Ramblings

"Childlike but not Childish" - 9/19/2021

Sermon presented at Nagoya All Saints International Church. http://nagoyaallsaintsinternationalchurch.com/ Based on Mark 9: 30-37

In 2014, the US cable channel Lifetime, sponsored a contest called Child Genius that offered a prize of a $100,000 (nearly eleven million yen) toward a university scholarship for that child.

The series followed twenty gifted kids from around the United States as they prepared for the competition. Over the course of the series, the children were given sixteen tests on subjects like math and geography. At the conclusion of the contest, the winner was 13-year-old Vanya Shivashankar. Now seven years later, Ms. Shivashankar is a college student at Yale on track to become a cardiac surgeon.

The German word for these young geniuses is wunderkind, or kids who are natural wonders. Wunderkind would have been a curious designation in Jesus' day, for except for a very, very few children of the elite, most children were not people until they reached the age of thirteen and went through the rite of passage to adulthood. Although children were appreciated, and we know for example from other stories in the New Testament that children were loved. Just think of the story of the Syrophoenician woman earlier in Mark who comes to Jesus because her young daughter is ill. (Mark 7:25) Nonetheless, having survived their early years in an ancient culture with a high rate of childhood mortality, there would not have been child prodigy awards, much less college scholarships.

Of course, we could argue that Jesus himself was a child prodigy, given Luke's description of the 12-year-old Jesus dazzling the teachers in the temple (Luke 2:41-52). Maybe that is another reason, why Jesus was so fond of children, seeing in them the capacity for remarkable things, despite their humble status.

What interests us today, however, are not children’s IQ’s, but, rather, other aspects of their lives that Jesus valued. It is Jesus' adult disciples, on the other hand, who are acting like a bunch of frustrated children.

Let us review. In today's Gospel, Jesus and the disciples are on the way back to Galilee from the mountain where Jesus was transfigured (vv. 2-13).  If you remember Jesus had taken only Peter, James, and John up that mountain.    On the way down they encountered the other disciples who had waited for them.  It seems that during that absence the remaining disciples had been approached by a man whose son had an evil spirit (vv. 14-29).  These disciples had tried to heal the boy and had failed.  Jesus of course cast out the evil spirit.

Today immediately follows that narrative arc and all begins as they are approaching Capernaum on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee --- the hometown of some of the disciples and where it seems Jesus had set up office. Ironically, after the episode when the disciples had been unable to cast out the evil from boy, while they are walking the disciples were arguing about which one of them was the greatest! To which Jesus asks, "What were you arguing about on the way?” But, like children caught doing something naughty, they kept silent (vv. 33-34). The disciples may have either recognized that they got caught with their hand in the cookie jar, or wanted to keep it a secret, either way, this conversation among the disciples becomes a teaching moment.

Although we may find the discussion out of order, remember that this assortment of men and women, had little chance of ever reaching any rank at all. This was a society and world, where nearly everyone focused on survival: everyday meals, a roof over one’s head and adding to their meagre holdings. Besides stark economic inequality, social rank was very stratified, and it was hard to move from a lower rank to a higher one. Therefore, we can assume that the disciples saw their association with Jesus as a potential elevator, whereby their own social status shoots to a higher floor, as it were. If he was truly the Messiah, Israel's king, then those who were closest to him would most certainly rank high in his kingdom and even score a prime seat near the throne in Jerusalem.

"Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all," Jesus suggests. Obviously, Jesus knew what was discussed. They were arguing about upward mobility, and yet Jesus reminds them that following him is completely an act of downward mobility. The wunderkinds in Jesus' kingdom are not the ones with the highest academic scores, but the ones who willingly take the place of the lowest. Now that must have come as quite a shock because most of the disciples were close to the lowest class. I can just imagine the disciples saying to themselves, “Jesus, we are already pretty low…. what could be lower?

To illustrate his point Jesus adds a visual aid. Jesus places a child among them. He gathers the child in his arms as if to reveal that this child, one we can just imagine who ran around Capernaum getting underfoot, was the most important person in the world at that moment. An educated assumption would be that this child was no kewpie, with clean clothes, recently bathed with fresh shampooed hair. More than likely, the child lived in poverty at the lowest rung of the social ladder.

Yet, the poverty child is the prodigy child. The child exemplifies the discipleship values of Jesus. "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me," says Jesus, "and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me" (v. 37).

So, what can today’s episode teach us other than our affluence makes this whole discipleship process that much more difficult. Here are some ideas that may resonate as I reflect on my own experience. When Jesus suggests a childlike stance to welcoming, he was not simply suggesting sponsoring a child in another country. It went much deeper.

My first observation should be clear but needs to be repeated.  Jesus is indicating the values of a child without being childlike. Jesus was to my knowledge, never childish in his behavior, yet welcomed all. Later in chapter 11, the Gospel of Mark retells the story of Jesus cleansing the temple, a temple whose focus was no longer on God alone, but corrupt. Jesus’ response was not a tantrum. Meaning, we are to be childlike toward the world, but not childish! For example, children are dependent on the provision of others yet can throw a tantrum when their desires are not fulfilled to their expectations. Adults recognize the tantrum as childish behavior.

