What do you want with us, Jesus?

Mark 1:21-28

February 1, 2009

Have you come to destroy us? Have you come to destroy us, Jesus, you Holy One of God? In short, yes.

Oh how I wish I could have been there in that synagogue that day to see the confrontation between Jesus and this crafty little unclean spirit! Man, what it show! Can you picture it?

Jesus laying out the truth of God’s Word as one that hasn’t been seen before. The authority that he has has captivated the assembly of 40 or 50 people, and they are feeding out of the palm of his hand. Then out of no where…an interruption breaks everyone’s concentration and this powerful teaching leaps off the page of Scripture and becomes action right into the middle of worship!

And just as Jesus did in the wilderness for 40 days, previous in this chapter, he is confronted again by that power that opposes everything that he is about, namely God.

I don’t know about you, but I find that I can relate more to the man with the unclean spirit than I can with the other people in the synagogue, or Jesus for that matter. Not because I think I am evil, or that any of you are evil, but I relate to this man because there are so many things in my life that get in the way of me putting myself under the power and authority Jesus has to change my life. In fact, I can’t do it alone.

How often do we ask, “What do you want with us, Jesus?”, while at the same time living with the underlying thought that God is out to get us because it seems that life is too chaotic, too painful or lonely. “Have you come to destroy us? Really, tell me, Lord God of the Universe, what DO you WANT with me?”

To which Jesus responds tersely, “Keep quiet, and come out of him!” You see, in spite of our own attempts to confuse or restrict God’s power to change us, we are powerless. Jesus speaks, and the adversary of God is defeated.

What does Jesus want with us?

He wants to release us from obstructions and see with the eyes of faith.

He wants us to stop asking so many questions that attempt to reduce his power and authority.

He wants us to see ourselves and others as the beautiful creatures that God has so lovingly and meticulously made us.

It is too easy to point at something and judge its whole as good or bad without understanding the whole of the situation. Our lives are (sometimes necessarily) based on making snap judgments, and yet we sell God and our neighbor short when we allow our judgments to dictate our relationships.

When I was in seminary, I worshiped in a community with a very diverse population, with people from all over the world and in nearly the entire spectrum of socio-economic classes. One of the guys that I couldn’t figure out was a man who was about 50 years old and always sat in the front pew wearing a white robe. From a distance, he seemed very peculiar, if not just plain weird. He didn’t look any different that anyone else, so it could be assumed that he just thought it was special to wear a robe. He never assisted in worship, or lit candles. Once in a while he would hold the cup with grape juice in it at communion, but he always wore the robe.

Within a couple months of being there I learned that his name was Charlie. He grew up in this congregation and had been there for over 40 years. Charlie was cognitively disabled and when he was growing up the church had very little to do with people who had any cognitive disabilities. Often they were outcast, and their families were sometimes blamed for the “problems” their children had. You could say that the church thought that something “evil” or “unclean” had happened to them. But not this church. There happened to be a number of young people like Charlie at the time and so the pastor modified the confirmation curriculum so that these young people would be able to have the same privilege of being a confirmed member of the church as all the other kids. 40 some years later, Charlie is living his discipleship out through the same congregation that saw what God sees in him, that he is loved as he is and that he has everything that he needs to be a follower of Jesus.

Through the brave and faithful actions of a faith community the evil of isolation and shame were put to death so that others might have life in Jesus name.

Jesus speaks and evil is defeated. When Jesus speaks today it often sounds like your voice or yours, or ours collective as a faith community. And sometimes, in order for evil to be defeated, it takes the collective voice of Christians across our cities and country and even around the world to defeat evil. We hear God speak in our lives and we are set free from obstructions to Jesus and free for serving others.

As people of faith, we are empowered by Christ and the Holy Spirit, to act on the behalf of those whose lives have been touched by things not of God and to show them that the God of hope is present and real.

What does Jesus want with us? He wants nothing less than our whole selves and he goes to the farthest end to claim it for God. He has given us nothing less than his whole self spread out on a cross, which God used to defeat evil and give us abundant life through his death. It isn’t easy or clean. It is God's way of being with us.

At the end of U2 concerts, they often end the show with the song Yahweh. It is a confession of faith and a prayer for the world to be shaped by God. In the chorus, Bono recognizes God's power through suffering and the world's key to following Jesus, that there is always pain before a child is born.

