The queen of absolutely everything would have never missed such an event.
I still miss my sweetie.
BTW when they sang God Save the Queen, they were singing to my dearly departed cat.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
The Opposite of Faith
John 20: 19-31
Thomas the twin has gotten a bad wrap ever since the dawn of Christianity. When we think of Thomas, we think “oh ye of so little faith” and history, not the gospel has given him the illustrious title of “Doubting Thomas.” But I like to think that Thomas deserves a better title, perhaps "Thomas a thinking Man of Faith" because really The opposite of faith is not doubt, it is certainty. (1)
Thomas was not the only doubter according to the Gospel of John, he was one among many. When Mary Magdalene went to the garden alone at dawn and saw the empty tomb, she doubted and it wasn’t until Jesus spoke her name that Mary came to believe in the promises that Jesus gave of his return before he was crucified. When Mary told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, they doubted her resurrection witness and dismissed her. It wasn’t until Jesus appeared to them in a locked room and breathed the Holy Spirit into them that they were able to believe what Mary told them. And so Thomas is just following in the path of those before him, he doubted what the disciples told him and it wasn’t until Jesus gave him what he needed that he was able to believe that the Jesus was risen.
Nowhere in these gospel accounts do we see Jesus getting frustrated with his disciple’s doubts. Like any good teacher he meets his disciples where they are at and gives them what they need to in order believe in him. Mary needed to hear his voice, the disciples needed his presence and assurance, Thomas needed to see and touch in order to solidify the faith they already had. Thank goodness Jesus did not rebuke his disciples for using their God given intelligence to come to believe. Anyone who has ever taught or been taught (this means all of us) knows there are different ways of learning. For some of us, we have to read it in order to take it in. For others, we have to hear it in order to have it sink in. Some of us are kinetic, we have to touch it in order to learn about it. And for folks like myself, I have to interact with it discussion and debate in order for me to learn it. Simple memorization is not enough for us to truly learn a new concept or even belief.
Religious certainty is a lot like memorization. Throughout history and even now there are religious communities who define faith as believing that something is true only because it is written in the Bible and/or because someone of authority says it is so. Anything less than certainty is considered heretical. But it is difficult to grow in faith if we are not able to learn about it in such a way that it can sink into our bones. The story of Thomas shows us a man of faith believing in the risen Jesus in the only way he knew how, through seeing the marks of the nails in his hands, and by putting his finger in the mark of the nails and his hand in his side. Jesus is not shaming Thomas for questioning or doubting, Jesus cares about enought about Thomas to
give him the proof needs in order to believe that Jesus was risen. He offers himself to Thomas so that Thomas can touch Jesus’ hands and side to truly know that Jesus is resurrected. Some believe that when Jesus says “Happy are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” That he is giving a promise “to later generations that they too will experience the grace of God in Jesus. As bold as Jesus’ gesture to Thomas is in this reading, Jesus’ care for the faith of those who come after Thomas, who will not see, is equally without limit and measure.”
And here we are, part of these later generations 2000 years after the resurrection claiming our faith in the resurrected Christ. We came to believe because Jesus found a way to touch us so deeply we could do no other. Some of us came to believe through hearing about Jesus, some through reading, some through debate and study, some even through seeing and touching. Every time we come to the Lord’s table on Communion Sunday, we willingly open our hands to touch and taste for ourselves the feast of the new life to come. In the breaking of the bread and the pouring of the fruit of the vine, Jesus is revealed to us and meets us where we are by setting the table, being the host and welcoming all of us to this holy meal.
In the United Church of Christ we affirm the Bible to be the true word of God and we embrace our theological heritage which includes creeds of ecumenical councils and the confessions of the reformation. However we do not impose a particular doctrine or belief system on our members. At the United Church of Christ we seek testimonies of faith, not tests of faith. (2) Testimonies of people made whole by just knowing God’s love given to them through being part of a community of faith. Testimonies of broken relationships reconciled through following in Jesus’ example of forgiveness. Testimonies that speak to God’s great desire for all of creation to live in right relationship with each other that move people to care for their neighbors and the earth.
My friends, the good news is this: no matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey this is your community of faith. Please feel free to bring your questions and your doubts, they are always welcome here. May it be so. Amen
(1) Anne Lamott
(2) New Interpreters Bible. 852-853.
(3) “Testimonies, not tests of Faith.” http://www.ucc.org/beliefs/
Thomas the twin has gotten a bad wrap ever since the dawn of Christianity. When we think of Thomas, we think “oh ye of so little faith” and history, not the gospel has given him the illustrious title of “Doubting Thomas.” But I like to think that Thomas deserves a better title, perhaps "Thomas a thinking Man of Faith" because really The opposite of faith is not doubt, it is certainty. (1)
Thomas was not the only doubter according to the Gospel of John, he was one among many. When Mary Magdalene went to the garden alone at dawn and saw the empty tomb, she doubted and it wasn’t until Jesus spoke her name that Mary came to believe in the promises that Jesus gave of his return before he was crucified. When Mary told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, they doubted her resurrection witness and dismissed her. It wasn’t until Jesus appeared to them in a locked room and breathed the Holy Spirit into them that they were able to believe what Mary told them. And so Thomas is just following in the path of those before him, he doubted what the disciples told him and it wasn’t until Jesus gave him what he needed that he was able to believe that the Jesus was risen.
