Year C - 3 Epiphany - January 27, 2019

The Rev. Kenneth H. Saunders III
St. James Episcopal Church
Greeneville, TN

• Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10
• 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a
• Luke 4:14-21
• Psalm 19

It’s often been said that the church can survive heresy, but it can’t survive schism… The break apart and division in Christianity is devastating… You can walk down the main street in downtown Greeneville, and see about 16 different brands of Christianity. Churches large and small… Churches of a different ilk and flavor; some alike, some different, all of them trying to convince folks theirs is the way to worship and practice…

But apart from that, you could walk down that same street, and meet people who have never darkened the door of said churches. Folks that have either been turned off or abused by religion in one way or another… People who are earnestly searching for truth but have never been offered a way that fits with the way they believe. 

It often happens that people get involved in a community of faith and then after participating for a while realize that the community that they are in is really not the community of saints that they think it should be… A Church is really a hospital for sinners, rather than a community of saints… 

People are broken and hurting, trying to deal with life and all the confusion that life deals out… and the church is made up of that broken mess of our lives… our sometimes messy and confusing, but sometimes beautiful and amazing lives. 

The Episcopal Church has taken the stance to offer God’s grace to everyone in the midst of that brokenness… to show love where other churches have cast judgment… It’s not that we are doing anything different than what we understand Jesus himself did in scripture… Jesus welcomed and healed and advocated for those who were on the fringes of society… those that society that had forgotten those that society had abused hurt… 

The prophet Nehemiah tells us that the people of Israel are gathered together in the square… The people called for the Law of Moses… the Torah to be brought among them and read… Coming back from being separated for so long in exile, coming back to rebuild Jerusalem so, the people wanted so much to rally around the one thing they held in common… The law of Moses, the rudiments of their faith that made life on this planet and the social systems among humanity a bit more palatable. 

The people of Israel had come together to worship and celebrate the abundant grace of God that they felt… and with that feeling of abundance and grace, they understood what they were hearing a little better. The scripture says that they read from the book, from the Torah with interpretation, with understanding. So that the people understood the reading… 

We have to understand that the literacy rate at this time was only about 3%... But they understood so profoundly the law that was read… Maybe it was because they had lived for years in a barbaric society, maybe it was because they had been separated in captivity… But this time they understood what the law was trying to teach them… they understood and they were so moved with compassion that they wept… 

They didn’t gather separately in different groups, they were all gathered together in the square… After they rejoiced, Nehemiah told them to go on their way… go on their way and share their joy with others… To eat the fat and drink sweet wine… and make sure to send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared. 

He reminded them that the joy of the Lord is your strength. Gathered together… one body of people… in need of each other to be whole… recognizing that they are better together than they are apart… 

In our Gospel lesson, Jesus is there, teaching in the synagogue he was gaining some attention and was liked by everyone…He had come to his hometown in Nazareth and was teaching on the Sabbath in the synagogue, and he stood up to read the scroll of the prophet Isaiah… He proclaims Isaiah’s words as if they were his own as if he were the great prophet, Isaiah… The words he proclaimed were good news to the poor… release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, the oppressed go free…He proclaimed words of restoration that folks would know and remember… those that know the law of Moses… those that know God’s favor for God’s people. 

The gathering of the church is often referred to as the body of Christ… when we come together to hear the scripture read and proclaimed and celebrate God’s restoration and abundance, we do it together… Together in a body that needs our differences as much as our likeness… together in a body that sometimes disagrees, but does it with grace and forgiveness… 

I said in the beginning, that a church could survive heresy but not schism… This basically means that we may not jive on all the crazy little intricate details of what it means to be faithful… But that’s ok, God loves us anyway. We may have sticking points or confusion about what it means to live out our lives as faithful Christians… So much that when we run up against something that we don’t agree with We are schismatic, and run to another community that appears to be more in line with what we believe… Brothers and sisters, that’s not healthy. 

