Friends for the Journey

We all need friends to help us read the map of our Faith journey.

This sermon was preached on October 31, 2018 during the transferred Feast of Saint Simon and Saint Jude. The readings that inspired the sermon were the following:

Deuteronomy 32:1-4

Ephesians 2:13-22

John 15:17-27

Psalm 119:89-96

“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning.” These words ended today’s Gospel lesson. In the Episcopal Church we do not often speak of testifying or that dirty word “evangelizing.” And yet, Christ foretells not just for his disciples, but for all his people that we are to share His Good News, even to the ends of the earth. So, how do we do this? I’ll tell you how… WITH FRIENDS! More on these friends in just a moment.

As a kid, I often heard stories at home and at Camp Winnataska about King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. I loved these stories of bravery, perseverance, chivalry, and seeking Christ—and His Holy Grail. You know, the Grail is the chalice that Jesus and His disciples drank from at the Last Supper? Legend tells us that Joseph of Arimathea caught some of Jesus’ blood in that cup and it became forever sanctified. Allegedly it even helped Joseph survive for decades in prison even without food. At some point the Chalice was lost and King Arthur sent his Knights on a quest to find the Grail. This is where the going with friends comes into play.

Two of my favorite characters in the Arthurian Legend are Sir Bors and Sir Percival. They were the best of friends—they fought together, prayed together, and sought the Grail together. Even when Percival died, Bors struggled to continue and it was only the search of Christ’s Cup that spurred him to keep going. Hearing of their sort of Christ-focused friendship inspired me as a youth to seek that sort of friendship in my own life. And, as an adult I have found other examples of Christian friendship, like in our saints for today.

Saints Simon and Jude were disciples of Our Lord. Upon Christ’s death they were terrified, but through the power of the Resurrection and the imparting of God’s Spirit they shared Jesus’ Good News all the way to Persia (over 1,000 miles away). They supposedly did this work together. They preached together. They traveled together. They even died together as martyrs in the young Church. Throughout the New Testament Scriptures describing the Early Church we hear of saints like Paul and Timothy as well as Peter and John working together for Christ. And, these ones would not have been emboldened to do God’s work of sharing the grace of Christ with others without each other. Yes, this was true then, but it is also true now.

Today more than ever we need one another. In a book called Christians Among the Virtues Stanley Hauerwas and Charles Pinches speak of the friendship required for our life-long journey. For us to grow to trust God more fully we need friends who will walk with us, friends who have walked before us, and friends who will walk after us. This is to say that in this journey with Jesus we need companions and contemporaries who will be the Simon to our Jude. We also need those who have journeyed before us and who know how to read the map so to speak. Finally we need to pass along our wisdom with those who will walk the journey with Jesus after us. So how do we find these fellow travelers?

Well, you who are sitting here in Church are already surrounded by some fellow wanderers. Still there are more ways to find other pilgrims. One way to sprout new spiritual friendships is through the Cursillo Movement—can you tell I just came off that mountaintop experience myself? I’d love to talk more with you about that. Or, about Spiritual Direction if you want another perspective on reading the map for your journey of faith. Another way to make new spiritual friendships is by coming to Bible Studies, Sunday School classes, or other Christian Formation opportunities here at St. John’s. There are retreats at Camp McDowell, in Sewanee, and in Cullman. Also, you might want to share wisdom you have with others by teaching a class—Harry Moore would love more Christian Formation volunteers. Or, you could serve with our Children’s or Youth Ministries or at Banks-Caddell. The ways to be friends with saints around us is innumerable.

We all need a Bors to our Percival, a Jude to our Simon. Each of us needs spiritual friends that connect us both to older and younger generations. We all need companions for our lives of faith. Who are your friends for the journey with Jesus?

Road Trip!

Photo courtesy of http://bit.ly/1wSwpFQ

Audio for this sermon can be found here.