U2 Yahweh Lyrics:
Yahweh, Yahweh
Always pain before a child is born
Yahweh, Yahweh
Still I'm waiting for the dawn

Take these hands teach them what to carry
Take these hands Don't make a fist
Take this mouth So quick to criticise
Take this mouth Give it a kiss

Yahweh, Yahweh
Always pain before a child is born
Yahweh, tell me now Why the dark before the dawn?

Take this city A city should be
shining on a hill
Take this city If it be your will
What no man can own, no man can take
Take this heart
Take this heart
Take this heart
And make it break

Through our encounters with Jesus, may our hearts break for those who have been hurt, harmed and lonely and may we be changed all over again by seeing God work a new thing in their lives by the power of Jesus. Amen.

A Ringside Seat to a Christian Argument

Here's the text to my sermon for Sunday, September 7, 2008 based on Matthew 18:15-20

I was talking with some of the other pastors in town this week and we thought it was a cruel trick that the people who put the lectionary together play on us when they know that it is the opening day of Learning Time!

However, I think that this reading is a great reminder for us as we begin a new program year at People of Hope what we are a part of when we live as disciples of Jesus and we get along with each other.

When I was a chaplain intern in a hospital out in Oregon, the summer before I came to People of Hope, I worked with all kinds of different patients and their families and witnessed all kinds of different dynamics within those families. I was so new to being a chaplain though that I hardly felt prepared to bring spiritual wisdom and comfort to people who were often having experiences that dramatically changed the way they saw their lives. The reality was, I was scared. I was scared to approach the room of patients whose charts would say, “Patient has stated they are angry at God.” or “Patient and family have conflicting views for care.” What could I do to make the situation any better?

In these situations, I knew that several things could happen. If a patient was angry with God and I walked in as the chaplain, I could immediately become the target of the problem because I represent the thing that the patient is angry at. On the other hand, it could be a great comfort to a patient to have the chaplain show up and be able to tell someone who cares about God how angry they are about what has happened to them.

On one occasion, I walked into the room of a patient who had been diagnosed with pneumonia. He was in his 50s, married, had a daughter and a granddaughter. As I visited with him, I came to find out he had been a pretty heavy drinker in the past, a gambler who lost more than he won, he hopped from job to job always making enough to pay the bills, but not doing much else to support his family. His daughter was sitting there as we talked and would interject her perspective from time to time, often encouraging him to tell more details of the story and commentary on how his actions affected the rest of the family. I heard how she and her father had grown apart for years and how painful that was to her. I heard how things were getting better, but that this illness really scared her because she wasn’t sure if they’d have enough time to reconcile. I heard how he regretted so many of the things that he’d done in the past, how he thought that there was no way to regain a relationship with her. Without really trying to do anything but listen, I found myself in the middle of confrontation. It was the confrontation of the truth. But it was rooted in a deep desire for a closer relationship.

There are few Bible passages that challenge me more than this one. I don’t know about you, but growing up in Minnesota, I didn’t really learn much about confrontation or gain any appreciation for it…in fact it’s a swear word in some families I know…or so it seems.

We have been programmed in our Midwestern ways to be Minnesota nice, which from my estimation means that we accept what comes to us, nod and smile in agreement, don’t stir the water too much. We may even convince ourselves that everything will be ok over time. But it usually isn’t if left unaddressed.

Instead of talking to the person who’s offended us, we may even go to our friends or family who will agree with us and tell them how offended we were by what was said or done instead of bringing our grievance to the person who has caused us pain. Yet, what good does this do us in the long run? Sure we feel affirmed by the ones we know will agree with us, but there is still a distance growing between us and the one who’s offended us if we don’t go straight to the source to seek reconciliation and acceptance.

I said that I am challenged by Jesus’ words and directions here. This reading seems too legalistic. It has been abused by too many people, especially in the church over the centuries. It appears that this is a method for a power play for breaking someone who has been perceived to have done wrong.

But taking a closer look there is great wisdom here and a faithful way of dealing with conflict that leads to restored relationship instead of isolating dominance. Look at the reason that Jesus tells us to go to the one who’s offended…it’s so that they may be restored to the community.

Unlike many arguments we have in life, where our goal is to be right and for us to win our way, Jesus gives this instruction under the direction that the church, who is God’s family, is not called to argue for one’s own interests, but is called as a community to seek the interests of God.

In order for us to accomplish or even attempt this, we as the church need to be learners of God’s way, together. That is what a disciple is; a learner. As learners, we come humbly to this work of being and shaping the church. We have to assume that we don’t have it all figured out and that we will stumble along the way, but by God’s grace, we have enough figured out to be called the church.