If we have been nurtured in a community of faith for several years, we must stay and engage, dialogue about what’s causing us grief… We are not going to agree on everything… But the one thing we must agree on is that Jesus Christ is Lord… And in proclaiming that first… we start to come together in so many ways… 

In proclaiming that Jesus Christ is Lord… it advocates that we are about life and love… a way of a relationship that builds up and doesn’t tear down… In being the body of Christ… we have eyes that need ears and feet that need hands… we have legs that need arms and a head (Jesus Christ) to help guide it all… 

Together, in Christ, we can do so much more than we cannot do on our own… How hard would it have been for one person to drop $8000 to make our outreach at St. James possible? But 70 people coming together, we were ALL able to make that happen. And through that, we are able to advocate for those whom nothing is prepared. We are able to but God’s abundant love and God’s abundant grace into action…. Because in Christ, we come together and we are made whole… We can’t say, I have no need of you because you don’t think like I do… We must say, help me understand, we must say help us understand… 

We don’t engage in discernment and come to understanding by ourselves… we are a body, guided, empowered and driven by the Holy Spirit… We, by ourselves, are lacking. But by Christ, we are made whole… 

Now I call this the IKEA exercise… Has anyone ever shopped at IKEA? You know, the Swedish furniture store that sells things that you have to put together? A simple bookshelf will come to you in about 5000 pieces, and the directions don’t have any words… they just show a stick figure putting this piece in that piece… 

I want you to take a moment and think about that… Think about what things you have in your life which are a ‘whole’ and now think of all the parts they are made from. sometimes the pieces that make up the whole are not useful by themselves… sometimes they are… but sometimes, they function better when they are with the things that make their purpose clear… 

Now think… what other parts could be added to make them better, to make the whole even more capable? Now, translate that thought into people in your life. What groups are the ‘whole’ of your life? They may be groups that challenge you to be more… What can you do to make more of yourself? How can you help and be helped by the whole, whatever that group might be? 

Whether it’s at church, at school, at work, or at home, you can help yourself and others and make life better for everyone, for the whole??? And now, in going forth, knowing that you are the Body of Christ, that you are Beloved of God… What will you commit to doing in the world to show Christ’s love to help yourself and others be more than they are right now?

Year B - Proper 28 - November 18, 2018

The Rev. Kenneth H. Saunders III

St. James Episcopal Church

Greeneville, TN

Year B - Proper 28 - November 18, 2018

Daniel 12:1-3Psalm 16 Hebrews 10:11-14 (15-18) 19-25Mark 13:1-8

With all the death and destruction around us these days, it’s hard to look at today’s readings through any other lens. As of this morning, the coast of California is still on fire, and as of this morning, there are 76 confirmed dead and over 1200 still missing. The fire continues to rage on… The whole city of Paradise California is practically gone.

But it’s not only fire that plagues this world… Just yesterday, there were 3 shooting deaths in Philadelphia (3 separate incidents) in what we know as the “City of Brotherly Love.”

This isn’t the only attack that has taken place in recent days… Remember just 3 weeks ago, 11 were gunned down at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburg… Yes, a Synagogue, a place of study and prayer… In a place of worship and peace… people were attacked and killed.

These attacks were not only meant to make those who were directly attacked suffer, but they quickly become a reminder to us of any tragedy that we have suffered… meant to instill fear and terror in anyone that has any kind of love and compassion for humanity.

I couldn’t help but remember the events of September 11, 2001, at New York, Washington DC, Pennsylvania… the events of April 19, 1995, at Oklahoma City and many other tragic events just in my lifetime.

For thousands of years, hate and evil have woven itself into the fabric of the world’s society, destroying relationships, destroying lives, making people anxious, afraid, and angry… stirring things up and starting wars. Confusing people about the nature of humanity and most notably confusing people about the nature of God.

They even say out loud… and you have probably heard them... “if God is a just God… if God is a loving God, then why do these kinds of things happen? How can God allow such evil, how can a loving God allow death and destruction to exist??” This just confounds the issue further… and does what the evil one intended all along.