Nowhere in these gospel accounts do we see Jesus getting frustrated with his disciple’s doubts. Like any good teacher he meets his disciples where they are at and gives them what they need to in order believe in him. Mary needed to hear his voice, the disciples needed his presence and assurance, Thomas needed to see and touch in order to solidify the faith they already had. Thank goodness Jesus did not rebuke his disciples for using their God given intelligence to come to believe. Anyone who has ever taught or been taught (this means all of us) knows there are different ways of learning. For some of us, we have to read it in order to take it in. For others, we have to hear it in order to have it sink in. Some of us are kinetic, we have to touch it in order to learn about it. And for folks like myself, I have to interact with it discussion and debate in order for me to learn it. Simple memorization is not enough for us to truly learn a new concept or even belief.
Religious certainty is a lot like memorization. Throughout history and even now there are religious communities who define faith as believing that something is true only because it is written in the Bible and/or because someone of authority says it is so. Anything less than certainty is considered heretical. But it is difficult to grow in faith if we are not able to learn about it in such a way that it can sink into our bones. The story of Thomas shows us a man of faith believing in the risen Jesus in the only way he knew how, through seeing the marks of the nails in his hands, and by putting his finger in the mark of the nails and his hand in his side. Jesus is not shaming Thomas for questioning or doubting, Jesus cares about enought about Thomas to
give him the proof needs in order to believe that Jesus was risen. He offers himself to Thomas so that Thomas can touch Jesus’ hands and side to truly know that Jesus is resurrected. Some believe that when Jesus says “Happy are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” That he is giving a promise “to later generations that they too will experience the grace of God in Jesus. As bold as Jesus’ gesture to Thomas is in this reading, Jesus’ care for the faith of those who come after Thomas, who will not see, is equally without limit and measure.”
And here we are, part of these later generations 2000 years after the resurrection claiming our faith in the resurrected Christ. We came to believe because Jesus found a way to touch us so deeply we could do no other. Some of us came to believe through hearing about Jesus, some through reading, some through debate and study, some even through seeing and touching. Every time we come to the Lord’s table on Communion Sunday, we willingly open our hands to touch and taste for ourselves the feast of the new life to come. In the breaking of the bread and the pouring of the fruit of the vine, Jesus is revealed to us and meets us where we are by setting the table, being the host and welcoming all of us to this holy meal.
In the United Church of Christ we affirm the Bible to be the true word of God and we embrace our theological heritage which includes creeds of ecumenical councils and the confessions of the reformation. However we do not impose a particular doctrine or belief system on our members. At the United Church of Christ we seek testimonies of faith, not tests of faith. (2) Testimonies of people made whole by just knowing God’s love given to them through being part of a community of faith. Testimonies of broken relationships reconciled through following in Jesus’ example of forgiveness. Testimonies that speak to God’s great desire for all of creation to live in right relationship with each other that move people to care for their neighbors and the earth.
My friends, the good news is this: no matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey this is your community of faith. Please feel free to bring your questions and your doubts, they are always welcome here. May it be so. Amen
(1) Anne Lamott
(2) New Interpreters Bible. 852-853.
(3) “Testimonies, not tests of Faith.” http://www.ucc.org/beliefs/
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Saturday, April 23, 2011
An Easter Reflection
Matthew 28:1-10
“There is a widely told story about Robert Louis Stevenson, the author of Treasure Island, who suffered ill health as a child. One night the nurse found him up, out of bed, with his nosed pressed against the window. ‘Come here, child,’ she said to him, ‘you’ll catch your death of cold.’ But he wouldn’t budge. Instead he sat, mesmerized, watching a lamplighter slowly working his way through the black night, lighting each street light along his route. Pointing to him, Robert said, ‘See, look there; there’s a man poking holes in the darkness.’” (1)
We all love stories that poke holes in the darkness, as a matter of fact we hunger for them. For example In October of last year, we watched with baited breath 33 Chilean miners emerge from their 69 day entombment through a rescue capsule one by one. And now after the recent earthquake in Japan we marvel at each miracle story shared by the survivors, like the one about the four month old girl who was swept from her parents arms during the tsunami being pulled out of rubble three days later virtually unharmed. And the one about the young man, thought to be dead, pulled out of the rubble eight days after the earthquake. And even this week we are counting down to the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton as their love story begins to pokes holes in the darkness of the long line of loveless royal marriages.
Today we celebrate the story of God poking a hole in the darkness of the brokenness of the human condition through the resurrection of his son Jesus. Last week I did a dramatic reading of Jesus’ passion according to Matthew. In it was shared in the story of Jesus’ struggle. We remember that Jesus was betrayed by one of own, put to trial on trumped up charges, he was beaten, mocked and nailed to a cross. At the end of the story the men who were his disciples scattered and the women are standing in the shadow of the cross. When Jesus was buried, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary remain at the tomb sitting vigil.
It is these same two women who went to Jesus’ tomb on the first day of the week to anoint Jesus’ dead body with oil and spices for it was what women did for their loved ones when they died. And behold when they came to the tomb all these apocalyptic things started happening, the earth shook, an angel came down from heaven, rolled away the stone that sealed the tomb and sat on it. The soldiers guarding the tomb quaked in fear and fainted dead away. And the angel looked at the women and said, “Do not be afraid.” Do not be afraid, now I don’t know about you but whenever I hear that phrase I become very afraid. Anyone who has ever traveled by plane knows the sinking feeling your stomach gets when in-flight the pilot gets on the intercom and says “We are experiencing an unusual amount of turbulence on our flight today, but let us assure you that there is no reason for concern.”
