Readings

FIRST LESSON

The first lesson is from Reimagining Christianity: Reconnect Your Spirit without Disconnecting Your Mind by Alan Jones

Over a hundred years ago, in The Varieties of Religious Experience, William James said, “We must, I think, bid a definitive good-bye to dogmatic theology.” It has been a long good-bye. And even some of those who still hang on to dogma can’t digest it very well, or it makes them dyspeptic.

There are still millions, however, for whom the words associated with religious belief pose no problem. They take the words literally and feel whole and complete—in either their belief or disbelief. Words, for them, have simply one flat literal meaning. It’s either true or it isn’t, and that’s that. I respect that no-nonsense attitude, at least from a psychological point of view. I have friends who believe preposterous things, yet I can see that their beliefs have helped them cope with horrible and crippling situations brought on by divorce, disease, death, or some kind of collapse.

It’s not just a private and personal thing, either; something is missing in our social and political life, as well. We’re in this together but we don’t know how to talk about it. We look for things that bind us together without enslaving us.

Writing about religion is difficult because of the either/or mentality prevalent in our culture. How do you communicate with someone who thinks that literal belief is the only option? Clergy who don’t believe literally are often accused of hypocrisy. On August 1, 2002, the Times of London published two articles about how Christians are to believe in the Virgin Birth and the Resurrection: one from a liberal point of view, the other the conservative. One headline ran, “Are the pulpits of Anglican Churches occupied by closet atheists?

I believe the Bible and the creeds but not literally, and I am no atheist. I love the tradition and am nurtured by it. I have a great devotion to Mary the Mother of God but am agnostic about her literal virginity—or, to put it bluntly, I couldn’t care less about it. It’s all right be me if people believe in it literally as long as they get the point that it turns your idea of God upside down. To me it is an amazing image, and the point of the doctrine is not to teach us about Mary’s sexual status but to show us the awesome humility and availability of God. That’s what doctrine is for. Every day I invoke the protection of holy angels but I hear no flapping of wings. Belief in angels is a way for me to affirm the presence of God in a personal way, permeating the whole of life. Angels are a metaphor pointing to something real, and the only way to get at that reality is through poetry, myth, and metaphor.

Literalism cripples the imagination because it cannot fathom that something could be true on one level and not on another: true as metaphor and teaching but not true literally. Even most adamant literalists know that God isn’t a real father with arms and legs and body parts. They know that calling God “Father” is an analogy. Yet they insist on literal acceptance of the Bible and of church doctrines not found in the Bible. A friendly Mormon acquaintance of mine believes such doctrines literally and knows exactly where the Garden of Eden is located and when its restoration will occur.

SECOND LESSON

The second lesson is from the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 2, verses 23 through Chapter 3, verse 6

One Sabbath Jesus was going through the cornfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” And Jesus said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? David entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions.” Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath; so the Child of God is lord even of the Sabbath.”

Again Jesus entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. The Pharisees watched Jesus to see whether he would cure him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And Jesus said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come forward.” Then Jesus said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. Jesus looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” The man stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against Jesus, how to destroy him.

This Week's Sermon

Date: August 2, 2009

Title: Just Dancing Around (the Issues)

Message Delivered By: Rev. Dr. Joe McMurray

Many of us are torn by the troubles and strife of the world today. We look at the state of the world and wonder with things so bad, how humanity ever survived this long. But sometimes the strife we see most vividly lies within the issues we experience personally—our issues with friends or co-workers, and at times, our own loved ones and immediate family members.

When these important relationships don’t always turn out the way we expect them to or want them to, we can become easily disappointed and disillusioned. So much is tied to our expectations, which is why the disappointments are so devastating and leave us at such a loss. And so we sit back and wonder why things just don’t turn out the way we want them to.

Such was the case with the Jewish father who was troubled about his son. He and his wife raised his son very carefully. They taught him the ways of the faith. They gave him a good education. They were gentle, but firm, always holding fast to the principles of the ancient tradition. They knew that for their son to respect them, they had to respect him, including the choices he made. This involved a great deal of trust and understanding over the years.

But on some issues, they could find no common ground, and it was impossible for the parents to understand their son’s behavior. In one area in particular, the father was so distraught, he went to see his Rabbi for advice.

"I brought him up in the faith,” the father said. “I gave him a very expensive bar mitzvah, and it cost me a fortune to educate him.” The disappointment and sadness was dripping from his words. “Then,” the man continued, “my son tells me last week that he has decided to become a Christian! Rabbi, I ask you. What have I done? Where did I go wrong? How did this come to pass?"

"Funny you should come to me," said the Rabbi. "Like you I, too, brought my boy up in the faith, put him through university and it cost me a small fortune. Then one day, my son too tells me he has decided to become a Christian."