And as God’s family, we know there are ways of living our lives that are more faithful to God than other ways of living. So we strive together toward living God’s ways of generosity, mercy, worship, justice, love, hospitality, and a commitment to God’s mission in the world. There are obviously others, but these are some of the big ones. So, if we agree on how we live together as the church we also agree to be accountable to one another.

If I do something that the church does not think is a characteristic of our Christian community, I hope you will tell me in love and in the interest of our shared commitment to the church.

It’s a like being a part of a family, right? Let’s say a mother brings her son to the park and he is playing on the playground with other kids. Now, little Johnnie starts picking up rocks and throwing them at the other kids. Does the mother show love in not correcting the child’s behavior? If that behavior continues to be allowed, it becomes normalized in that child’s life and by the time their in kindergarten, little Johnnie becomes the most feared kid in his class and soon isolated because he was not taught the rules of the community around him.

Jesus does not wish for us to be isolated or feared as the church in the world. In fact when we read the line, “If he ignores the community, deal with him as you would a heathen and a tax collector”, we may at first blush think this is the harshest and most radical thing Jesus could possibly say. But, then we remember who it was that Jesus chose to be with, the sinners and the tax collectors and we realize that the Jesus’ vision for the church is a place of radical inclusion that takes the process of learning to be disciples seriously.

This is why we have LT, small groups, this is our job as the church to instruct and model the ways of God for younger generations in our homes and in our communities.

Conflict is inevitable, being human is a messy job. We all make mistakes, we all fall short of Jesus’ vision for the church, and the expectations of our family and friends, just like my patient fell short of his family's expectations. As God's people we keep striving with one another toward Christ's vision for the church, lovingly encouraging each other, helping each other live in God’s ways, and seeking reconciliation with those who’ve offended us by accepting each other as fellow learners along the way.

Jesus leaves us at the end of this reading with the assurance that in our reconciliation and acceptance in the community, that when we gather with two or three of our friends of the church, Jesus is present, and ready to guide our actions and decisions, and open us to the mysteries of God and deeper relationships with each other.

Wilderness Wanderings with Good Company

Three weeks ago, my colleague, friend and founding pastor of the church I serve, left for a new call in St. Paul. As the congregation and I have transitioned into this new space and time together, I have discovered that though I may be the sole ordained guy around, that I am in good company in this venture.

I have said to our leadership team a few times, "Here's where I think we need to go, but I've never done this before." And their response is typically, "Neither have we!" There is great comfort in being able to wander in this wilderness together. In my sermon on Sunday, I said that anytime we find ourselves wandering in the wilderness, we better be looking for God. Moses and the Israelites stumbled on God, Elijah found God in the still small voice on the mountain. John the Baptist cried out for the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord, and Jesus feeds more than 5000 in the wilderness on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.

It's comforting to know that we are not alone. There's good company in the wilderness. I just find that I'm required to rely on God more when I trip into the wilderness. As I have met with so many now from People of Hope, I am most often uplifted by their faith that we are going to continue to be a strong community of faith and that we are all in this together. I am humbled by their faith and confidence in my leadership, even when I am half some of their ages.

The more I meet with people, the more I realize too that God knows what he is doing in bringing the church made of all kinds of people together and shaping them into the body of Christ. Over and over, I have seen this body broken open and shared with each other and the community. Over and over I am amazed at the vision that God has placed in this community of believers, seekers, cynics, questioners, lovers of God, and bystanders. It's good company for this leg of the wilderness wandering.

Welcome to the big bright world Eliana Audrey

With the wonder of today's technology, we can introduce the world to Ellie. It's like the scene in the Lion King when Rafiki runs to the top of the mountain and presents Simba to the animal kingom, only I don't have to face the hyenas!

Our new family is doing really well, Erica and my eyes could stand to see a little more of the inside of our eyelids, but we're figuring it out every hour.

Pictures of Eliana

When Love Comes to Town After Party

In the Christian tradition, Good Friday is usually reserved for a solemn remembrance of Jesus' death on a gruesome cross. Christian denominations with roots in the 16th and 17th century are well accustomed to feeling empty on this somber occasion. As gruesome a death as Jesus had, it does not compare to the abundant life and love that comes through the cross to Easter, and Jesus' resurrection.

People of Hope and Living Stone Church brought these traditions of somber reflection and God's ultimate act of love together on Friday night in "When Love Comes to Town: An Easter Experience".

If you saw the show, Let me know what you thought by contacting me. If you didn't see the show, but are interested in knowing more, contact me.

Here's a sample of last week's event.

Peace be yours in the Risen Christ!