Readings

FIRST LESSON

The first lesson is from Four Faces: A Journey in Search of Jesus the Divine, the Jew, The Rebel, the Sage by Mark Tully

The Sermon on the Mount has been regarded by Christians as the supreme spiritual teaching of Jesus. Many non-Christians, including Mahatma Ghandi, have had an enormous respect for its message. The Beatitudes have been the subject of innumerable sermons exhorting Christians to be humble, to be merciful, to be generous, to strive to be righteous—in summary, to lead virtuous and godly lives. Those sermons have interpreted the Beatitudes as spiritual teachings.

Richard Horsely, author of Jesus and the Empire, considers that interpretation to be too narrow. He maintains that the Beatitudes contain a political message too, and has written, “we should assume that Jesus’ preaching and practice referred to the several inseparable dimensions of life unless a passages gives a clear indication that only a ‘spiritual’ or “religious’ dimension is intended. Reaffirming this principle is particularly important in application to passages such as the Beatitudes which may already have been somewhat spiritualized in the Gospels.” In other words, the Gospel writers have put a religious slant on the Beatitudes that has obscured the political content of their message.

Matthew quoted Jesus as saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” while Luke just says, “Blessed are you poor.” Luke only said, “Blessed are you that hunger now,” while Matthew adds, “and thirst after righteousness.” If you see through the spiritual spin that Matthew in particular has put on the Beatitudes you will share his conclusion that Jesus was talking about those who were economically poor, not those who were righteous because they were humble. It as those who had fallen into the debt trap, those who did not have enough food for just one square meal a day, who Jesus promised would be the beneficiaries of the realm of God. The realm of God, according to Horsely, was to be “social-economic liberation”—that is to say, freedom from poverty, oppression and social stigma.

SECOND LESSON

The first lesson is from the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 4, verses 35 through 41

On that day, when evening had come, Jesus said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd behind, they took Jesus with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great gale arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But Jesus was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Jesus and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” Jesus woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. Jesus said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

This Week's Sermon

Date: June 21, 2009

Title: Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat

Message Delivered By: Rev. Joe Mc Murray

I don’t often address the subject of “sin” directly. This is mostly due to the fact that “sin” is a condition that is usually most relevant to the conscience of the person within the experience. In other words, though we can pass judgment on someone for their actions, which we often do, the psychological or spiritual impact of the sinfulness usually rests with them.

When a person commits a conscious act that they know hurts others, or fails to commit an act that they know will help others, those circumstances should warrant some soul searching by that individual as to whether or not their action or failure to act constitutes wrongdoing or at the very least, a failure to live up to the standards to which they have pledged to live their lives.

The word “sin” is also a very loaded term, and has been overused in accusatory ways when a person or group disagrees with another person or group about their beliefs or simply with the way they live. These might be social, cultural or religious mores that aren’t conveyed equally or given equal value from one entity to another.

There are, of course, blatant sins, and there are subtle sins. A sin of omission is technical the failure to do something good when you know you should. It can also be the failure to convey the entire truth, even though what has been offered is not necessarily untrue.

Have you met who lives on that plane? Someone whom you trust fairly well, even though you know that they might not always give you the full story? For example, they might claim they are a natural blond—and in fact may have been born with blonde hair—even have the pictures to prove it—but currently they may resort to a little help from Lady Clairol to keep those locks in their golden color.

Sometimes when we speak our truths, we leave out a few innocent little details that might give the full picture, believing that the full picture may not serve our most urgent need. After all, why bother people with all the details and distractions that are inconsequential to the final result you seek.

A good example is the tale of two ministers with a large family of seven children who had moved to a new city. The husband and wife ministry team (let’s call them Jim and Cathy, just for fun) didn't want to buy a home immediately, preferring instead to rent a townhouse until they could get a feel for the area and choose a home and community where all their kids could land in good schools with a convenient location.

As they searched, they found that there were plenty of rentals that were large enough, but the landlords always objected to a family of nine occupying the space.

In frustration, one day Cathy told Jim to take the four youngest children and go to visit the local cemetery. He was puzzled by her request because there was a particularly suitable home they had planned to visit that afternoon. But Cathy assured him she knew what she was doing and everything would work out fine, so he went along. After he left, Cathy and the three oldest children headed off to investigate the townhouse they found so desirable.

After looking the place over, Cathy decided it was perfect, it was large enough and had plenty of storage. Cathy told the landlord she would take it. Then came the usual question, "I see you have children. How many are there in the family?"

Cathy gave out with a deep sigh, then said, "Well, there are seven ... but four are with their dear father in the cemetery."

The landlord shed a few tears. And Cathy and Jim got the townhouse.
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Will you pray with me? And may my words and all of our thoughts be filled with honor and praise to you. Amen.
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Before we examine today’s scripture, it’s interesting to note that this particular story follows several parables Jesus shared with the disciples: the sower and the seed that fell on good soil; the futility of hiding one’s light under a bushel basket; and the symbolism of the tiny mustard seed that eventually grows into a mighty tree. Jesus intentionally spoke these principles using parables, the scripture says. It’s interesting that he used this manner of speech with those who apparently were the closest to him.
It’s almost as thought Jesus may have been using these parables as codes for the types of justice to which he was referring. Rather than simply offering spiritual messages via parable, Jesus could have been using code language for a more subversive understanding of what he was trying to accomplish.