And yet, in spite of the turbulence that is happening all around Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were able to hear the angel’s words as comfort because they knew that the angel was and agent of God and the words “Do not be afraid” was a prophesy. The angel told them that the one they are looking for Jesus who was crucified was not there, for he had risen from the dead and is going ahead to Galilee just as he promised his followers. The women left the tomb quickly dizzy with emotion, both joyful and fearful at the same time. And as they were made haste to the 12 disciples they suddenly see the risen Christ. Now Jesus could have made his first resurrection appearance to anyone he wanted and yet instead of appearing to those who killed him, those in power, or to those who ran from him, his 12 disciples, Jesus appeared to those who stood by him throughout the his trial and execution, the women. And it was the women who were first given the joyful commission of proclaiming Christ’s resurrection to the world! To tell all that the darkness of Jesus’ death on Good Friday has been poked through by the light of resurrection so that all who believe in him may not die but have life everlasting!
But what does that mean for us, especially those of us for whom the Good Friday darkness lingers large in our lives today: be it mourning the death of a loved one, an illness, family discord, the loss of economic security. We remember that when the two Mary(s) went to the tomb that first day of the week they were devastated and they were fearful. But what they encountered at the tomb went beyond their wildest imaginations. They met an angel, they ran into the risen Christ. In the midst death and destruction, indeed they saw that God has created a new thing, that God had poked a hole in the darkness of death with the promise of eternal life. “This empty tomb is about the fulfillment of God's purposes, the same God who long before spoke of ‘new heavens and a new earth.’ has given us Easter Sunday ‘the first day of God's new week, the moment of sunrise after the long night, the time of new meetings, new meals, of reconciliation and new commissioning. It was the beginning of the new creation. It was, therefore, the sign of hope for the future, not only for individuals but for the whole world….The personal hope for resurrection is located within the larger hope for the renewal of all creation" (2) Resurrection puts before us the possibility of hope even in the midst of trial. The hole that is poked in our darkness may feel like it is only a pinprick, but it is a speck of light nonetheless. It helps us to dream of a different kind of world than the one we actually live in, a world where God’s justice reigns and all live in right relationship.
If justice is what God really wants, the resurrection proves it. Jesus was killed by those who feared him only to have God raise him from the dead to show us the promise of God’s love and grace. The empty tomb shows us that God is in charge and that even the violence of death on a cross cannot contain God’s aim to defeat the power of death and set things right for all of God’s creation. Today we sing Alleluia; he is risen because we want to celebrate the assurance of the new beginnings that resurrection brings.
The message is as the choir sang this morning, “They buried my body and they thought I’d be gone, but I am the Dance and I still go on. They cut me down and I leapt up high; I am the life that’ll never, never die.” May it be so. Amen.
(1) Peter James Flamming, Poking Holes in the Darkness: 14 Other Sermons You Just Can’t Sleep Through (Richmond: Monument Avenue Press, 1992.), 1.
(2) Kathryn Huey “Sermon Seeds” http://www.ucc.org/worship/samuel/april-4-2010.html?print=t
“There is a widely told story about Robert Louis Stevenson, the author of Treasure Island, who suffered ill health as a child. One night the nurse found him up, out of bed, with his nosed pressed against the window. ‘Come here, child,’ she said to him, ‘you’ll catch your death of cold.’ But he wouldn’t budge. Instead he sat, mesmerized, watching a lamplighter slowly working his way through the black night, lighting each street light along his route. Pointing to him, Robert said, ‘See, look there; there’s a man poking holes in the darkness.’” (1)
We all love stories that poke holes in the darkness, as a matter of fact we hunger for them. For example In October of last year, we watched with baited breath 33 Chilean miners emerge from their 69 day entombment through a rescue capsule one by one. And now after the recent earthquake in Japan we marvel at each miracle story shared by the survivors, like the one about the four month old girl who was swept from her parents arms during the tsunami being pulled out of rubble three days later virtually unharmed. And the one about the young man, thought to be dead, pulled out of the rubble eight days after the earthquake. And even this week we are counting down to the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton as their love story begins to pokes holes in the darkness of the long line of loveless royal marriages.
Today we celebrate the story of God poking a hole in the darkness of the brokenness of the human condition through the resurrection of his son Jesus. Last week I did a dramatic reading of Jesus’ passion according to Matthew. In it was shared in the story of Jesus’ struggle. We remember that Jesus was betrayed by one of own, put to trial on trumped up charges, he was beaten, mocked and nailed to a cross. At the end of the story the men who were his disciples scattered and the women are standing in the shadow of the cross. When Jesus was buried, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary remain at the tomb sitting vigil.
It is these same two women who went to Jesus’ tomb on the first day of the week to anoint Jesus’ dead body with oil and spices for it was what women did for their loved ones when they died. And behold when they came to the tomb all these apocalyptic things started happening, the earth shook, an angel came down from heaven, rolled away the stone that sealed the tomb and sat on it. The soldiers guarding the tomb quaked in fear and fainted dead away. And the angel looked at the women and said, “Do not be afraid.” Do not be afraid, now I don’t know about you but whenever I hear that phrase I become very afraid. Anyone who has ever traveled by plane knows the sinking feeling your stomach gets when in-flight the pilot gets on the intercom and says “We are experiencing an unusual amount of turbulence on our flight today, but let us assure you that there is no reason for concern.”