As disciples we acknowledge that we are dependent on God’s provision, recognizing that we have received gifts to provide for ourselves and others. Yet we can be childish wishing God would comply with all our personal wishes. Not that we cannot pray for change, but I have experienced adult tantrums directed at God. Likewise, as adults we may exhibit childish behavior toward others when we have a sense of entitlement expecting comfort for example and wishing others would comply with our personal wishes.  As disciples with a posture of welcome, how are we childish in our behavior instead of childlike in welcoming?

A second observation is childlike welcome and validation. We all need validation, for someone to tell us that we are doing well. We all need people who recognize our worth and see value in us. Children need it as well as adults. Although we cannot go back 21 centuries, I would suspect that children then are like children now, more accepting of others and expressing it to the other. Children accept others, their thoughts and feelings with less hesitation and respond in kind. The older we get, the more we move toward validation by merit. Worth is more a measurement of intelligence, physical ability, and physical attractiveness.  Contrast that with our own value before God; it comes by grace through faith. God deeply values us without merit. So, the question is what would it mean for us as disciples --- as part of our childlike welcoming --- to express validation toward those without any obvious attributes?  Can we be child-like in freely recognizing others worth and see value in that person, regardless of any virtue out of thankfulness for the validation God has given us?

Finally, a great deal has been written about children and humility but it’s worth repeating. A famous reminder for me regarding humility comes in the Old Testament book of Jonah. At the conclusion of the book, if you remember, when Jonah finally does God’s bidding, Jonah is upset with the outcome.  In response God grows a tree where Jonah goes to sit in the shade.  Then God kills the tree and Jonah is angry.  To which, God reminds Jonah that Jonah is not God.

There are other places where scripture teaches us the importance of humility. As humility relates to children however, the value of humility goes hand in hand with vulnerability. As modeled in children --- because they have no other choice --- humility comes from a posture of weakness. As adults however, we segment those childlike values into unique distinct attributes.  Whereas a child will be vulnerable, humble, and weak all in one stroke. As adults we may strive for vulnerability --- without perish the thought --- being perceived as weak or humble.  Jesus may be reminding us of this combined quality of children. Can we not only express humility in our welcome but vulnerability and weakness, or do we always need to be in control?

In summary, Jesus offers a reminder that, as God's children, we are a special kind of genius; Jesus reminds us that as Children of God we are wunderkind, paradoxically, where becoming more childlike leads to greater maturity. We are each valued, forgiven and loved. For that reason, humility, vulnerability, and weakness are of value as disciples because they are the cracks for God’s light to shine. Let us grow not in our childish behavior but as God’s childlike people, in welcome toward ourselves and toward others, so that all may grow in God’s love. Amen.

"Leaning into Discomfort" - September 12, 2021

Sermon preached at Yokohama Union Church on Mark 8 27-38. https://yokohamaunionchurch.org/

Let’s do a quick survey.  In your opinion … do Japanese like to do surveys, yes?  Or no? 

One could argue that Japanese love surveys because no matter how quirky or offbeat the topic, we are bound to find that someone has conducted an アンケート調査 (ankēto chōsa, questionnaire survey). It seems everyone takes a survey: government agencies, NHK and other mass media, market research companies, life insurance, think tanks, universities the list goes on.  If not a survey than asking for an opinion.  Across the media TV media world, announcers with camera in toe, are stopping people on the corner to ask “What do you think about…”  Perhaps the most familiar survey, however, which is frequently cited in the media, is the public opinion surveys conducted by the Prime Minister’s Cabinet Office. 

Therefore, when Jesus took his disciples to Caesarea Philippi, it should seem familiar to us.  Jesus seems to be conducting a survey.  But in this case, it is a survey not so much designed to gather information or measure the effectiveness of his ministry.  Instead of gathering data, Jesus is beginning a conversation on redefining discipleship, and what he was looking for in his disciples and, by extension, from us.

But let us back up before we get too far into the gospel.  For there is an important background subject we need to discuss first --- location.  The location of today’s event is important.

Today, we are told immediately that Jesus and his disciples were in the region of Caesarea Philippi.  Caesarea Philippi is an area located in a northern present-day border area between Israel/Palestine and Lebanon.  Caesarea Philippi was a city first created by colonizing Greeks at the southwestern base of Mt. Harmon near a flowing spring that fed the River Jordan.  Now centuries later, other than some tourist shops it is no longer occupied.  The spring is more a trickle than a stream, and all that remains other than some Roman ruins, is what initially brought the Greeks to this area, a large cave next to the spring that was set aside to honor the Greek god of the wild, Pan.

Nonetheless its history is rich particularly at the time of Jesus.  For over the centuries from its Greek roots through the Roman occupation, additional temples for various religions were added particularly one for the Roman Emperor.  In other words, Jesus was asking his seeming survey questions in a region where all around him and the disciples were different religions being practiced in a largely Gentile area.  So, why here and not in Jerusalem or Galilee?  Why in this place?