Particularly in light of our first reading—asserting that the focus of Jesus ministry was really social justice—we come away feeling that Jesus had developed a more subversive explication of the overall intentions of his ministry.

From the context of these few parables, we hear today’s gospel and better understand the disciples’ attempt to learn just who Jesus was and what he was capable of. But rather than clarifying, Jesus may have confused the disciples even more than they already were.

“Calming the sea” imagery has been used thousands of times: The image of Jesus calming the violent storm as the disciples sat paralyzed with fear is one that many of the classic masters have painted. Needless to say, there have been many sermons delivered on this subject—sermons about faith, trust, salvation and casting out demons, among others.

But the bottom line for the disciples was that they found themselves in a situation in which they had lost all control. They were horrified at being at the mercy of the sea. And from within that fear, they cried out to Jesus for help; but Jesus was asleep.

In the midst of their anxiety, the one the disciples trusted the most seemed unavailable to them. Upon awakening, however, though he questioned their concern, Jesus calmed the storm and all things apparently returned to normal, at least as far as the boat trip was concerned.

Let’s return for a moment to the scripture: “When evening had come, Jesus said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’” The other side. Jesus was rockin’ the boat before they even left the dock.

“Crossing to the other side” meant crossing to the Gentile side. Even early in his ministry, Jesus saw the need to expand the message and to offer full inclusion and participation. This was a major departure from tradition for an educated Jew to be willing to break the religious laws in order to answer a bigger call to minister to others.
Jesus challenged things that were automatically accepted a certain way because of tradition. He challenged the wisdom of the tradition—the interpretation of it—and the assumptions that came with it, particularly that only some were worthy of God’s love.

Jesus rocked the boat. He challenged the laws of the day that impacted people in negative ways. He had an appreciation for the pragmatic, as well as the theological implications of the Jewish faith. Jesus questioned the religious authority and the scope of the legal authority under Roman rule. He challenged, and sometimes disobeyed the law, not for the sake of disobeying, but for the ethical principle of the greater good.

Jesus healed on the Sabbath. He challenged the social consciousness of the day by holding conversations with people of different ethnic backgrounds, social classes and hierarchical structures, though it was forbidden in both secular and religious practice. You never spoke to someone above your status unless you were addressed by them and given permission to speak. But Jesus did.

As a Jewish man, you certainly never spoke to women you did not know; and you never addressed women or allowed them to address you in public. Again, Jesus did. Jesus challenged assumptions about class, faith, and righteousness, and especially about justice. He ignored the false barriers that religion and culture had placed upon the people to divide them, weaken them and take away any semblance of power.

Jesus challenged the sensibilities of some of his most ardent followers by lifting up the parable of the Good Samaritan as the moral example of just and righteous behavior. Jesus rocked the boat on questions of behavior, and called into question people’s perceptions of their own self-righteousness. Jesus illustrated the incongruences within their lives – that is, he challenged behaviors that did not match who or what people said they were.

Jesus was also one not to be afraid when the boat was rocked beneath him, nor was he afraid of others who rocked the boat, always hearing them out rather then dismissing them out of hand.

Recall the woman who sought Jesus’ help, and was greeted with annoyance and indifference. Jesus compared her need to be less than that of a dog. That is, until she reminded him that even the dogs ate the crumbs from the master’s table. “Great is your faith,” was Jesus’ reply, as he had been bested by someone who, at least in that moment, taught Jesus something more about compassion than he already knew. This story was also a symbol of the attention Jesus gave to those outside the Jewish faith.

Jesus understood fear; Jesus calmed the storm.

There are many storms for those who dare to speak righteousness in God’s name.

There’s a lot going on in our world right now. The situation in Iran grows more tenuous. Many Iranians believe the truth was taken from them. And our government, while eager to speak its own truths about freedom and peace—both an internal and external feeling of peace—has used restraint so as not to repeat our blunders of the past—over-involving ourselves to the point where our own investments seemed to become greater than the needs of people we said we cared about.

And there’s even more going on right here at home that impacts many in our community. So many are disillusioned and angry that the change they fought for and voted for has not come—at least not yet—and not as quickly as they’d hoped. People are still hoping against hope that change will come, that the right thing will be done with regard to overturning the Defense of Marriage Act, eliminating Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, and passing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

At the bottom of it all, the boat is a-rockin’. At the bottom of it all lay the options that all of us face at one time or another: how will we respond? Will we choose to respond from a place of political expedience? Will we choose to react to the veiled threats of the highly-motivated vocal opposition? Or will we choose to respond from a position of righteousness, justice and equity for all?

What is clear, and what Jesus proved again and again is this: If you claim to be a champion for the oppressed and marginalized, then you must champion all of the oppressed and marginalized, not just the few that are politically worthy. This is obviously the underlying principle upon Jesus’ life’s work and ministry was based.

The disciples, urgent and fearful, asked Jesus for help when the boat rocked—they need it to be steadied, for the waves to be softened, for the storm to be quieted. They pleaded that their discomfort cease and that their fears fail to become realized.

As a community, it is my hope that before we seek God’s help in quieting the storm, we will be willing to face the troubled waters, to ride the rocky seas, and to withstand the temptation to let all our troubles be taken from us without having to deal with them ourselves.

May God accompany us on whatever wave we choose to ride, and in whatever way that we are called to ride it. Amen.