This kind of thinking messes up our reasoning skills and makes us respond out of anger and confusion. It wants us to lash out at each other… It wants us to throw bombs and grenades at each other in response to what we are feeling – to somehow get rid of the pain… the pain from feeling that we can’t do anything at all to help. That is how evil works…

Evil and hate have meshed in the fabric of society and they have destroyed relationships with each other and relationships with God and evil and hate are still at work.

I read a statement yesterday from a very conservative religious leader. It said, “God caused the California fires because California didn’t choose the correct political candidate… and that it’s God that is making the weather hot and dry so that the fires rage on.” All I did after I read this was sit there… I sat there and cried. I cried like a little baby…

I cried, because in that instance, at that very minute, I realized that the evil one has gotten away with it once again... The evil one has done his due…

Jesus says, “Nation will rise up against nation and kingdom will rise up against Kingdom, yet the end is still to come… these are but only the beginnings of the birth pangs. Bringing forth or “birthing” the Kingdom of God while surrounded by such evil, controversy and fear is difficult work.

It’s not the happy-clappy feel-good Jesus that wants us to be comfortable… and it’s not pie in the sky bye and bye… To be a follower of Jesus the Christ, to be a REAL disciple of Jesus Christ, means that we are part of (like Bishop Curry Says) We are part of a movement...  The Jesus Movement that is intended to change the world… Change the world by infusing it with the love of God... Because if it’s not of Love, it’s not of God. And that is the kind of change that is difficult… it’s messy, It’s challenging, it’s heart-wrenching and it involves a commitment to radical love – NOT radical hate…

When Jesus was walking with his disciples through Jerusalem, they were all talking as they went along about all the fine buildings and large stones, in the magnificent architecture that surrounded them. These large edificial symbols of power and prestige… Noting, of course, the largest and greatest buildings of their day and time – Herod’s temple in Jerusalem.

The temple - a place of connection to God (the divine), a place of worship, a place of sacrifice, and the center of Jewish life… Jesus said to them, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; ALL will be thrown down.”

It would have been difficult, for the disciples to envision the complete destruction of such a massive fortress of a building – let alone the most holy place of the Jewish faith. Yet, that is exactly what happened in the year 70, when the Roman empire burned it all to the ground. We, too, can scarcely conceive of a time when the important places and structures we know and love will be “thrown down.” Yet that’s what’s happening all around us.

The temple of our soul is being destroyed by the evils of this world. The evils of this world that tell us that we don’t need each other… that we don’t need God... The evils of this world that say that the destructive fires and mass shootings are somehow God’s will. Our soul is being attacked by the evil one, and we cower in fear and confusion, questioning our need for God or religion.

In Jesus’ teaching today, Jesus reminds us that this world is NOT permanent: “will ALL be thrown down.” God has placed a deep-seated need within us to desire something that will transcend this mortal life. Jesus cuts straight to our deep desire for immortality with his deeply challenging words –

No doubt this passage helps ease the pain a bit, knowing and trusting that the Kingdom is over the horizon. If we continue to live in love and trust that God’s purpose will be worked out. There is no question that the anxiety level of disciples was great, as they pressed Jesus even harder for answers by asking, “Lord, when will this be? Tell us when these things will happen!”

In Jesus’ day, and even in this day, there are plenty who are looking for signs, as if knowing WHEN the end will come will somehow change its coming or make them more prepared.

Many have claimed that this is it!! Just looking at the world around us and all the destruction, they say that the end is near!! And I am sure that there are pastors in pulpits today, using the events of this past week to instill more fear and cause more panic and confusion.

Our faith, logical reason, and even science tell us that there will be a time when ALL things will come to an end; knowing exactly when that will happen does not give us any control or mastery over it. Even Jesus doesn’t give the disciples any specifics as to when the end will come, nor does he even tell them exactly what will happen.