Have you ever been on a road trip… with someone that you just met? Not someone you have been friends with for a year or two, or even a couple of months. I mean, have you ever been on a road trip with someone that you JUST met? I have not even come close to this, and what is worse, I cannot even imagine doing this, as I am the type of person who brings with me everything and the kitchen sink when I travel. Although I was not a boy scout, I live by their motto: “Be prepared.”

The gospel lesson for today seems to fly in the face of this motto, as it is in essence the beginning of a spontaneous road trip. Last week we heard the story of Jesus calling Simon, Andrew, James, and John, and this week’s tale follows immediately after the fishers becoming fishers of men. I like to think about how four fishermen would have gotten along traveling with the Son of God. Talk about a great reality TV show! Did James and John get into some sibling rivalries, like later when they would fight over who gets to sit at Jesus’ right hand? Did Andrew ever get tired of Simon seeking to be Jesus’ pet? What did Jesus make of these dirty, smelly fishermen? If there were any fireworks early on during the journey we do not get a whiff of them. Instead, we hear that this group of men made their first stop on the northwest corner of the Sea of Galilee at a synagogue meeting. What happens there indicates to us that this will be unlike any journey that these fishermen (or anyone else for that matter) have ever been on before.

At the synagogue meeting Jesus begins teaching, but his words strike directly to the heart of those who are listening. The religious leaders who typically gave teachings at the synagogue, the scribes, seemed lacking in light of Jesus. Those who heard Jesus were astounded at his teaching. The one attribute that stands out about Jesus’ teaching Mark highlights writing, “For he taught them as one having authority.”

All of a sudden a man comes into the synagogue meeting, a man who was possessed by demonic forces. The gang of demons within cannot keep quiet immediately yelling at Jesus, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?” What must the disciples have been thinking? “I left my job for this? A religious meeting with this crazy guy bursting onto the scene!” Yet it is here that the demon correctly identifies Jesus, “I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” The disciples were not present at Jesus’ baptism, so they did not hear God’s voice from on high, they just left everything and followed Jesus.

At the beginning of Mark’s gospel we did hear God’s words at to Jesus, “You are my Son, the beloved, with you I am well pleased." Remembering Christ's baptism illuminates the irony of this encounter with the unclean spirit. The Son of God consumed by the Spirit of God comes face-to-face with a man occupied by a spirit of Demons. Jesus wasted no time in arguing with the demons, as he rebuked the unclean spirit. Yet, the word for rebuke might come off too weak. This was not a verbal slap on the wrist, but was all encompassing and thorough conquering. Like elsewhere in the Old Testament where God defeated the forces of Satan, Jesus again puts down an enemy of God. Certainly we can feel good for this man possessed by demons, he’s been saved, but in this moment Jesus’ healing is not just about getting better. Something new happened when the man filled with God’s Spirit came in contact with the man full of demons.

We can be so focused on the exorcism in this scene that we completely missed the words that the demon possessed man uttered. “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?” Maybe this is the demons fighting for their place, but I believe something else is going on when Jesus says, “Be silent and come out of him!” To teach with authority would have certainly “astounded” the disciples, but the convulsing man and the spirits crying as they fled would have shown the disciples that they were not just following an inspiring teacher.

Something brand new happened in the middle of this synagogue meeting. Jesus calls out the status quo. All that was stale or old or counter to God’s work consumed that demon possessed man. In the course of one profound statement Jesus calls out this tendency to just hang onto the status quo: Be silent and come out of him. This was the roadmap that this spiritual road trip was to follow: Inspiring teaching was to be proclaimed, healing was to happen, and the forces that ran contrary to God’s blossoming Kingdom were to be defeated! And the good news for us is that the journey that Jesus began with the disciples he continues with us.

All of us can be bound up by something that runs against God’s grain. We can all be possessed. Perhaps not by demons like this man, but we can be consumed by material possessions (the things we own, own us too!), addictions, obsessions, lies, guilt, shame, and all of those things that deny the will of God.