The location is an important introduction into his theme: Discipleship begins at the end of our comfort zones, where we are less than certain, less than sure and less than comfortable.  We all crave comfort and calm.  Where we can feel cozy and secure is important to life, yet these attributes to comfort can be barriers. Why?  Is staying in our comfort zones always for the best? Especially if God says we need to change!  But getting out of one’s comfort zone to enable this change is not easy.  Try one morning do something that is out of ordinary, a change to routine.  One person once told me that they decided to brush their teeth standing on one leg, just to get out of her habits.  It lasted about a day, then without realizing she had promptly returned to her morning practice.  Perhaps we are less about routine, more spontaneous.  Regardless we all yearn for a state of stability.

Today, this lesson arrives near mid-point in the Gospel of Mark.  Jesus knew his disciples better than they knew themselves, and Jesus knew that their preferences for the kind of Messiah they were looking for needed not only refining but redefining. Their Messiah fit their comfort zone, a King who would restore the Israel to a mythical age swept free of foreign occupation.  In other words, in a geographical location on the edge of their discomfort, Jesus begins to turn his disciples’ attention from their needs and desires toward the way of the cross.

Let us know continue into the gospel.  We are told that as they were walking in this region, Jesus suddenly gave them the first survey question: “What’s the word on the street about me? Who do people say that I am?” (v. 27).

As they traveled with Jesus through the villages of Judea and Galilee, the disciples had been collecting data --- not intentionally --- but hearing the buzz, feeling the pulse of the crowd. From the disciple’s response the crowds had a variety of opinions and just enough data to begin forming a profile of this healer and teacher from Galilee.

One significant data point dominated their survey: The crowd believed Jesus was a prophet in the mold of John the Baptist, Elijah or one of the others who dominated Israel’s history. To the crowd, Jesus was a kind of a throwback to an earlier age and like John the Baptist and Elijah, he was in the model of a forerunner to the real Messiah to come.

But what the disciples did not say overtly was this view of Jesus by the crowds was seen through their own skewed lens of personal bias toward what a Messiah might really look like. It’s no coincidence that in the story immediately preceding this one, Jesus heals a blind man who at first sees people but not with the full clarity of vision. Indeed, to him they looked like trees walking around (v. 24). It took a second application of Jesus’ healing hands for the blind man to finally see things clearly and in perspective.  Just imagine we have never seen before and now we can, see?  That would take some adjustment out of what had been before!  The crowd, too, as well as the disciples needed a similar retooling of vision to understand the information about Jesus’ identity.

 Jesus then asked a follow-up survey question of his disciples: “But who do you say that I am?” Peter, an eager guy who today would be the first to participate in every survey, gives his opinion without hesitation: “You are the Messiah” (v. 29). That seems like the right answer. The gospel of Mark has already told us up front that this gospel is “the good news about Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (1:1). “Christ” is the Greek rendering of “Messiah” and so it seems that Peter has grasped the message.

Like the crowd, however Peter’s own comfort gets in the way of understanding what that word, that title, means. Indeed, there is still great potential for misunderstanding until all the data is in, which is why Jesus “sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him” (v. 30).  Jesus himself then begins to fill in the data; information that it will take a journey to Jerusalem and the cross for the disciples to get a sense of this new habit of what following Jesus was going to entail.

Now in the first of three predictions about his death that the Gospel of Mark details, Jesus tells his disciples that he will be rejected, undergo great suffering, and be killed. but then he will rise again after three days (v. 31). The Gospel of Mark reiterates that Jesus said this “quite openly,” giving the information as clearly as possible (v. 32). But this new piece of information doesn’t fit Peter’s messianic vision, taking him far past anything that was comfortable.  This did not fit with Peter’s vision of what God’s messiah was supposed to be.  Understandably at the news, Peter took Jesus aside and began to “rebuke” him (v. 32). 

Furthermore, although I had mentioned the expectation of a King and occupation free country at the time of Jesus there were many other opinions about the Messiah’s role and mission in mass circulation. Messiah wannabes had popped up before Jesus and would continue to do so afterward, each gathering their own group of followers and selling their vision of what God had planned to do through them.  The common thread of all that data around the Messiah where nonetheless skewed by the bias of many people looking for relief from oppression by Rome and years of foreign domination before the current regime. Therefore, when people heard the word “Messiah,” they thought of someone who might be the modern equivalent of a new Emperor, but theirs.

So, although Peter said he was the Messiah, Peter’s view of the messiah job description had not changed. Peter was close to Jesus and saw some potential. After all, one who could feed 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish and then walk on water had to have the ability to be the kind of Messiah who would do great things and kick out the Romans. But now Jesus was talking about rejection, suffering and death. How can Jesus be that kind of new Emperor Messiah if he is dead? That kind of data made no sense to Peter.  It was not only out of his comfort zone, but it was also inconceivable.

Jesus understood the bigger picture. Therefore, Jesus rebuked Peter’s rebuke with a stern word: “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things” (v. 33).  In Peter’s rebuke, Jesus recognized the temptation for example, to be the kind of Messiah that would attract strong polling numbers, the kind of world leader Satan himself had tempted Jesus to become earlier after his baptism.  Remember when Satan tempted Jesus in the desert?  What was one of the temptations --- earthly power. (1:12).