"And what did you do, Rabbi?" asked the father.

The Rabbi replied, "There was nothing to be done. So I turned to God for the answer. I knew that if there was any understanding to be had, God would provide it."

After a long silence, the man eagerly said, "And so, Rabbi, what did God say to you when you brought this issue before him?"

The Rabbi replied, " God said, 'Funny you should come to me ...'"
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Will you pray with me? God, help us to accept that it is your will, not ours, to be done. As instruments of your desire, help us to understand that it is through our trust in you—our belief in you and your wisdom—that we cannot possibly be disappointed. But for this to take place, we must be patient, accepting, tolerant, and understanding of ourselves and others. Weave these gifts into the tremendous gifts we already enjoy. And thank you, God, for entrusting us with this awesome task. May my words and all of our thoughts be filled with honor and praise to you. Amen.
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Today’s scripture begins innocently enough. Jesus and the disciples are taking a short cut through a corn field. The Pharisees happen to observe them while they gather pieces of grain as they move through the field. The Pharisees, always eager to challenge Jesus and the riff-raff who hung around him, questioned Jesus. “Don’t you know what they’re doing violates the rules for observing the Sabbath?” Well, of course Jesus knew, and the disciples knew, and the Pharisees knew. The teaching moment was set.

The disciples were going through the motions of the type of action or work that was not permitted on the Sabbath. But they picked the grain because they were hungry and had nothing else to eat.

As Jesus emphasized, the point was which ethic was more important: going against the letter of the law by hand-picking the grain on the Sabbath; or, while generally respecting the spirit of the law (a law that Jesus and the disciples adhered to faithfully), refusing to let the law, in this case, inhibit their physical need not to go hungry? To further instruct the Pharisees, Jesus referred to the ancient teaching of David and others eating of the holy bread so they would not go hungry. Jesus saw hunger as an important factor to consider.
Notice Jesus didn’t say claim they were starving to death – they were simply hungry. We don’t know how long they’d gone without food. But this was obviously not an emergency. Yet hunger was enough to override a law—a rule that simply did not make sense in that particular moment.

The second lesson Jesus taught followed the same track. This time, however, Jesus baited the Pharisees, deliberately calling forth the man with the withered hand and making an example of the same issue: the spirit of the law versus the letter of the law. Should the man go another day in suffering, or should he be healed—even on the Sabbath—that one day the tradition instructed must be reserved completely for God?

Jesus’ point was: we all know what the right thing to do is here; we all know what God would want—there is no mystery about it. If the power to heal exists (and by that, I mean however that healing were to take place—whether emotional, spiritual, physically, or mental) wouldn’t God want that same power God gifted to be used for the betterment and the advancement of a life—even the life of one seemingly inconsequential individual?

Jesus understood these points. He saw the trap the Pharisees were trying to set. But he refused to join in the dance. The Pharisees were just dancing around the issues. There ulterior motive was to entrap Jesus; to publicly inflate trouble between Jesus and the religious authorities, which they hoped would lessen Jesus’ impact on the people.

I wish I could report to you that just dancing around the issues stopped that day. Sadly this is not the case. Every day, in nearly every way, we ourselves, our employers, our co-workers, our friends, our families, our elected representatives, those we entrust to protect us—the authorities, the military—everybody, it seems, is dancing the same dull dance. Avoiding the real issues and problems with smokescreens in order to hold onto the status quo, to avoid change at any cost, to retain power at any cost, and to claim entitlement and righteousness above all else.

Those are pretty strong words, I know. And I’m guilty of it, too. Obviously, or it wouldn’t be so easy for me to talk about.

Why is it we are always dancing around the crux of the issues that face us every day? Whether it’s homelessness, health care, nude beaches, nuclear weapons, the open container law, protecting the environment, conserving energy, or healing on the Sabbath, one of the first instinct we have is to stick to the letter of the law—this way we feel protected from all those ugly things I mentioned a second ago (losing the status quo, having to accept change, relinquishing power, having to admit our failures and accept that we are not always right).

One horrifying result of this predictable yet repugnant practice of dancing around the issues or avoiding the issues is exactly what Alan Jones has written about: we often know the truth, but fantastically refuse to accept it. Our refusal to accept causes anguish, bitterness and isolation. Our deliberate ignorance results in prejudice, sexism, bigotry and homophobia. Our denial of the truth results in separation, marginalization, and ultimately war and death.

I am very concerned about our world. Some of us may have thought that with the direction of the change we are moving to all our problems will be solved. But I look at our world, at our country, at our community—and I tell you our problems have just begun if we think we can solve them with our old ways of evasion and ignorance.

Let’s look at a few issues, just for example. Let’s take some of the gay issues that have once more become relevant to our nation. Keep in mind, we already know the truth. We know the truth about “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” We know the truth about the “Same-Sex Marriage” controversy. We know the truth about “Gay Adoption” and gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders serving as clergy in their various denominations.