The words Jesus spoke to cast out the demons cut to our core as well: “Be silent and come out!” The consuming forces were no longer to speak. How many times do we make excuses for those things that keep us from a deepening relationship with God? I will stop and help the stranger in need some other day, I will pray with God next week, I will read my Bible when I have time, I will give more to God’s work in the world when I have more to give… Our demons may not look like stumbling into a church shouting at the preacher, but that does not mean they do not exist.

Christ began a journey with a ragtag group of fishers long ago, but He yearns to walk with us too. Jesus wants to unbind us from all that consumes us. Our Savior silences all our distractions, so that He can cast down all those obstacles, and show us clearly that we are no longer bound by any enemies of God. Instead we are called not just to be part of a church but to follow Christ on this expedition that brings fully to life God’s life-giving, world-transforming, love-filled Kingdom. Drop everything because Jesus wants to go on a road trip with you!

Respect My Authority!

Eric Cartman from South Park impersonating a police officer

What is wrong with this picture? I am starting off this post about this coming Sunday's gospel lesson with a picture of Eric Cartman dressed as a police officer from the Comedy Central TV show South Park. Why, oh why, would I do something like this? 

Early on in Mark's Gospel account Jesus calls Simon, Andrew, James, and John (we actually heard that story last Sunday), inviting them to follow him. Right after this Jesus begins teaching at the synagogue, which was probably not a building so much as a gathering of religious people. From Mark's telling of the story the religious authority of the day, the scribes, were not too impressive. They were without power. Jesus, on the other hand, commanded respect. Not only did he teach with might, he also healed with convincing results.

During the middle of Jesus' instruction a man with an unclean spirit stumbles upon the religious gathering. This distracting figure even calls out Jesus saying, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God." I will save speculating on what the meaning of the unclean spirit is for another day, but regardless this would have been a critical and potentially deflating moment for Jesus' message and ministry. If he does not respond to the man with the unclean spirit, then all of his teaching with authority will be deflated like a pin popping the balloon that is Jesus' ministry. Yet, Jesus responds by rebuking the spirit saying, "Be silent and come out of him!" The man convulses, the spirit screams, and healing happens. So what does any of this have to do with Cartman?

In the episode in which Eric Cartman impersonates a police officer, the school boy usurps a sense of power behind the make believe badge. He uses one of his most readily available skills, that is being a bully, to coerce others into doing what he wants them to do. While it is funny to hear him say, "RESPECT MY AUTHORITAY!" This is not a commanding moment so much as it is a desperate demand. For no one in a position of power actually gave Cartman the right to police others, his farcical actions bring to the surface a legitimate question about power and authority: Is power something that is given to us or is it something that is earned?

Specifically this question makes me think of politicians, military officers, and police personnel, but also CEOs, other business executives, and even ministers. Do those in positions of power hide behind the authority vested in them or is it possible to earn a sense of respect from others without any favorable position? To me the person of Jesus, who came from a humble background, never asked to receive others' respect. His behavior, his words, and his actions all fell in line with one another, and they all commanded devotion from almost everyone he met. Cartman, and many of us who fear that we truthfully do not have power on our own, must say something like, "RESPECT MY AUTHORITY!"

Of course, we may not always notice when someone is worthy of respect, worthy of honor, and worthy of praise. We are all capable of mistakenly overlooking the power vested in others being who they were meant to be; however, the person of Jesus leaves little doubt in my mind that we respect his authority. In Mark's Gospel God says to Jesus, "This is my Son, the beloved. With him I am well pleased." The author of this text did not make clear if anyone else other than Jesus heard these words. Certainly if they had they would respected him. Yet, Jesus' life seems to fulfill the words from on high. Through calling followers and revealing to the synagogue not only power-filled teaching, but also authoritative healing Jesus never had to say "RESPECT MY AUTHORITAY!" His entire life and ministry said it (and still says it) for him!