Jesus is moving in a different direction. It is challenge for us with 21centuries of comfort. Jesus makes it clear: It’s not about ease; it’s about the cross. “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (v. 34). To get behind Jesus is to get under a cross and walk on a road to … rejection, suffering and self-denial.

Let us be blunt.  Following Jesus is not trendy and cool. It is not about strong polling numbers. And if it ever is, we got the wrong Jesus.  It is discipleship that follows Jesus in a life lived on behalf of others. Those are the “divine things” Jesus wants his disciples to focus on, not the “human things” of popularity, prosperity, and power.  To follow Jesus, in other words, is to embrace life at the edge of our comfort zone, in which one’s own preferences are set aside in favor of Christ’s preferences for us.

I could go on about today’s gospel but perhaps it is better to stop here and ask, “What about us?”  Well, in general we avoid discomfort.  It goes against so many things including the TV commercials we see.  Businesses survive to provide us things that match our own sense of comfort. Jesus however calls us to the edge of discomfort. We save our lives by losing them, and real profit only comes through giving our lives over to Jesus, living for his sake and the sake of his kingdom (vv. 35-36).

I wish I was a perfect example of that, but I am not. I love comfort. But, in all honesty it has been when I have been uncomfortable in my faith that I have learned.  Personally, one example was my journey in LGBTQ acceptance.  In leaning into my discomfort, I learned about God’s acceptance and love from the LGBTQ community.  Another example is before this most recent time in Japan, I was part of a team of people who wondered what would it mean to help those living in poverty?  However, all of us on the team had all come to the same conclusion.  Charity, providing a meal or shelter, will help for a day, maybe longer, but to change we needed to get at the root of the problem, the systemic roots that prevent people from living healthy lives.  We imagined what would it be like to work with congregations as they moved beyond charity to advocating for systemic change.  Over eight years we worked with twelve congregations, going to the boundaries of our and their comfort.  We learned a great deal, not only how hard it is, but learning about racism, housing, health, and wages as well as getting out of our comfort zones is transformative. 

Churches are no different than us an individual’s; we are creatures of habit.  It is far easier for those of us who are 21^st-century disciples of Jesus to want to tailor our lives as disciples as churches based on survey’s. We’d like to be popular, trendy and have a lot of people following us.  All of us are tempted, like Peter, to answer Jesus’ question, “Who do you say that I am?” by making him into a Messiah who fits our survey profiles.

Thankfully Jesus recognized that this isn’t a popular way, and that the world sees the cross as strange.  But we cannot avoid the fact that there’s only one real answer to that question of Jesus — Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, and he calls us to follow him to the cross.  And when we get to the cross, to climb up on it and suffer and die with him.  It’s the way of self-denial, self-sacrifice and self-giving.

Discipleship is not about how we answer a survey; it is about getting out of our comfort zones.  Where is your discomfort?  Perhaps it is the Holy Spirit teaching you to be a disciple?  It may be where Christ is calling us to be disciples.  Amen.

"Faithful Sparring" - 9/5/2021

Sermon presented at Yokohama Union Church Link to the congregation based on the gospel, Mark 7: 24-37.

I am going to begin today with a game.  It is called “What is True?”  It goes like this; I will tell you three things about myself, and you must guess which one of these three questions is false, not true.

Ready?  I am fifty-five years old.  True or False?  Second question.  I once worked at a fish factory in Iceland.  True or False?  Third question.  My wife and I have two children?  True or False? 

Are you ready for the correct answers?  Two as I said are true.  I did work in a fish factory in Iceland and yes, my wife and I have two children, two daughters.  The first question was untrue.  I am older than 55.  I will be 60 years old in a month. That game is an ice breaker.  It is a way for people around a table to get to know each other.

But it is not game one can play for long.  Can you guess why?  If we play too many times, we begin to question everything that the person is saying. It is natural to have doubts and to question and wonder but doubts and questions can become unhealthy.  We had can begin to doubt everything.  The opposite is also a problem, we become so sure we do not doubt or question at all. One definition of a cult is to not to question, but to obey everything one is told.

Christians are not a cult.  Although God’s love is constant, a gift we receive by grace through faith, we are reminded today that it is okay to spar, to question everything even --- God.  Furthermore, just like in judo, karate, boxing or kendo, Christian sparring can be healthy; we can become stronger.  Yet, as I mentioned the opposite can be true as well, doubts become so prevalent, we become unmoored, undecisive.  So, what is healthy sparring?

First, sparring --- asking questions, looking for answers --- is part of our Christian tradition.  One place where, over the centuries, a kind of sparring was common was among the rabbis who studied Jewish law. It's not uncommon in literature to see such rabbis from medieval times for example, described as “sparring” with one another over biblical texts. Here is one example, from a contemporary book, but referencing earlier times:  - The first reference is found in a book to help Jewish teachers instruct adult learners about God.  The book mentions that; In the days of the European Middle Ages, two titans of Jewish thought, Rabbi Moses Maimonides ... and Rabbi Moses Nachmanides ... sparred. Their argument: Was the obligation to believe in God one of the 613 commandments of the Torah, or was it the ground on which all the 613 commandments stood?"[1]

In both this example we hear of a common tradition of sparring.  In those cases, two examples, it was with another believer, one Jewish rabbi with another. That is an important clue for us. Sparring is with another person of faith.