And yet, in spite of the turbulence that is happening all around Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were able to hear the angel’s words as comfort because they knew that the angel was and agent of God and the words “Do not be afraid” was a prophesy. The angel told them that the one they are looking for Jesus who was crucified was not there, for he had risen from the dead and is going ahead to Galilee just as he promised his followers. The women left the tomb quickly dizzy with emotion, both joyful and fearful at the same time. And as they were made haste to the 12 disciples they suddenly see the risen Christ. Now Jesus could have made his first resurrection appearance to anyone he wanted and yet instead of appearing to those who killed him, those in power, or to those who ran from him, his 12 disciples, Jesus appeared to those who stood by him throughout the his trial and execution, the women. And it was the women who were first given the joyful commission of proclaiming Christ’s resurrection to the world! To tell all that the darkness of Jesus’ death on Good Friday has been poked through by the light of resurrection so that all who believe in him may not die but have life everlasting!
But what does that mean for us, especially those of us for whom the Good Friday darkness lingers large in our lives today: be it mourning the death of a loved one, an illness, family discord, the loss of economic security. We remember that when the two Mary(s) went to the tomb that first day of the week they were devastated and they were fearful. But what they encountered at the tomb went beyond their wildest imaginations. They met an angel, they ran into the risen Christ. In the midst death and destruction, indeed they saw that God has created a new thing, that God had poked a hole in the darkness of death with the promise of eternal life. “This empty tomb is about the fulfillment of God's purposes, the same God who long before spoke of ‘new heavens and a new earth.’ has given us Easter Sunday ‘the first day of God's new week, the moment of sunrise after the long night, the time of new meetings, new meals, of reconciliation and new commissioning. It was the beginning of the new creation. It was, therefore, the sign of hope for the future, not only for individuals but for the whole world….The personal hope for resurrection is located within the larger hope for the renewal of all creation" (2) Resurrection puts before us the possibility of hope even in the midst of trial. The hole that is poked in our darkness may feel like it is only a pinprick, but it is a speck of light nonetheless. It helps us to dream of a different kind of world than the one we actually live in, a world where God’s justice reigns and all live in right relationship.
If justice is what God really wants, the resurrection proves it. Jesus was killed by those who feared him only to have God raise him from the dead to show us the promise of God’s love and grace. The empty tomb shows us that God is in charge and that even the violence of death on a cross cannot contain God’s aim to defeat the power of death and set things right for all of God’s creation. Today we sing Alleluia; he is risen because we want to celebrate the assurance of the new beginnings that resurrection brings.
The message is as the choir sang this morning, “They buried my body and they thought I’d be gone, but I am the Dance and I still go on. They cut me down and I leapt up high; I am the life that’ll never, never die.” May it be so. Amen.
(1) Peter James Flamming, Poking Holes in the Darkness: 14 Other Sermons You Just Can’t Sleep Through (Richmond: Monument Avenue Press, 1992.), 1.
(2) Kathryn Huey “Sermon Seeds” http://www.ucc.org/worship/samuel/april-4-2010.html?print=t
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Jesus Wept
John 11:1-45
Most of us who have gone to Bible camp have had the conundrum of having to pick a Bible verse to memorize. I remember most of the kids picking either John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son…” or the shortest verse of the Bible, John 11:35 “Jesus wept.” RSV translation. It is quite puzzling this verse. Why would Jesus weep when he knew exactly what was going to happen. As the story goes, when Jesus heard that Lazarus was ill, he knew that Lazarus’ illness would not lead to death but to the glory of God and so he stayed two days longer in the place in the place where he and his disciples were staying. A few days later just before Jesus and his disciples leave for Judea, Jesus says them, “Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so you may believe. But let us go to him.” (11:14-15)
Now, Mary and Martha are at home mourning the loss of their brother Lazarus. They do not understand why Jesus had not immediately come to them when they sent a messenger to let him know that Lazarus was ill. Jesus was their close friend. Surely, they thought, Jesus would come not only because he loved Lazarus, but also because he knew that Mary and Martha depended on Lazarus for their very livelihood. Women at that time could not live without a male to head their household. If Lazarus died, they could lose everything they have, their home, their farm, their money to the nearest living male relative because women were not allowed to own property.
In the days following Lazarus’ death Mary and Martha sit shiva for their brother. This is a Jewish tradition of mourning where all regular activity is interrupted and immediate family members do not leave their house for seven days to mourn the loss of their relative. Imagine how angry Mary and Martha were by the time Jesus meandered into Bethany with his disciples. Martha was so angry that she broke shiva, she left the house, ran out of the village and confronted Jesus on the street. In her pain she grabs his shirt and shakes him, chastising him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (11:21) She thought that if Jesus had come when he first heard word of Lazarus’ illness, that he could have prevented his death. But even as she is accusing Jesus of neglect she also leaves open the possibility that something could still be done, “But even now I know God will give you what ever you ask of him.” (11:22) We don’t know what she was asking for, perhaps some guarantee of security for her and her sister Mary now that they are without a man to take care of them.
Jesus tells her , “Your brother will rise again.”
Well duhh!!! Martha thinks to herself, “I know he will rise again, we all will on the last day when we are in heaven.” But Jesus goes on, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” Martha has an ah ha moment, something clicks and she gets what is happening. She confesses her faith “Yes Lord, I believe you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.” She goes home to get Mary.
When Martha told Mary privately “the teacher is here and is calling for you.” (John 11:28) Mary got up and went to where Jesus was, quite angry and ready to give him a piece of her mind. Her friends follow her out of the house thinking that Mary was going to mourn at Lazarus’ grave. When she sees Jesus, she is so overcome with emotion, she collapsed at his feet and wailed to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved…Jesus began to weep.” (John 11:32-33, 35) Some note that is unusual for the author of the Gospel of John to make so many references to Jesus’ humanity, his being upset, his being effected by another person’s emotions and his crying because the emphasis of this particular gospel is about Jesus’ divinity. (1) Yet in spite of his divine self, the humanness of Jesus overcomes him and Jesus wept. The Jews think Jesus was weeping because he lost a close friend, but they don’t know what Jesus was thinking. Perhaps Jesus was crying out of frustration, angry at Martha and Mary’s disbelief. Perhaps he was crying because he though God was cruel to cause Lazarus to die just to prove a point. Perhaps Jesus knew the consequences of what he was about to do, that in his rising Lazarus from the dead, the religious authorities would become threatened and begin to plot to put Jesus to death.
