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
Introduction: The gospel today is a subject that gets me really excited! Christology was one of my favorite classes in seminary. Christology is a big, fancy word that basically means the study of Christ. It looks at the questions that Jesus asked the disciples: 1) Who do people say that I am? 2) Who do you say that I am? It is a subject that I would love to teach a class on sometime, but I will be merciful to you and try to keep it simple. I want to share a story with you of what happens when theologians get together and discuss Christology.
Karl Barth, Paul Tillich, Reinhold Niebuhr, and James Cone find themselves all at the same time at Caesarea Philippi. Who should come along but Jesus, and he asks the four famous theologians the same Christological question, “Who do you say that I am?”
Karl Barth stands up and says: “You are the totaliter aliter, the vestigous trinitatum who speaks to us in the modality of Christo-monism.”
Not prepared to Barth’s brevity, Paul Tillich stumbles out: “You are he who heals our ambiguities and overcomes the split of angst and existential estrangement; you are he who speaks of the theonomous viewpoint of the analogia entis, the analogy of our being and the ground of all possibilities.”
Reinhold Niebuhr gives a cough for effect and says, in one breath: “You are the impossible possibility who brings to us, your children of light and children of darkness, the overwhelming oughtness in the midst of our fraught condition of estrangement and brokenness in the contiguity and existential anxieties of our ontological relationships.”
Finally James Cone gets up, and raises his voice: “You are my Oppressed One, my soul’s shalom, the One who was, who is, and who shall be, who has never left us alone in the struggle, the event of liberation in the lives of the oppressed struggling for freedom, and whose blackness is both literal and symbolic.”
And Jesus writes in the sand, “Huh?”
Quoted, source unknown. Found in Synthesis, September 13, 2009, Year B, p.3.
“Who do you say that I am?” That is thought to be one of the most famous questions in human history.
When Jesus asked this question of the disciples, it was sort of the midterm evaluation for Jesus to see if his students were learning what he wanted them to learn. I can just see Peter jumping up and down, waving his hand in the air, “I know, I know!...You are the Messiah!” Well, Peter was right, but at the same time, he wasn’t right. What Peter meant by Messiah appeared to be different from what Jesus meant by Messiah. Messiah is Hebrew for the Anointed One. In the Greek of the New Testament, Messiah is translated as Christos, which means the same thing. In ancient Israel a new king was anointed with oil to show that he had been set apart to be king. So Jesus the Messiah would mean something like King Jesus. That was exciting to Peter; after all, the Romans were occupying their land. Jesus must have been sent to set them free from the Roman occupation, get rid of the corrupted religious leaders, and then rule over the land as a priest-king.
Then Jesus starts teaching them that he must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. -- Can you imagine how that clashed with Peter’s idea of what Jesus was supported to do! – It would be like, “That does not compute!” After Jesus rebukes Peter, he spoke to the crowd and his disciples and said, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me….”
I like the way The Message put it:
But Peter grabbed him in protest. Turning and seeing his disciples wavering, wondering what to believe, Jesus confronted Peter. “Peter, get out of my way! Satan, get lost! You have no idea how God works.”
Calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for?
If any of you are embarrassed over me and the way I’m leading you when you get around your fickle and unfocused friends, know that you’ll be an even greater embarrassment to the Son of Man when he arrives in all the splendor of God, his Father, with an army of the holy angels.”
After the “Midterm Evaluation” with the disciples, apparently Jesus decided that he needed to do some private tutoring with them, because after this, we hear little about healing and teaching with the crowds, instead he is spending a lot of time with the disciples and teaching them.
How we answer the question of “Who do you say that I am?” says a lot about how you interpret discipleship.
You might remember the PTL Club days with Jim Bakker. He seemed to interpret Jesus as King more like Peter did. He talked about us being a “King’s kid” and so we ought to live like one. The facilities on the land were very extravagant, and his wife, Tammy Faye, wore a lot of jewelry. On the other hand, there are others who look at what Jesus did and how he ministered. They may be professionals, such as health care providers, but live a simple lifestyle because they don’t need to have a lot of material possessions. They see themselves as being the hands and feet of Jesus, and are there to continue what Jesus was doing. Sometimes that means being with those who are suffering and walking beside them.