Remember this was 2000 years ago. He tells them there will be upheavals of many kinds, but he clearly says these are the beginnings of the birth pangs – not the signs of the end of all things. We are tired of labor and we might wonder when the birth pangs will be done. I have a feeling that the birth pangs will be done when we stop letting evil win. The birth pangs will be done when we embrace or start to re-embrace our God…  our God of relationship and love and be participants in God’s mission and start to usher in the Kingdom.

But, we are afraid… We are afraid of terrorism; We are afraid of the economy collapsing; We are afraid of losing our jobs; We are afraid of losing our health; We're afraid of losing our stuff; We're afraid for our children’s future; We're afraid of rejection. The list of fears is endless.

We live in fear that our neatly constructed lives will somehow be “all be thrown down” so we live in imprisoned by that fear, and when we live imprisoned by fear, we never really live!

Instead of being fearful, which ultimately lets the evil one win and has us question the good in humanity and has us question God… We should connect… Connect to the things that help us make since of this world, Connect to the things that help us look forward to something better yet to come…

In the context of Mark’s gospel, the reading today is a portion of the story just as Jesus enters Jerusalem, and is arrested, put through a mock trial and is handed over to the evils of this world to be crucified. “All will be thrown down” is a promise that ALL the things of this world, its structures, systems, and yes – even its evils will fall apart, disintegrate and die. Jesus reminds us that our job isn’t to know exactly what will happen, how it will happen, or even when it will happen; but rather, our job is to be faithful, be patient and keep awake… watch therefore, because God is working out the plan of salvation… The Kingdom of God is being brought forth and God has not abandoned us.

It will be alright because God is in charge. I’m not saying that it will be easy and that there won’t be hardships and distress. This isn’t empty optimism that promises things will get better for our lives; we don’t know - they may or may not. However, It is a promise that God is in charge… regardless of what it may look like.

Jesus promises us that things will be all right… everything will work out for those who trust and believe because God ALWAYS has the last word! When death on the cross appears to be the end for Jesus, God has the last word and brings forth an empty tomb and a risen Christ!

Throughout our lives, we have already experienced death and resurrection many times over… as the neatly arranged constructs of our lives are ALL thrown down. Jesus’ words remind us to hang on and to place our trust in something more than ourselves, or our possessions, or our health, or our capabilities or our even our intellect. It is to place our faith and ultimate trust in the One from whom all of these things come.

It is to accept our own mortality and have a radical trust in God’s unchangeable grace, God’s gracious goodness, and God’ abundant love… So that we can inevitably be free from the imprisonment of anxious fear and finally live fully and freely as children of God.

Year B - Proper 27 - November 11, 2018

The Rev. Kenneth H. Saunders III
St. James Episcopal Church
Greeneville, TN

Year B - Proper 27 - November 11, 2018

Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17
Psalm 127
Hebrews 9:24-28
Mark 12:38-44

She was a woman, a widow, the least and forgotten of ancient society, and she was poor. Ruth loved Naomi and decided to stay with her after her husband Mahlon, who was Naomi and Elimelech’s son, died. Even after being sent away, Ruth stayed and Ruth gave Naomi her full devotion. Naomi wanted Ruth to have security and knew that she could not provide for Ruth – herself being a widow because Elimelech had also died – They were pretty bad off and both were forced to glean for food on the outskirts of the crops just so they could eat. So, Naomi arranged for Ruth to get together with her kinsman, Boaz, hoping he would take her as his wife and provide for her. And he did…

She was a woman, a widow, the least and forgotten of ancient society, and she was poor. She had come to the Court of the Women in the Temple in Jerusalem, and she was a widow down to her last two coins. Jesus saw her there and also knew about her, that she was a woman of great faith, so much that she became a living example... a living sermon. She becomes a great icon of faith as she puts her whole trust in God, not holding anything back. Unfortunately, we do not know this woman’s name. The unnamed woman is known by her marital status and her coins more than her name. We casually refer to the story as “The Widow’s Mite” and she is the star character, “The Widow.” And, each of this woman’s 2 coins was worth just a four-hundredth of a shekel or what we might think of as just an eighth of a penny each. We can learn a lot from these 2 remarkable women.