Yet in spite of the obstacles which included the possibility of his own death, Jesus knew what he needed to do. Jesus ordered that the stone to be rolled away and called out, “Lazarus, come out!” and Lazarus came out of the tomb still bound by his wrappings. Jesus then told the people, “Unbind him, and let him go.” (11:44b)
What is interesting is how the different characters in this gospel story react to this situation. The disciples as always are clueless and in the beginning Mary and Martha are clueless too. The disciples and the sisters are only thinking of the obstacles whereas Jesus thinks of the possibilities. At the beginning of the story when Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples responded in fear “The last time we were in Judea you made the people so mad that they tried to stone us and you want to go back again?!?” But Jesus wasn’t thinking about the threats but rather the possibilities to bring about new life. When Jesus encountered Martha and Mary, the sisters are so consumed with their grief and anger that they yelled at Jesus. When Jesus spoke of resurrection the sisters think that he’s talking about heaven whereas Jesus is speaking of the possibility of new life in their present day. The disciples and the sisters are bound up in the grave cloth of their anxiety, their hopelessness, and their fear and Jesus tells them to unwrap their bindings with the hope of life and resurrection. Jesus wept, not because Lazarus had died, but because his friends are unable to see beyond the obstacles.
In my ministry I have encountered people who are unable to see the possibility of new life. They were bound in various ways. The man addicted to alcohol, living on the streets, unable to see life without drinking. The gang member recovering from a gunshot wound, unable to see life beyond the age of twenty one. The woman living in an abusive relationship, unable to see her worth. The government contemplating deep cuts to social programs, unable to see the abundance in other places. It is because of these that we the church is called to share the possibility for resurrection and life when the obstacles of fear and hopelessness get in the way. That we as a community of faith find ways to release persons and communities from the bindings of addiction, violence, hatred and greed, to tear away the wrappings of fear, anxiety, loss, and grief so that unbound women, men and children might be released from the clutches of death and begin new life. (2) May it be so. Amen.
(1) Frances Gench, “The Gift of Life.” Encounters with Jesus: Studies in the Gospel of John. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2007), 88.
(2) Veronice Miles “John 11:1-45: Pastoral Perspective.” Feasting on the Word: Year A Lent Through Eastertide. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010), 144.
Most of us who have gone to Bible camp have had the conundrum of having to pick a Bible verse to memorize. I remember most of the kids picking either John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son…” or the shortest verse of the Bible, John 11:35 “Jesus wept.” RSV translation. It is quite puzzling this verse. Why would Jesus weep when he knew exactly what was going to happen. As the story goes, when Jesus heard that Lazarus was ill, he knew that Lazarus’ illness would not lead to death but to the glory of God and so he stayed two days longer in the place in the place where he and his disciples were staying. A few days later just before Jesus and his disciples leave for Judea, Jesus says them, “Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so you may believe. But let us go to him.” (11:14-15)
Now, Mary and Martha are at home mourning the loss of their brother Lazarus. They do not understand why Jesus had not immediately come to them when they sent a messenger to let him know that Lazarus was ill. Jesus was their close friend. Surely, they thought, Jesus would come not only because he loved Lazarus, but also because he knew that Mary and Martha depended on Lazarus for their very livelihood. Women at that time could not live without a male to head their household. If Lazarus died, they could lose everything they have, their home, their farm, their money to the nearest living male relative because women were not allowed to own property.
In the days following Lazarus’ death Mary and Martha sit shiva for their brother. This is a Jewish tradition of mourning where all regular activity is interrupted and immediate family members do not leave their house for seven days to mourn the loss of their relative. Imagine how angry Mary and Martha were by the time Jesus meandered into Bethany with his disciples. Martha was so angry that she broke shiva, she left the house, ran out of the village and confronted Jesus on the street. In her pain she grabs his shirt and shakes him, chastising him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (11:21) She thought that if Jesus had come when he first heard word of Lazarus’ illness, that he could have prevented his death. But even as she is accusing Jesus of neglect she also leaves open the possibility that something could still be done, “But even now I know God will give you what ever you ask of him.” (11:22) We don’t know what she was asking for, perhaps some guarantee of security for her and her sister Mary now that they are without a man to take care of them.
Jesus tells her , “Your brother will rise again.”
Well duhh!!! Martha thinks to herself, “I know he will rise again, we all will on the last day when we are in heaven.” But Jesus goes on, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” Martha has an ah ha moment, something clicks and she gets what is happening. She confesses her faith “Yes Lord, I believe you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.” She goes home to get Mary.