For that matter, we also know the truth about the capacity for women to serve in all sorts of environments that place them not only equal to, but in some cases, above their male counterparts. Did you know that after six decades President Jimmy Carter finally left the Baptist Church?

He said, “The Southern Baptist Convention's leaders, quoting a few carefully selected Bible verses, claim that Eve was created second to Adam and was responsible for original sin, that women must be subservient to their husbands, and prohibit them from serving as deacons, pastors or chaplains in the military service.

This view that women are somehow inferior to men is not restricted to one religion or belief. Women are prevented from playing a full and equal role in many faiths. Nor, tragically, does its influence stop at the walls of the church, mosque, synagogue or temple. This discrimination, unjustifiably attributed to a Higher Authority, has provided a reason or excuse for the deprivation of women's equal rights across the world for centuries.

At its most repugnant, the belief that women must be subjugated to the wishes of men excuses slavery, violence, forced prostitution, genital mutilation and national laws that omit rape as a crime, and it also costs many millions of girls and women control over their own bodies and lives, and denies them fair access to education, health, employment and influence within their own communities.”

Amen, Jimmy, but what took you so long?

And the poor Episcopal / Anglican Church. They’re not just dealing with the queers anymore. Congregants at Blackburn Cathedral in England are being offered a 2-track communion with a separate supply of “untainted” wafers for those who object to its being consecrated by a woman priest. A special container of wafers, previously consecrated by a male priest, is brought out during Sunday morning services at Blackburn Cathedral if a woman priest is presiding. This happened because of the installation of Dr. Sue Penfold as one of three resident canons. So those who dispute the validity of her holy orders can make sure they receive “untainted” sacrament consecrated earlier by a man.

We saw what happened between Professor Gates and Officer Crowley in Cambridge, MA a couple of weeks ago. They just met with President Obama and Vice President Biden at the White House. The media and a few politicians chose to criticize the President because of the type of beer he drank for the occasion. Everybody was judging this meeting they were having—they sat around a picnic table to have a conversation, “Was this a good idea, or a dumb idea?” when the greater truth is that we have really deep-seated racial issues in this country that have never been addressed and never been solved. No matter who you felt was wrong or right when this incident occurred in Cambridge, this was a perfect example that highlighted the truth—that we have a lot of corrective work to do in this country about race.

There’s been a lot in the news about the Health Care debate on Capital Hill.
Politico reported that certain members of Congress are increasingly being harassed by "angry, sign-carrying mobs and disruptive behavior" at local town halls. Two lobbyist-run groups are pursuing a strategy to create an image of mass public opposition to health care and clean energy reform. A leaked memo from one of the leaders detailed how members of these two groups should infiltrate town halls and harass members of Congress who support health care legislation. The members were to:

“Artificially Inflate Your Numbers: "Spread out in the hall and try to be in the front half; put the Representative on the defensive with your questions and follow-up. The Rep should be made to feel that a majority, and if not, a significant portion of at least the audience, opposes the socialist agenda of Washington."

Be Disruptive Early And Often: "You need to rock-the-boat early in the Representatives presentation. Watch for an opportunity to yell out and challenge their statements early."

Try To "Rattle Them" so they Cannot Have An Intelligent Debate: "Get them off their prepared script and agenda. If he says something outrageous, stand up and shout out and sit right back down. Look for these opportunities before they even takes questions."

What happened to honest debate? What happened to sensible, rational people sitting down to hash out ideas and compromising for the best possible outcome? It doesn’t matter what anybody thinks about health care, because health care should be a right, not a privilege. That is the truth. How we get there or what must be sacrificed to make it happen, I don’t know. But if this group over here is making billions of dollars by denying people’s access over there, what do you think is the truth? If people over here are dying because they have pre-existing conditions, or lost their job, or are told that they’re too old or too far gone to get care, you tell me where the truth lies.

And I haven’t even gotten to hunger, homelessness or poverty; or the environment or energy conservation or recycling; or the devastation of war.

On all of these issues, we already know the truth. We already know the truth. We know what God would say, and we certainly know what Jesus would do.

We are expected to use the gifts that we have in abundance—the very gifts that God gave us.

May we, as this tiny community in Key West, become truth-tellers in all that we say and do. May we pursue what we know to be the truth in our private and personal lives as well as our public and professional lives. For when we act in truth, we demand no less of others. Then the pressure is on. Then we deal directly. Then we will know we are following what God has asked of us.

And when we’re unsure, and we will be from time to time—when we really don’t know what’s right—let us never be afraid to reach out to one another, to talk to one another, to pray together, and ask God for guidance as we strive for perfection in body, mind and spirit. May we continue to follow where God is leading. Amen.