Let’s now turn to our gospel.  Let us begin recalling that in several places in the gospels, Jesus' contemporaries address him as "rabbi." It was a term of respect, and it denoted that the person so addressed was considered a teacher and spiritual leader.  When we keep in mind that people called Jesus "rabbi," and that rabbinic sparring was a common practice, it goes a long way in helping us understand what's going on in our gospel reading, one that many people find troubling.

One obvious stumbling block for many of us with this passage is that it seems to portray Jesus as treating the Syrophoenician woman poorly. The lesson tells us up front that Jesus has retreated to Tyre, a non-Jewish area, in present day Lebanon and doesn't want anyone to know where he is. Jesus, in fact, is tired. Jesus needs not only some down time, but more importantly, some alone time with himself and some up time with his heavenly Father.

But, somehow, we are told the word gets out that Jesus, now with a growing reputation as a healer, is in an unidentified house in the village, and a woman whose daughter has "an unclean spirit" --- perhaps epilepsy or a mental illness --- comes to ask for his help. She wants Jesus to cast the demon out of her daughter.

By the ordinary standards of the day, the Jewish Jesus could have ignored her completely. She's a Gentile, and Jews and Gentiles had centuries of bad blood between them. She's a woman in an era when it was considered improper for a woman to approach a man to whom she is not related.  Also remember, Jesus is worn out, wanting only to rest and recharge, and she is intruding.  Given all of that, we're apt to hear Jesus' response to her as "Go away, and don't bother me."

Instead of saying that however, what Jesus did say was "Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." His meaning, apparently, is that his immediate mission is to his own Jewish community, and it's not right to take the work that's meant for Jews and throw it to dogs -- the Gentiles.

To us, modern readers, that sounds awful; it sounds -- well -- un-Christlike. It may help a little to know that the word Jesus used that's usually translated into English as "dogs" was a diminutive, more like "puppies." But still, is that any way to behave toward a woman, a mother who's desperate for help for her sick child?

However, it's possible that we're not hearing the exchange the way the woman did.  As I indicated earlier.  It is possible to see this event as one of “sparring." The point for us to notice today is that, if sparring is what's going on, then Jesus' comments to her about the puppies is, in fact, not rude, but an invitation to her to be his sparring partner. And, if that's the case, Jesus is honoring her with this invitation.

Certainly, the woman did not expect such an invitation, perhaps she expected a simply yes, or no.  Seemingly she doesn't hesitate for even a second at this response from Jesus.  Her answer: "Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs," she says.  The Bible rarely includes details like body language, so we do not know how Jesus reacted, other than Jesus tells her to go home for her daughter was healed.  There's no indication that this woman had any sense of Jesus' divine identity, yet we hear that her daughter is healed.  This I believe provides us a second clue to our doubts and questions; faithful sparring may come from unexpected people.

That certainly has been my experience. People whose circumstances are different from my own have opened me to new understandings of faith and life, even as it did for Jesus in this case, a strong, gentile woman.

I want to return to the gospel again, but before we do so, I think it may be helpful to remind ourselves of other places in scripture of other faithful sparring events.  There are several biblical precedents for faithful sparring not only among people of faith, or from unexpected people, but in relation to God.  These biblical precedents of people struggling with God may help us to see today’s gospel in that deeper light.

One of course is Hannah.  In 1 Samuel 1, we find Hannah praying and praying and praying, --- for a child.  In a culture where having biological children, particularly males was important as well as a culture that did not understand infertility as we do now, this struggle between Hannah and God may seem strange.  Furthermore, it has an outcome we may find challenging.  She does have a son, but not one she can keep.  The child would be apprenticed from an early age to the temple.  What a struggle, infertility and then when she gives birth, it is a son to whom she places in the Temple.

Then of course we have Abraham. When God told Abraham of the forthcoming destruction of Sodom, Abraham pushed back by asking God if God would spare the city if 50 virtuous people could be found there. Abraham whittled the number down, successively, to 45, 40, 30, 20 and 10 (Genesis 18:20-33).  Ultimately, Sodom was not sparred because the people treated everyone including themselves with total disrespect.  Nonetheless, we see in that story of back and forth between Abraham and God.

We have a literal wrestling with God as well.  There's the account of Jacob who has an encounter that went even beyond sparring in its physicality (Genesis 32:22-32).  The outcome is that Jacob receives a blessing but gets a permanent limp.

There's also the time when God, speaking from the burning bush, called Moses to lead the Hebrew people out of Egypt. Moses spent most of the ensuing conversation arguing that God had called the wrong man. Moses even indicated that he has a speech impediment making it difficult for him to talk in front of people. “Moses said to the Lord, “O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant.  I am slow of speech and tongue.” (Exodus 4: 10) Moses didn't win that argument, but, in the process, he received the help he needed to succeed (Exodus 3:13-4:17).

I could go on, but as we see --- struggling --- raising doubts and questions with God are not only okay, in each of those example, important change took place in the lives of the people of faith or through their subsequent actions. Hannah gave birth to a son who would help God’s people and she would be remembered to this day. Abraham learned more about God. Jacob received a divine blessing. Moses freed his people.