When Martha told Mary privately “the teacher is here and is calling for you.” (John 11:28) Mary got up and went to where Jesus was, quite angry and ready to give him a piece of her mind. Her friends follow her out of the house thinking that Mary was going to mourn at Lazarus’ grave. When she sees Jesus, she is so overcome with emotion, she collapsed at his feet and wailed to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved…Jesus began to weep.” (John 11:32-33, 35) Some note that is unusual for the author of the Gospel of John to make so many references to Jesus’ humanity, his being upset, his being effected by another person’s emotions and his crying because the emphasis of this particular gospel is about Jesus’ divinity. (1) Yet in spite of his divine self, the humanness of Jesus overcomes him and Jesus wept. The Jews think Jesus was weeping because he lost a close friend, but they don’t know what Jesus was thinking. Perhaps Jesus was crying out of frustration, angry at Martha and Mary’s disbelief. Perhaps he was crying because he though God was cruel to cause Lazarus to die just to prove a point. Perhaps Jesus knew the consequences of what he was about to do, that in his rising Lazarus from the dead, the religious authorities would become threatened and begin to plot to put Jesus to death.
Yet in spite of the obstacles which included the possibility of his own death, Jesus knew what he needed to do. Jesus ordered that the stone to be rolled away and called out, “Lazarus, come out!” and Lazarus came out of the tomb still bound by his wrappings. Jesus then told the people, “Unbind him, and let him go.” (11:44b)
What is interesting is how the different characters in this gospel story react to this situation. The disciples as always are clueless and in the beginning Mary and Martha are clueless too. The disciples and the sisters are only thinking of the obstacles whereas Jesus thinks of the possibilities. At the beginning of the story when Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples responded in fear “The last time we were in Judea you made the people so mad that they tried to stone us and you want to go back again?!?” But Jesus wasn’t thinking about the threats but rather the possibilities to bring about new life. When Jesus encountered Martha and Mary, the sisters are so consumed with their grief and anger that they yelled at Jesus. When Jesus spoke of resurrection the sisters think that he’s talking about heaven whereas Jesus is speaking of the possibility of new life in their present day. The disciples and the sisters are bound up in the grave cloth of their anxiety, their hopelessness, and their fear and Jesus tells them to unwrap their bindings with the hope of life and resurrection. Jesus wept, not because Lazarus had died, but because his friends are unable to see beyond the obstacles.
In my ministry I have encountered people who are unable to see the possibility of new life. They were bound in various ways. The man addicted to alcohol, living on the streets, unable to see life without drinking. The gang member recovering from a gunshot wound, unable to see life beyond the age of twenty one. The woman living in an abusive relationship, unable to see her worth. The government contemplating deep cuts to social programs, unable to see the abundance in other places. It is because of these that we the church is called to share the possibility for resurrection and life when the obstacles of fear and hopelessness get in the way. That we as a community of faith find ways to release persons and communities from the bindings of addiction, violence, hatred and greed, to tear away the wrappings of fear, anxiety, loss, and grief so that unbound women, men and children might be released from the clutches of death and begin new life. (2) May it be so. Amen.
(1) Frances Gench, “The Gift of Life.” Encounters with Jesus: Studies in the Gospel of John. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2007), 88.
(2) Veronice Miles “John 11:1-45: Pastoral Perspective.” Feasting on the Word: Year A Lent Through Eastertide. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010), 144.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Amazing Grace
Jesus and the disciples see a beggar on the street that had been blind since birth. “How did he get this way?” the disciples ask Jesus. “Was it a sin he committed or was it a sin of his parents?” Jesus finds this question to be offensive, how could the disciples worry so much about sin when really they should be focusing attention on the real issue at hand, how do we go about the business of healing! We can hear urgency in Jesus’ response as he says, “We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” (John 9:4-5) Don’t waste your time on abstract moral debating. Your mission is to share of God’s grace freely given to the world.
Jesus just walks over to the blind man beggar and just heals him. The blind man did not call Jesus to heal him. Jesus does not ask him permission, “would it be ok if I healed you today.” No, Jesus just spits on some dirt and rubs the messiness all over the blind mans eyes and tells him to go wash in the pool of Siloam. The beggar cannot resist the grace that Jesus is giving him; the Holy Spirit nudges him to cooperate, to come to believe in the one who is opening his eyes.
When the man comes back from Siloam with his eyes fully working, his neighbor’s reaction to his healing is puzzling. Even though he is in their circle, they talk about him as if he were not among them. “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg? No it can’t be, it must be someone who looks like him.” The formally blind man keeps repeating “I am the man…I am the one who used to be blind but now I see…hey silly people quit talking about me like I’m not in the room.” The people don’t seem happy about the miracle that is standing in their midst. Instead they begin to interrogate him. “How were your eyes opened? Who opened them?” The man tells them, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ Then I went and washed and received my sight.” (9:11) You would think that the neighbors would be in awe of the miracle that has happened in their midst but instead they feel anxious, fearing that somehow with this man’s healing they were losing control. You see, As long as the man was blind and dependant, their status quo could be maintained. But “If the man were healed, if he were to shake off his powerlessness he could begin to demand food and care. Eventually he would enter the job market and perhaps even reclaim all that he had lost. If he were to do that, it might mean that someone else would lose status.” (1) Now this does sound mean spirited but in a community living on very little resources, the threat that you could have less could mean the difference between life or death for yourself or your family. What is even scarier for the neighbors is that there is a healer on the loose called Jesus liberating the oppressed left right and sideways. He must be stopped! So they ask the man, “Where is he?” and he says, “I don’t know?” Not satisfied with his answer the neighbors bring in the big guns, the religious authorities of their day…the Pharisees.