Ruth’s story is about relationship, love, and trust as Ruth follows in the way that leads to the birth of Obed, who will later become the father of Jesse and the grandfather of the great King, David. 

It’s important to understand that Ruth was not a Jew. She was a Moabite woman taken as the wife of Naomi's son, Mahlon. So, she found her way into a devoutly Jewish household. A stranger that will be the great grandmother of King David.

Jesus has been teaching in the temple courts. And, on his way out of the court, he and his followers stop to watch as offerings are being made to the treasury. Each person walks up to one of the thirteen fluke-shaped pot receptacles, which were lining the wall of the Court of the Women. 

As they tossed in the money they had to offer, the person was expected to say aloud the amount and purpose of the gift in order to be heard by the priest that was overseeing the collections. It must have been quite a sight to see all the folks there… there in their finest clothes, tossing in large sums of money, calling out to all how much they gave. 

And in such a group, who would take notice the widow tossing two of the smallest coins into the offering? Yes, only Jesus notices and calls attention to this act of incredible faith. 

Jesus calls his disciples together and says, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

Ruth and Naomi probably don’t know what coins were, let alone did they have any. They had to rely on the hospitality of others in order to get their next meal. They had to glean the edges of the field and work hard for everything they get.

With the widow at the treasury, Jesus knows that these are not just any two coins, but these are the woman’s LAST two coins. The text says, “All she had to live on.” Literally, this is true. The actual word used in the Gospel is bios. The text says that she put in her “bios.” It’s the word from which we get “biology,” the study of life. 

So, Jesus tells us that the widow put her whole “life” into the temple treasury that day - EVERYTHING she had to live on.

Strangely enough, on this annual meeting Sunday, this is NOT a sermon about tithing. Because neither of these women gave ten percent of their income. Ruth had no security and no money. The only thing she had to give was her self... she had nothing to give, so she gave her devotion, her love, her trust, and her life.

At the treasury, these were the widow’s last two coins the last two that she had to rub together, but rather than keep one for her self, she tossed them both into the temple treasury. The widow gave 100% of her money and with it, 100% of herself. The unnamed woman is down to 2 worthless little coins, yet she trusts it all to God. She trusts her LIFE to God.

It would be nice if the details of both these stories were filled in a bit more for us. 

Ruth disappears into the genealogy of David that eventually leads us to the birth of Jesus. The nameless widow who gave the two small coins fades back into the crowd in the background. She remains nameless, but we want to know her name, you know so we can name churches, schools, and hospitals after her. We want to give her a place of honor in Jesus’ stories right alongside the disciples whose names we know, through their trust in God wasn’t always such a great example.

Facing uncertain futures, both of these ladies, these widows, reached out to God. They trusted in the fact that if they gave everything they had, even the little would be honored. 

We trust that both of the widow’s stories turned out all right. We trust that whether they lived or died, they were God’s. By their example, the scripture shows us that what we withhold matters a whole lot more than what we offer. These two widows are 2 women of great faith... Women of great faith who held nothing back!

They gave their lives and gained security – When we give, we are to give, knowing that everything we have is God’s already. We are crazy to think that we can give God anything back. But we CAN offer our whole selves for the Kingdom of God, holding nothing back. 

We can give a portion of the gifts that have been given to us to make sure that the mission of the Church continues to bring others to know the kingdom of God.

She was a woman. She was poor. She was a widow down to her last basket of grain gleaned from the edge of the field. 

She was a woman. She was poor. She was widow down to her last two copper coins. 

Yet, both of these incredible women were children of God who placed their whole life back in their loving creator’s hands.

Year B - Proper 24 - October 21, 2018

The Rev. Kenneth H. Saunders III
St. James Episcopal Church
Greeneville, TN

Year B - Proper 24 - October 21, 2018

Isaiah 53:4-12
Psalm 91:9-16
Hebrews 5:1-10
Mark 10:35-45

It's a really nice thing to be around a polite person. You know the type… the folks that let you ahead of them in line because you only have 2 items and they have 50. Some of you have experienced the courtesy of another opening the door for you, or even saying please or thank you.