So, what does this mean for us?  Again, it's a reminder that questioning, pushing back, expressing doubt, showing irreverence, and arguing are not out of bounds. We need not fear that we will offend God. God will have the final word, but we may receive insight, inspiration, understanding, blessing --- or if not those things, at least the comfort that comes from having aired our grievances, even if the answer is not what we had hoped for.

Let us return to our Gospel. Today, we read this story of Jesus and the Gentile woman from Mark's gospel, but Matthew records it as well. The author of Matthew’s gospel adds a detail that Mark does not mention. In Matthew's account, after the woman prods back about the dogs under the table getting the crumbs, Jesus replies, "Woman, great is your faith!" (Matthew 15:28). Sharon Ringe, professor of New Testament at Wesley Theological Seminary, calls the woman's faith an act of ministry to Jesus. She writes: The additional dimension ... present in the story is the woman's ministry.  Her ministry to Jesus by her "faith" -- a faith that is no doctrinal confession of his messianic identity, and no flattery of his apparently miraculous powers, but, rather, an act of trust, of engagement, risking everything. That act has the effect, as the story is told, of enabling Jesus to see the situation in a different way. That new perspective appears to free Jesus to respond, to heal, to become again the channel of God's redeeming presence in that situation.

In sparring with Jesus, this woman was, in fact, serving as steel that sharpened his steel. Ringe goes on to say, "Her wit, her sharp retort, was indeed her gift to Jesus -- a gift that enabled his gift of healing in turn, her ministry that opened up the possibility of his."[2]

Therefore, the final question is for you and me. What are our doubts?  What are our questions?  As we have learned today, we have at least three options with those questions and doubts.  We can raise them with another person of faith.  Second, unexpected people and responses can sharpen our faith.  And lastly, as we have learned today, not only is sparring with God not only okay, it’s also a gift to God.  Raising our doubts and questions can be an avenue for God to work.

Today’s version of sparring tells us that speaking plainly to God about the things that trouble us about God and the will of God is still an act of faith. Why else would we be talking to God at all? Our faith may be thin or weak, smaller than a mustard seed, but, even if unmeasurable, faithful sparring is a route to truth. What's more, our faith, weak or strong, becomes a channel through which God can work.  Second, it may be helpful to have a faithful person to whom we can share our doubts and questions.  Finally, as Jesus experienced, it is helpful to be open to the unexpected person, whose faithful challenge will sharpen our faithful journey.  Cults are dangerous, as is living life constantly in doubt.  Let us live fully into our baptismal lives as disciples of Jesus Christ, trusting and hopeful in a loving God. Amen.

 

[1] The Interpretation of Scripture in Early Judaism and Christianity: Studies in Language and Tradition, Craig A. Evans, ed. New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2004, 217.

[2] Ringe, Sharon H. "A Gentile woman's story." Feminist Interpretation of the Bible. Letty M. Russell, ed. Philadelphia: Westminster Press. 1985.

"Black Ships" - 8/22/2021

Sermon presented at Tokyo Lutheran English Worship based on John 6: 56-69.  This is my final Sunday preaching and presiding for their pastor who was on leave.  Link to the congregation.  http://jelctokyo.org/english/

I live about 30 minutes by train from Perry Park.  http://www.oldtokyo.com/matthew-c-perry-memorial-kurihama-c-1949/  Perry Park is in Kurihama, Kanagawa.  It is the location in Tokyo Bay, where U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry set foot with 300 other officers and sailors for about an hour on July 14, 1853.  Commodore Perry famously arrived with two large black armed ships with a letter asking --- demanding --- Japan to allow foreign powers principally the US access to trade. After leaving a letter from President Filmore, Commodore Perry sailed away only to return a year later for a response.  After tense negotiations, ultimately, Japan signed a treaty with the United States opening two ports besides Nagasaki to limited trade.

What Commodore Perry did not know is that in the process he unwittingly sparked a chain of events that would lead to the fall of the Shogun bakufu and Japan's rise as a modern imperial power.  By 1868, the Meji Restoration or revolution had extinguished one era and started a new one.  Of course, the average Japanese man or woman had no say and was not without much bloodshed.

Thinking about that event in Japanese history is a useful exercise in preparation for pondering today’s gospel and in particular the disciple Peter's answer to Jesus' question, “Do you also wish to go away?”[1] Meaning, we can look back at today’s event in John as a historical event, with life changing drama and not really see ourselves or our faith in that story.

But let’s back up.  To review, if you remember we have heard the last five Sundays that Jesus had been talking about his flesh and blood as spiritual food and drink.  Just as challenging as it is for us to understand, for first century Israel it was even more of a provocation.  We have the perspective of hindsight; we can see today’s event through Jesus’s death on the cross and resurrection.  That was not the case for many around Jesus leading many to say, “This teaching is difficult, who cannot accept it” and to walk away.