The Pharisees ask the man “how did you receive your sight?” And the man gives the same reply he gave to his neighbors, “He put mud in my eyes. Then I washed and I see.” (9:15) Now the Pharisees heard that Jesus healed the blind man on the Sabbath day. Huge sin according to the laws of the Jewish community of which Jesus was a part of “Ah ha,” the Pharisees say, “Ah ha, this crazy healer named Jesus is a sinner, he made mud and healed on the day of Sabbath. If he were truly from God, if he were the Messiah he would not have worked on the Sabbath day. How could a sinner note a Messiah perform a miracle?” The scripture is careful to note that the Pharisees were divided. Some were open to the possibility that Jesus was the Messiah. But there were some who couldn’t wrap their heads around a Messiah that didn’t follow the tradition to the letter of the law. If Jesus were the Messiah and the Messiah can break the Sabbath, what does this say about their traditions which are the very foundation of their faith? Their whole lives they had been taught that the Sabbath was never to be broken and here was man breaking the Sabbath by performing a miracle which only one sent by God, a Messiah can perform. Well maybe he wasn’t blind from birth after all. The Pharisees go to the man’s parents.
The parents react are tell the Pharisees that yes their son was born blind but that if the Pharisees want to know how he got his sight, that they should to go back to their son “He is of age.” They say, “He will speak for himself.” Now we’d like to think that the parents were practicing good boundaries by refusing to be triangulated between the Pharisees and their son, but really they said what they did because they were afraid. They knew if they implied anything that sounded like a confession that Jesus was the Messiah, they would be put out of the synagogue, which was their their spiritual home, their beloved community.
So the Pharisees go back to the formally blind man and they make him take an oath to “Give glory to God!” (9:24) In their insecurity they become arrogant in their knowledge of all things religious. “We know this man is a sinner” (9:24) Now the man is the first to admit his theological ineptitude, “I do not know whether he is a sinner.” but he will not dismiss his lived experience “One thing I do know, I once was blind, but now I see.” (9:25) Using the experience of his healing, the man gives a testimony that Jesus is indeed one sent by God but the Pharisees drive him from the temple because he did not pass their test of faith. Imagine how devastating it must have been for the man to be kicked out of the only spiritual home he had known. To be told that he doesn’t belong anymore because he wouldn’t toe the line, because he has the audacity to testify his belief on his lived experience rather than obeying tradition alone.
It is no accident that this story falls in the middle of Lent, the season of self examination. This is a story of the beggar’s journey to sight, not only his physical sight but spiritual sight. With any good story there is a character that we identify with, the character that reflects who we are in the story. Many of us would like to think we are the blind man, the one who readily testifies to having received God’s amazing grace. But the self examination of Lent begs the question, have there been times when have we been like the neighbors in the story when we were too afraid to celebrate one person’s victory fearing that it will mean less for us? Have there been times when have we been like the religious authorities, holding on to the letter law so tightly that we refuse to see the spirit from which the law came from? And when we’ve been like the blind man, who received God’s amazing grace, have we showed the courage in giving our testimony of faith even if it meant failing someone else’s test of faith.
In her commentary on this text, New Testament professor Frances Gench shares the following story of a seminarian whom she felt was one of the finest candidates for ordained ministry she had ever known. However, while he was in seminary he figured out something about himself: he was gay. She continues, “It was an experience of God’s grace in his life that opened his eyes—one that liberated him allowed him to see himself as he really was—indeed as God created him to be. But this new sight came with a cost, for what do you do when you are a candidate for ordination, facing a series of interrogations by candidacy committees and ordaining bodies before finally accepting a call? Is it any wonder that he felt a strong bond of kinship with the man in John 9 and his ordeals? Some will no doubt label this seminarian a sinner, even an abomination. But ‘one thing I know’ he says, ‘I once was blind, but now I see.’” (2)
Like the blind man, the seminarian sets the one thing he is certain of, his own experience against the standards with which the candidacy committee confront him. This seminarian knows that his God does not live in a book, not even the Bible itself, but in the act of mercy that has been done to him. In spite of the vitriol that would label him a sinner because of sexual orientation…this seminarian’s understanding of who God is, who Jesus is emerges from his struggle with those who would invalidate the experience of his own life. (3)
The once blind man went on a journey from darkness to seeing the light of the world. He moves from not knowing who it was who gave him sight, to knowing that person to be a prophet, to knowing that person to come from God. to seeing Jesus and proclaiming, “Lord, I believe” This journey did not come from the law alone but from his experience. His salvation came not by his works but by his faith alone. That is God’s Amazing Grace. May it be so. Amen
(1) Walter Brueggemann, “Theological Education: Healing the Blind Beggar.”
(2) Frances Gench, “A Journey to Sight” Encounters with Jesus (Louisville: John Knox Westminster Press, 2007), 75.
(3) Ibid., 76
Jesus just walks over to the blind man beggar and just heals him. The blind man did not call Jesus to heal him. Jesus does not ask him permission, “would it be ok if I healed you today.” No, Jesus just spits on some dirt and rubs the messiness all over the blind mans eyes and tells him to go wash in the pool of Siloam. The beggar cannot resist the grace that Jesus is giving him; the Holy Spirit nudges him to cooperate, to come to believe in the one who is opening his eyes.