Many of the people that I work with indicate they have a relationship with God, but do not go to church, or to the Bible Studies that are held at the Cordova Center. They trust very few people. Some of them have had bad experiences with Churches, and others base their distrust by what they have heard from other people. For many of them, their favorite hymn would be, “I come to the garden alone.”
My theology is very communal oriented. It comes from having good experiences with Churches as I was growing up. In addition, it comes from looking beyond what Jesus said and including looking at what Jesus did. Jesus was with his disciples most of the time even though they were far from perfect. He taught in the Synagogues, and worshiped at the Temple. There were times when he “went off to a lonely place to pray” but that was not often.
As you ask yourself the question that Jesus asked: “Who do you say that I am?”, is the answer consistent with how you live your life as a disciple?
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Mark 7:24-37 The Syrophoenician woman
Mark 7:24-37
Opening Prayer: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be always acceptable to you, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
Introduction: I find this passage about Jesus’ interaction with the Syrophoenician Woman difficult. Where is his compassion? And what an insult to refer to the Gentiles as dogs (“for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”). When I read that passage I am reminded of Jesus’ human nature who would have struggled at times with the prejudices of his culture during that time period.
I am also struck that Jesus appears to be “bone tired”. Scholars debate as to if Mark was confused about geographical details, or if Jesus really did go that far out of his way to escape the crowds in Galilee. Today’s passage starts off telling us that he went away to the region of Tyre, which is Gentile country. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. There is no mention of the disciples, so I wonder if he was traveling by himself. Earlier in Mark, he has been going full bore preaching, teaching, and healing. He tries to go off with his disciples, and the crowds track him down. They are so needy! Out of compassion, he is healing many who come to him; however, he is called to preach, and if he stays in one location until all are healed, he will not have a chance to preach the Good News in the different towns. He is being pulled in several directions. 1) He needs to teach the disciples, and knows that his time is limited. 2) He is called to preach the Good News, and 3) He is called to heal the sick. That is a lot of energy going out. The helping profession now has a term for that; it is called “Compassion Fatigue.” Viktor Frankl is quoted as saying “That which is to give light must endure burning.” When the woman came and begged for his help for her daughter, I imagine he might have been tempted to say “So tell it to someone who cares.”
However, the woman gains his respect by using logic to counter his argument. She was the wrong gender, religion, and ethnic origin to approach Jesus, but she didn’t care. She was going to do what was necessary in order for her daughter tobe healed. It took courage and chutzpah to approach Jesus. I am sure that his body language communicated strongly that he was “peopled out.” However, when she challenged his logic, he was forced to see that she was a human being.
I see two main applications for us today. The first is how we treat people when we are suffering from Compassion Fatigue. The second is how we treat people who are different from us, whether it is race, religion, socioeconomic background, etc.
Compassion Fatigue. – God has called us to be his disciples. Even though it is important to practice self-care and to have boundaries so that others don’t suck us dry, we are never “off-duty” as Christians. An anonymous forth-century monk said, “The only virtue is not to feel contempt.” Mildred Boesser has told the following story in clergy gatherings. She said that a number of years ago a clergyman (it was only men back then) came to them in crisis. He and his family were taking vacation at home. Someone came to the door and told him that one of his family members had just died. The clergyman decided to practice boundaries and said, “I’m sorry, but I’m on vacation right now.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he realized what a mistake he had made, but it was too late to take the words back. He was not able to repair the damage he had done in his relationship with the congregation, and had to leave that congregation.
There are also times that we are called to minister in at least two places at once. How we handle that is really important. In 2003 when Norman was in the hospital for the last time, the Doctor had been in that morning and said that Norman would not be able to return home, and that he would need to be on supplemental oxygen if he was released from the hospital. It was starting to soak into my awareness that Norman was dying. I was the clergy person at Christ Church at that time. I came to the office at St. Mary’s that morning just as Michael+ was coming out. I fell apart when he asked me how I was doing. He let me know that he had another meeting he was on the way to, but that Connie was there. He brought Connie out of her office, and then he prayed. He also physically touched me. So, even though he could not spend time with me, in that short time, he ministered to me, and he connected me with someone who could help. I went into Connie’s office and told her what was going on. I went from crying to being able to laugh about some things. She was also able to identify that one of the practical things she could do for me was to take the service at Christ Church that Sunday.
Since we are not ever “off-duty” as Christians, when we do not have the reserves to meet someone’s needs, we need to at least “do no harm.”