What they were struggling with was Jesus' explicit offer of himself as the source of bread of life, true and eternal life. For many of those who had thought of themselves as his disciples, this was just too much. Some had attached themselves to Jesus' company thinking that he was a good teacher --- perhaps the best teacher around, but still just a teacher. Some may have been there because Jesus had provided them actual bread or had even healed them.

Now Jesus was saying something utterly preposterous: Believe in him, dine on him, and he will “raise them up on the last day.” It wasn't so much that it puzzled them; it offended.  “But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, ‘Does this offend you?’”[2]  And importantly what do we also hear: “Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him.”[3]  In effect, those who left Jesus that day seemingly were classifying Jesus' claim as either wrong or ridiculous.

It seems so many deserted Jesus that day that the author of the Gospel of John notes only twelve were still with him, and apparently, Jesus was either not sure at this point or was providing them an opportunity to reflect on this point in their faith.  Whatever the case, Jesus asks them, “‘Do you also wish to go away?’”[4]  In response we are then told that Simon Peter, speaking for the group, says, “‘Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.’”[5]

So, there we are.  For myself, I find all this amazing for in effect, Simon Peter was saying, “Despite other options, despite the conclusion of all those who have turned away, despite the centuries of synagogue teaching that makes no mention of the Lord’s Supper, despite you being flesh and bone and standing among us, I believe that you, Jesus, are the option and have “the words of eternal life,” and I know that you are “the Holy One of God.”

This is remarkable because with that answer, Simon Peter opens a door in an aspect of this mystery of faith that can be troublesome for many of us. For clearly Simon Peter is aware that Jesus' offer of eternal life has been discounted and rejected by those who just left, that at this point there are other options, and he surely knows there is no proof to the contrary. But he's saying that based on what he and the other 11 have seen of Jesus, they are choosing for the moment to continue in this journey of faith. Simon Peter is like those who through the centuries have acknowledged to themselves, if not to others, that there are many reasons not to believe in Jesus.  But importantly there are reasons to believe. And Simon Peter and the other eleven and perhaps more like the women we hear about later, have concluded they want to continue to follow.

But what makes it more than historical event?  For example, we cannot put ourselves in the geta of those Japanese when Commodore Perry landed in Kurihama.  We live in a different time and context, and in hindsight we know the decisions did not come easily, took years of time, a great deal of energy and the loss of innocent blood.  Yet decisions were made that impacted all of us.  But the other perhaps troubling piece is from the English word “decide.” Decide comes from a Latin word meaning “to cut off.”  It is what makes reviewing today’s lesson, past historical events in general, challenging, because in hearing Simon Peter, for example, it sounds like we are to mimic his choice on faith.

Still, we cannot ignore the fact that biblical story and Simon Peter’s response calls us to think about our relationship with God and Christ, but we can do that without putting it in once-for-all-time terms. While, of course, a lifetime commitment to Christ is desirable, the part of that which matters is where we are in that commitment day by day, moment by moment.  As a Lutheran, a basic teaching is that faith is a gift and as a gift we can explore the many facets, even in increments and as a gift the acknowledgement that we know “only in part.”

Notice Simon Peter’s answer again, “We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”  I just mentioned “faithing,” the day-by-day part of faith, but Peter says something additional when he claims, “to know.” The underlying Greek word, ginosko, is a word which indicates “knowing” in a deep and interior way.  It doesn't mean knowledge in the sense of certainty.  Rather, it is knowing by relationship.  That is why Jesus can hear the disciples grumbling for example, because he knows them, meaning that he has a relationship with them.  Jesus may have heard actual grumbling as well, but because Jesus “knows” them he can couple the verbal noise together with their hearts.

That is why I am a Lutheran Christian because this speaks to my faith journey.  Faith is a gift, but one that comes with my questions and a tacit acknowledgment that I know only in part.  Faith is not a historical event, nor is something, I am to copy or emulate.  Rather, every day, every moment a black ship can arrive at the shore of my life and set off questions, “What does this mean? Do I also wish to go away?’ Faith is a gift, a relationship with Christ day by day, moment by moment, and year after year with the knowledge that I know only in part.  Furthermore, it comes with the assurance that like the disciples who walked away that day, we can always return for who knows if any did not the next come back and follow Jesus again?  Faith is not a historical decision but daily life.  Amen.

 

[1] John 6: 67

[2] Vs. 61

[3] Vs. 66

[4] Vs. 67

[5] Vss. 68-69

"Wisdom and Bread" - 8/15/2021

Sermon presented at the English speaking worship service at Tokyo Lutheran Church.  Based on Proverbs 9: 1-6 and John 6: 51-58.  Recently, the Chinese government has decided to crack down on private “cramming classes” which we know in Japan as gakushu juku or juku for short. These are after school private classes offered to families to help prepare their children for their exams particularly those to get into a university.[1] The Chinese government has decided to issue regulations on these cram schools because if I understand correctly, stories of shoddy teaching, false advertising, and a host of other issues. However, the fear is that it will drive these cramming schools out of business further driving the chasm between the rich who can afford a private tutor and the poor who cannot.

As a parent of two --- now adult daughters --- one of whom is a university student, I empathize and sympathize with the desire of parents to do what they can to assist the prospects of their children.