Most of us in the south were brought up to say yes sir, no sir, yes mam, and no mam… It becomes part of our DNA, it’s genuine and sincere. With the world the way it is today, it always causes me to take notice politeness in society. It immediately makes me think about the way I respond to others. 

I have always tried to be a polite person, using those “good” words that I learned as a child… such as please and thank you. Yes, Sir and Yes, Mam. After all, it’s the right way to be, but occasionally, I forget.

Instead, I find myself reverting back the barking that I learned to do when I was in military school. You know, those times when we make requests of others that sound much more like military commands, rather than respectful requests. 

Such as, “While you’re up, get me something to drink” or “make me a sandwich.” Does it sound familiar? Sometimes the way we come across to others is also so much a part of who we are, that we don’t even realize how harsh it sounds. It makes others want to come back with that horrible question, “What do I look like, your slave?” Or sometimes you just get back that "look" that will burn a hole right through you. 

I have had that said to me… I know that probably some of you have too… Whenever someone says that to me, I feel extremely bad… I regret that I did not choose a kinder way to ask. And the word “slave” itself generates a very negative and guttural feeling in me… Having the word “slave” thrown into a conversation makes many people very uncomfortable and a bit nervous. 

Sometimes I am on the receiving end of that word, but sometimes I’m the one saying that word in another direction. Many of you may think it’s not a big issue, but that’s not the issue that I want to debate here this morning. Rather, It’s just a description of how I personally feel when I hear the word. I think we can all agree that our words matter. Words have a great impact, power, and lasting presence. 

And we need to take a minute and realize that they can hurt others as much as they can heal. That’s why it’s so hard to listen to today’s Gospel lesson from Mark. Jesus says, “whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.” Slave of all... what in the world does that mean? We hear the word “slave” and immediately we conjure up the images of American Chattel Slavery... A world of mistreatment, abuse, degradation, despair, hardship, and sometimes even death. 

And when Jesus says that slavery is something we need to embrace and even model ourselves after, it gets more than a little confusing. In what ways are we to be slaves? What exactly does God expect of us? It’s important to remember that all language has limitations… Our words, phrases, idioms, analogies, metaphors, and even the stories themselves (such as the parables that Jesus uses) are never perfect representations of the meaning behind them. 

And so, in this case, we must understand that Jesus is affirming SOME aspects of being a slave FOR others, but there are probably other aspects of slavery that Jesus would not and could not support, nor would he ask us to condone or embrace. So, what aspect of being a slave is Jesus asking us to live out as his disciples? 

Well, we’ll probably never really know exactly. But I’d like us to take a look at one aspect of slavery which might be helpful to us as we walk our journey of faith. We often think of slaves as simply taking orders from others, doing whatever the task-master asks. However, in the ancient world, it was so much more than that. In many ways, the slave did not live separate lives apart from of the household they served. Their life was not their own. Rather, their life was fully immersed in and completely overlapped with that of the family they served. 

The family’s concerns were their concerns. Their well-being was that of the family’s. The family’s needs were their needs. And whatever the family requested, the slave provided if he or she was able --- usually, with no questions and no conditions.

This sort of overlapping of lives is something many of us just don’t do. We like to keep our distance. We have this bubble around us that we like to live in. We like to pick and choose who, what, when, where, why and even how we will love. We help others and care for them only when it’s convenient, or we give, and sometimes only when we have something to gain. 

And if we just don’t feel like it, well, you know what happens then. We just sit on the sidelines, detached, leaving others to fend for themselves. My guess is that when Jesus encourages us to be a “slave” for others, in part, he is asking us to resist the temptation to stay uninvolved and unconcerned. 

Rather, he’s asking us to enter into --- in a very real way --- the lives of those around us.