When the man comes back from Siloam with his eyes fully working, his neighbor’s reaction to his healing is puzzling. Even though he is in their circle, they talk about him as if he were not among them. “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg? No it can’t be, it must be someone who looks like him.” The formally blind man keeps repeating “I am the man…I am the one who used to be blind but now I see…hey silly people quit talking about me like I’m not in the room.” The people don’t seem happy about the miracle that is standing in their midst. Instead they begin to interrogate him. “How were your eyes opened? Who opened them?” The man tells them, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ Then I went and washed and received my sight.” (9:11) You would think that the neighbors would be in awe of the miracle that has happened in their midst but instead they feel anxious, fearing that somehow with this man’s healing they were losing control. You see, As long as the man was blind and dependant, their status quo could be maintained. But “If the man were healed, if he were to shake off his powerlessness he could begin to demand food and care. Eventually he would enter the job market and perhaps even reclaim all that he had lost. If he were to do that, it might mean that someone else would lose status.” (1) Now this does sound mean spirited but in a community living on very little resources, the threat that you could have less could mean the difference between life or death for yourself or your family. What is even scarier for the neighbors is that there is a healer on the loose called Jesus liberating the oppressed left right and sideways. He must be stopped! So they ask the man, “Where is he?” and he says, “I don’t know?” Not satisfied with his answer the neighbors bring in the big guns, the religious authorities of their day…the Pharisees.
The Pharisees ask the man “how did you receive your sight?” And the man gives the same reply he gave to his neighbors, “He put mud in my eyes. Then I washed and I see.” (9:15) Now the Pharisees heard that Jesus healed the blind man on the Sabbath day. Huge sin according to the laws of the Jewish community of which Jesus was a part of “Ah ha,” the Pharisees say, “Ah ha, this crazy healer named Jesus is a sinner, he made mud and healed on the day of Sabbath. If he were truly from God, if he were the Messiah he would not have worked on the Sabbath day. How could a sinner note a Messiah perform a miracle?” The scripture is careful to note that the Pharisees were divided. Some were open to the possibility that Jesus was the Messiah. But there were some who couldn’t wrap their heads around a Messiah that didn’t follow the tradition to the letter of the law. If Jesus were the Messiah and the Messiah can break the Sabbath, what does this say about their traditions which are the very foundation of their faith? Their whole lives they had been taught that the Sabbath was never to be broken and here was man breaking the Sabbath by performing a miracle which only one sent by God, a Messiah can perform. Well maybe he wasn’t blind from birth after all. The Pharisees go to the man’s parents.
The parents react are tell the Pharisees that yes their son was born blind but that if the Pharisees want to know how he got his sight, that they should to go back to their son “He is of age.” They say, “He will speak for himself.” Now we’d like to think that the parents were practicing good boundaries by refusing to be triangulated between the Pharisees and their son, but really they said what they did because they were afraid. They knew if they implied anything that sounded like a confession that Jesus was the Messiah, they would be put out of the synagogue, which was their their spiritual home, their beloved community.
So the Pharisees go back to the formally blind man and they make him take an oath to “Give glory to God!” (9:24) In their insecurity they become arrogant in their knowledge of all things religious. “We know this man is a sinner” (9:24) Now the man is the first to admit his theological ineptitude, “I do not know whether he is a sinner.” but he will not dismiss his lived experience “One thing I do know, I once was blind, but now I see.” (9:25) Using the experience of his healing, the man gives a testimony that Jesus is indeed one sent by God but the Pharisees drive him from the temple because he did not pass their test of faith. Imagine how devastating it must have been for the man to be kicked out of the only spiritual home he had known. To be told that he doesn’t belong anymore because he wouldn’t toe the line, because he has the audacity to testify his belief on his lived experience rather than obeying tradition alone.
It is no accident that this story falls in the middle of Lent, the season of self examination. This is a story of the beggar’s journey to sight, not only his physical sight but spiritual sight. With any good story there is a character that we identify with, the character that reflects who we are in the story. Many of us would like to think we are the blind man, the one who readily testifies to having received God’s amazing grace. But the self examination of Lent begs the question, have there been times when have we been like the neighbors in the story when we were too afraid to celebrate one person’s victory fearing that it will mean less for us? Have there been times when have we been like the religious authorities, holding on to the letter law so tightly that we refuse to see the spirit from which the law came from? And when we’ve been like the blind man, who received God’s amazing grace, have we showed the courage in giving our testimony of faith even if it meant failing someone else’s test of faith.
In her commentary on this text, New Testament professor Frances Gench shares the following story of a seminarian whom she felt was one of the finest candidates for ordained ministry she had ever known. However, while he was in seminary he figured out something about himself: he was gay. She continues, “It was an experience of God’s grace in his life that opened his eyes—one that liberated him allowed him to see himself as he really was—indeed as God created him to be. But this new sight came with a cost, for what do you do when you are a candidate for ordination, facing a series of interrogations by candidacy committees and ordaining bodies before finally accepting a call? Is it any wonder that he felt a strong bond of kinship with the man in John 9 and his ordeals? Some will no doubt label this seminarian a sinner, even an abomination. But ‘one thing I know’ he says, ‘I once was blind, but now I see.’” (2)
Like the blind man, the seminarian sets the one thing he is certain of, his own experience against the standards with which the candidacy committee confront him. This seminarian knows that his God does not live in a book, not even the Bible itself, but in the act of mercy that has been done to him. In spite of the vitriol that would label him a sinner because of sexual orientation…this seminarian’s understanding of who God is, who Jesus is emerges from his struggle with those who would invalidate the experience of his own life. (3)
The once blind man went on a journey from darkness to seeing the light of the world. He moves from not knowing who it was who gave him sight, to knowing that person to be a prophet, to knowing that person to come from God. to seeing Jesus and proclaiming, “Lord, I believe” This journey did not come from the law alone but from his experience. His salvation came not by his works but by his faith alone. That is God’s Amazing Grace. May it be so. Amen
(1) Walter Brueggemann, “Theological Education: Healing the Blind Beggar.”
(2) Frances Gench, “A Journey to Sight” Encounters with Jesus (Louisville: John Knox Westminster Press, 2007), 75.
(3) Ibid., 76
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