People who are different from us. – It can be uncomfortable to “love your neighbor” when they are different from us. Maybe they are in the same denomination, but have different theological beliefs. Maybe their sexual orientation is different, or their race is different. They might be homeless and/or mentally ill and/or chemically dependent. They might even have a different religion. We can still recognize them as human beings. Several weeks ago, I was coming into work. There is a waiting area with hard benches, and then a door that Security buzzes open in order to come into the rest of the facility. I was walking through the waiting area, and called out “Good Morning, Gentlemen!” One of the young men sitting there said, “You don’t know how good it feels to hear that. It has been several weeks since anyone has told me that.” I was surprised that such a simple thing had made his day, and it didn’t “cost” me anything.
Working as a counselor has been such a privilege! I have been forced to grow as a person as I am exposed to all kinds of different people. I have been challenged to see past the tattoos, the baggy pants, their criminal history, and their distrust of authority figures, and to see the person inside. The more I learn about the various cultures, whether it is ethnic, occupational, or environmental, the more I am able to connect with others by sharing a common “language.” When I first started working at Cordova Center, I was easily intimidated. Now that I am comfortable with that population, when I get a “gut feeling” that I am in danger around a resident, I listen to that feeling. It has happened less than the number of fingers on one hand since I started there in 1994.
Just as all the readings today focus on the same theme, we are also reminded of our responsibilities when we renew our Baptismal Covenant. I invite you to join me in renewing our Baptismal Covenant now. Please turn to p.304 in the BCP. At first I was just going to have us renew our promises that start of the bottom of the page; however, we first have to address our relationship with God in order to carry out the rest of the promises.
The Baptismal Covenant
Celebrant Do you believe in God the Father?
People I believe in God, the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth.
Celebrant Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?
People I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
And born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
Was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
And is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
Celebrant Do you believe in God the Holy Spirit?
People I believe in the Holy Spirit,
The holy catholic Church,
The communion of saints,
The forgiveness of sins,
The resurrection of the body,
And the life everlasting.
Celebrant Will you continue in the apostles’ teaching and
Fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers?
People I will, with God’s help.
Celebrant Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever
You fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?
People I will, with God’s help.
Celebrant Will you proclaim by word and example the Good
News of God in Christ?
People I will, with God’s help.
Celebrant Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving
Your neighbor as yourself?
People I will, with God’s help.
Celebrant Will you strive for justice and peace among all
People, and respect the dignity of every human
Being?
People I will, with God’s help.
Amen.
Opening Prayer: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be always acceptable to you, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
Introduction: I find this passage about Jesus’ interaction with the Syrophoenician Woman difficult. Where is his compassion? And what an insult to refer to the Gentiles as dogs (“for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”). When I read that passage I am reminded of Jesus’ human nature who would have struggled at times with the prejudices of his culture during that time period.
I am also struck that Jesus appears to be “bone tired”. Scholars debate as to if Mark was confused about geographical details, or if Jesus really did go that far out of his way to escape the crowds in Galilee. Today’s passage starts off telling us that he went away to the region of Tyre, which is Gentile country. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. There is no mention of the disciples, so I wonder if he was traveling by himself. Earlier in Mark, he has been going full bore preaching, teaching, and healing. He tries to go off with his disciples, and the crowds track him down. They are so needy! Out of compassion, he is healing many who come to him; however, he is called to preach, and if he stays in one location until all are healed, he will not have a chance to preach the Good News in the different towns. He is being pulled in several directions. 1) He needs to teach the disciples, and knows that his time is limited. 2) He is called to preach the Good News, and 3) He is called to heal the sick. That is a lot of energy going out. The helping profession now has a term for that; it is called “Compassion Fatigue.” Viktor Frankl is quoted as saying “That which is to give light must endure burning.” When the woman came and begged for his help for her daughter, I imagine he might have been tempted to say “So tell it to someone who cares.”
However, the woman gains his respect by using logic to counter his argument. She was the wrong gender, religion, and ethnic origin to approach Jesus, but she didn’t care. She was going to do what was necessary in order for her daughter tobe healed. It took courage and chutzpah to approach Jesus. I am sure that his body language communicated strongly that he was “peopled out.” However, when she challenged his logic, he was forced to see that she was a human being.