In today’s Reading from the Letter to the Hebrews, we heard, “Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.” Jesus entered into our world… God became one of us, and as a result, God knows first hand what we’re going through. 

If only we could do the same --- if we could only enter the world of others --- and share in their struggles and joys, their hopes, their fears, and even possibly their dreams. Truly serving others requires that we carry some of their burdens, take on some of their pain, and help them work through some of their difficulties and struggles. Imagine if we all truly acted that way…

Imagine if every “I need you to . . .” was replaced by, “Let me know how I can help.” Imagine if every expression of sorrow was followed up with an offer to listen and an attempt to understand. Imagine if every admission of guilt was given the response, “I forgive you.” And imagine if not one person had to journey through this life feeling alone or abandoned.

I think that this is the sort of “slavery” and service that our Lord calls us to. And the good that we do for each other is a good thing in and of itself. Of that we can be assured. But it is actually more than that. 

When we are truly present to one another… the bonds of love and relationship between us grow a little stronger, our understanding of the another becomes a little clearer, and the walls between us begin to be torn down. Mistrust and misunderstanding turn to appreciation, suspicion turns into hope, and indifference turns into true caring. All of that can be a reality. 

But, staying in our own tiny little, isolated world, this bubble, that we create for ourselves is not how we are supposed to live. It is beneath who we are as children of God… God entered our world in the person of Jesus Christ, and become one of us… and the world was changed forever. If we are willing to step into the world of another… step in all the way… who knows what might happen?

Year B - Proper 20 - September 23, 2018

The Rev. Kenneth H. Saunders III

St. James Episcopal Church

Greeneville, TN

www.StJamesGreenEville.org

Year B - Proper 20 - September 23, 2018

• Wisdom of Solomon 1:16-2:1, 12-22
• Psalm 54
• James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a
• Mark 9:30-37

You have to MAKE it to the top in life to be successful! You must be strong to survive! Just “claw your way to the top!” Don’t let your co-worker stop you… just use them as a stepping stone! Go ahead and get to the Top, that way you will look good! 

So… take on that extra responsibility! If offered the chance, move into that corner office with a view! It doesn’t matter what peon you had to step on to get there. Make more money, get a bigger house (with a bigger mortgage)! Buy that new car! Get that extra credit card! 

At this point, you are saying to yourselves… Wait a minute, Ken has totally lost it!

It’s scary, I tell you, but that’s the attitude in our society… You’ve heard it… It shows up on our television and in our mailboxes… Those attitudes in our society are REAL…. And they are very scary! 

There is so much pressure in this world! And it causes us ALL kinds of anxiety! So… This morning - the question is… what causes you anxiety? What ARE the disputes among YOU? Where do they come from? Family? Work?, Church?, School?,  Money? (or lack of money), Power? (or lack of power)… 

You want something and cannot have it… You covet something and cannot obtain it… Our modern society puts so much emphasis on obtaining positions of false power and authority…I even heard a young mother just the other day say to her child, “when you grow up, one day you could be president!” I even think that MY mom used that one on me!… It may be ok for a kindergartener, but what happens if that level of aspiration is forced?

You’ve got to BE this or that… you’ve got to be a Doctor… You’ve got BE a Lawyer… You’ve got to Be Somebody!… Don’t get me wrong… There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with having a successful life, or even aspirations for success accomplished through hard work, but too many folks see it as a “zero sum game.” If you're not a “winner”… Or you will be considered the “loser.” Therefore, we are encouraged to do everything we can to “Claw” our way to that top position of power sometimes at the expense of others… and as the peak of the Mountain gets smaller and smaller on the way to the top there is less and less room for us to stand, but one finally the one emerges… victorious! What crazy anxiety that produces… It is no wonder that one in ten young people in the United States today have a diagnosed anxiety disorder. This isn’t completely unlike what is going on in our readings today. 

We were very carefully warned at the beginning of the service, as the collect so plainly tells us… “not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly!” Anxious? – about earthly things?? Who us??? NOW… that statement even makes me anxious! I'm getting anxious about being anxious!