But after reading that story and thinking about my own life experience I began to wonder, does our desire for that additional assistance end with our children? Don’t we all want a little extra wisdom, knowledge, or support? In our professional lives, would not it be helpful to have someone coaching us. They might remind us of what to say --- or not to say --- at important meetings. And what about in our personal lives, wouldn’t it be nice to have a private tutor to assist us in our relationships with our spouse, our children, and our parents? And does that desire end with knowledge or wisdom, for example, at the gym where I work, people drink protein supplements hoping for that extra muscle. And what about our spiritual lives. Is that desire for an extra boost extend to our spiritual lives? Are not sermons for example desired to assist us in our daily Christian lives? The good news is that today’s lesson first lesson and gospel remind us that God understands and provides more than we realize.

In our first lesson, we hear about God’s wisdom through a personification of a woman who has built a house, prepared a life-giving meal, and invited all to participate. It is a simple passage, yet it contains an image and description that enhances the Gospel.

For simplicity’s sake let us call this woman in Proverbs, Sophie. “The opening verse states that she has built her own house and that this construction involved setting up ‘seven pillars.’”[2] Columns describe a house of substantial size and worth, and the number seven implies a distinctive character to the home. The quality of the meal and the invitation also indicates the rich and open nature of what she has prepared. Sophie has slaughtered multiple animals and set a table with bread and wine indicating that this meal will go beyond the everyday meals of the average Israelite. So not only has Sophie prepared a banquet but she has her servants — she is a woman of wealth, clearly — out in the community extending an invitation to all. It is a rich feast, with numerous place settings, always room for one more, to which all are invited. To accept Sophie’s invitation “is to embrace the life that in God’s wisdom has prepared for us.”[3]

Wisdom therefore means to partake, to participate in this feast and that this participation leads to life. Other part of Proverbs lays out more details about Sophie. For example, unlike others, Sophie is always available, answering whenever we call. When things are going well, and we are comfortably walking the heights of life, she is there. When we find ourselves at a crossroads, she is there. When we are standing at the threshold of something new, Sophie is there to guide and direct us. There is no application process or prerequisites that need to be met to participate. We do not have to know anything, and the cost is free. She is ready to consult for us, no matter who we are, where we come from. She is life-giving.

Now most if not all of you have realized that Sophie’s proper name is Sophia, the Greek word for wisdom. In today’s chapter of Proverbs, the author pictures God’s Wisdom, as if “Sophia” is a human being.

You see it is important to remember --- Sophia --- God’s wisdom when we hear for example, from today’s Gospel of John the following words of Jesus; “Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”  Our immediate response may be to equate these words to the Lord’s Supper, to Holy Communion, and we would be correct --- but limited. Because by doing so, we box the Lord Supper into something smaller as if it were an after-class bonus, we need for that little extra to help us pass. Instead, God’s vision and wisdom is that in, with and through Christ, our whole being is restored into God’s Kingdom.

Why did the author of Proverbs portray God’s wisdom in the character of a woman serving a lift giving meal? Why did Jesus say his body was life giving bread?  They both refer to the fullness of God’s promise of life, a full life, and an everlasting life. Later in the book of James we hear, “If any of you is lacking in wisdom,” James says, “ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you.”^[4  James notices Sophia’s job description and that God is the source of wisdom. And just as Jesus offers a holistic salvation—his mission is to save people fully, Jesus described life in the kingdom of God as a great feast on multiple occasions.^[5] “The invitation to eat wisdom’s feast in her house, therefore, can well be understood as an aspect of Jesus’ invitation to follow him and to feast in the kingdom of God.”^[6]

Later after Christ’s death and resurrection, the Apostle Paul declares that Christ is “the power of God and the wisdom of God.” Since Christ thus takes on the Proverbs role of wisdom, it is appropriate — even necessary — for us to see the “bread of life” as a call to fully embrace Christ and a celebration of doing so.

Jesus’ words in John 6:51-58 are meant to bring us into fullness. Jesus offers us the heavenly bread we need for eternal life certainly; as well as the bread we need to overcome the struggles and survive the sufferings we might experience in this world. Jesus does not discriminate; he offers this heavenly bread to all for free. “Whoever eats of this bread will live forever,” Jesus says. This means that human beings are so valuable to God that God sent God’s only son to be born in human likeness for full life salvation. 

Shortly, in the sacrament, our ordinary elements of bread and wine will be transformed by the invocation of Sophia --- God’s Holy Spirit --- over them into sacred symbols and instruments of God’s salvific plan. By linking Wisdom with the name and story of Jesus, this meal becomes the Lord’s Supper, the heavenly banquet not only for eternal life, but for our everyday journey, no cramming, or supplements, needed. “Let us leave our simple ways and walk in the way of insight” in the bread of life.[7]  Amen.

 

[1] China is clamping down on cram schools | The Economist Behind a paywall.

[2] https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-20-2/commentary-on-proverbs-91-6-4

[3] https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-20-2/commentary-on-proverbs-91-6-4

[4] James 1:5

[5] Luke 13:29; 14:15-24; 22:29-30; Matthew 22:1-14

[6] https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-20-2/commentary-on-proverbs-91-6-4

[7] Proverbs 9: 6