I see two main applications for us today. The first is how we treat people when we are suffering from Compassion Fatigue. The second is how we treat people who are different from us, whether it is race, religion, socioeconomic background, etc.
Compassion Fatigue. – God has called us to be his disciples. Even though it is important to practice self-care and to have boundaries so that others don’t suck us dry, we are never “off-duty” as Christians. An anonymous forth-century monk said, “The only virtue is not to feel contempt.” Mildred Boesser has told the following story in clergy gatherings. She said that a number of years ago a clergyman (it was only men back then) came to them in crisis. He and his family were taking vacation at home. Someone came to the door and told him that one of his family members had just died. The clergyman decided to practice boundaries and said, “I’m sorry, but I’m on vacation right now.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he realized what a mistake he had made, but it was too late to take the words back. He was not able to repair the damage he had done in his relationship with the congregation, and had to leave that congregation.
There are also times that we are called to minister in at least two places at once. How we handle that is really important. In 2003 when Norman was in the hospital for the last time, the Doctor had been in that morning and said that Norman would not be able to return home, and that he would need to be on supplemental oxygen if he was released from the hospital. It was starting to soak into my awareness that Norman was dying. I was the clergy person at Christ Church at that time. I came to the office at St. Mary’s that morning just as Michael+ was coming out. I fell apart when he asked me how I was doing. He let me know that he had another meeting he was on the way to, but that Connie was there. He brought Connie out of her office, and then he prayed. He also physically touched me. So, even though he could not spend time with me, in that short time, he ministered to me, and he connected me with someone who could help. I went into Connie’s office and told her what was going on. I went from crying to being able to laugh about some things. She was also able to identify that one of the practical things she could do for me was to take the service at Christ Church that Sunday.
Since we are not ever “off-duty” as Christians, when we do not have the reserves to meet someone’s needs, we need to at least “do no harm.”
People who are different from us. – It can be uncomfortable to “love your neighbor” when they are different from us. Maybe they are in the same denomination, but have different theological beliefs. Maybe their sexual orientation is different, or their race is different. They might be homeless and/or mentally ill and/or chemically dependent. They might even have a different religion. We can still recognize them as human beings. Several weeks ago, I was coming into work. There is a waiting area with hard benches, and then a door that Security buzzes open in order to come into the rest of the facility. I was walking through the waiting area, and called out “Good Morning, Gentlemen!” One of the young men sitting there said, “You don’t know how good it feels to hear that. It has been several weeks since anyone has told me that.” I was surprised that such a simple thing had made his day, and it didn’t “cost” me anything.
Working as a counselor has been such a privilege! I have been forced to grow as a person as I am exposed to all kinds of different people. I have been challenged to see past the tattoos, the baggy pants, their criminal history, and their distrust of authority figures, and to see the person inside. The more I learn about the various cultures, whether it is ethnic, occupational, or environmental, the more I am able to connect with others by sharing a common “language.” When I first started working at Cordova Center, I was easily intimidated. Now that I am comfortable with that population, when I get a “gut feeling” that I am in danger around a resident, I listen to that feeling. It has happened less than the number of fingers on one hand since I started there in 1994.
Just as all the readings today focus on the same theme, we are also reminded of our responsibilities when we renew our Baptismal Covenant. I invite you to join me in renewing our Baptismal Covenant now. Please turn to p.304 in the BCP. At first I was just going to have us renew our promises that start of the bottom of the page; however, we first have to address our relationship with God in order to carry out the rest of the promises.
The Baptismal Covenant
Celebrant Do you believe in God the Father?
People I believe in God, the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth.
Celebrant Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?
People I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
And born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
Was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
And is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
Celebrant Do you believe in God the Holy Spirit?
People I believe in the Holy Spirit,
The holy catholic Church,
The communion of saints,
The forgiveness of sins,
The resurrection of the body,
And the life everlasting.
Celebrant Will you continue in the apostles’ teaching and
Fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers?
People I will, with God’s help.
Celebrant Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever
You fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?
People I will, with God’s help.
Celebrant Will you proclaim by word and example the Good
News of God in Christ?
People I will, with God’s help.
Celebrant Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving
Your neighbor as yourself?
People I will, with God’s help.
Celebrant Will you strive for justice and peace among all
People, and respect the dignity of every human
Being?
People I will, with God’s help.
Amen.
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