Anxiety and Society are friends… And our Society LOVES Anxiety!!! Anxiety is created in all types of situations… How will I get that job and a corner office with a view??? I have been a faithful employee for YEARS!... I deserve more responsibility – AND – MORE MONEY! 

Or even better yet… Lord, who will sit at your right hand in the place of honor? Lord, you said you were going to have to die… do you think when you are gone, I can be in charge? Lord, don’t you like me better than you like him?

Can you imagine the anxiety level of the disciples? In their society, that is what they know… They lived in a world where honor and status held extreme value… Their obsession with positions of power rendered them totally incapable of understanding, or even accepting what Jesus is trying to teach them.

Even though Mark’s account of this incident says that they were silent when they hit Capernaum, (on their way to Jerusalem) Jesus knew something was going on… Jesus tried to teach them along the way, as he told them over and over – That “the Son of Man is to be betrayed, killed, and then risen in three days… 

But the scripture says that they continued to not understand… and they were anxious about the things to come…They were all caught up within the struggles for power and position in this world, arguing with one another about who was the “greatest" and who would sit at Jesus’ right hand… 

Jesus, like so often before, uses the opportunity to try to teach them more… He tells them,“Whoever wants to be first… must be last of all and servant of all?”

I can only imagine the responses…but Lord, I left my job and my life and followed you… I have listened to your teachings… I believe that you are the ONE that has been sent by GOD into the world… You ARE the Messiah, the Christ!

We can only imagine…

I can handle that new account…Put ME in coach… I am ready to play! The disciples were anxious… and yet they still did not understand… and at this point…  they seem to be getting more and more anxious… So… In the midst of their anxiety and them not understanding… Jesus goes a step further… 

Jesus takes a little child in his arms… A little child, who was considered to be the weakest and most vulnerable member of their society… A little child, with little or no status and the least among those within the community or family… And Jesus said to his followers…“Whoever welcomes one such child in my name, welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”

In one phrase, Jesus collapses the whole power structure that his disciples were trying to climb and disarms their understanding of the way things work in society. They learn quickly that they need to put it back together and reassess things in their heads and in their manner of life VERY differently.

They must welcome the child… Because when they welcome the child… they welcome GOD! They must come off of their “high horse,” forget about their quest for personal greatness, and completely HUMBLE themselves... Completely Humble themselves and show a radical hospitality to even the weakest member of their society… And this is a very difficult thing for them to put into practice. This is very difficult for ANYONE to put into practice.

St. Benedict, the abbot of Monte Cassino, lived in the 6th century. He wrote a famous “rule” that governs Monastic life. Part of that rule included 10 steps of humility… After listing all the steps, he says, “after ascending all these steps of humility, the monk will quickly arrive at that perfect love of God which casts out fear. Through this love, all that he once performed with dread, he will now begin to observe without effort, as though naturally, from habit…”

Now - We are NOT Monks in the 6th Century. However, we must show welcome like Jesus says, but, not just to each other… We need to welcome the lowest of the low… we must cast down our personal delusions of power, and redefine in our lives what it means to be “great.” 

We must HUMBLE ourselves… and through our acts of personal humility and welcome, God will casts out our fears, and remove our anxieties…

In our gospel story, Jesus will not be among his disciples for much longer… 

He has told them that he will die, and they are scared… and they are anxious… because they don’t understand. But, we have had 2000 years to figure it out… We know the rest of the story… We can look beyond the cross to the glorious resurrection…We know that the saving act of Jesus has been done… And even though we are told not to, we are still anxious about earthly things…

So, as we approach the table this morning, let us humble ourselves… let us put aside our personal power, and our rank and status, and let us get rid of our personal feelings and realize that we are NOT any better than anyone or anything that happens to kneel next to us… Let us understand that we don’t have to be “successful” by the world’s standards to inherit the kingdom of heaven… let us not be anxious… Don’t be anxious about earthly things, but love things heavenly…