@EUCC Sermons

Jesus compelled his followers to trust that there would be enough for them and everyone else, by daylighting the child’s generosity, and inspiring the grownups to share what they had with others, rather than squirreling away the food that they had brought for themselves.

Notice how when the disciples ask Jesus to work a miracle, he did not pull out a wand and say, abra cadabra. Instead, he said: “You give them something to eat.”

The disciples replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and a couple of fish.”

The child might have said, “Liars, liars, pants on fire!” But he didn’t. Instead, the child offered all the food he had brought to share with others.

That child’s act of generosity, reminded everyone in the crowd that they had something to bring to the table, and they were moved to share what they had with others. And they did, everyone in attendance ate their fill and there were 12 baskets of food leftover.

So then, the miracle that occurred that day at the shores of the Sea of Galilee, wasn’t the result of some first-century side show, but rather the miracle of generosity that Jesus inspired in the boy with five loaves and two fishes, and the cast of thousands who had come to taste and see what God was doing in the world…

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Dear friends, today’s Scripture challenges us to examine our hearts. The psalmist wrote: Search me, God, and know my heart (Psalm 139:23) Create in me a pure heart and renew a steadfast spirit within me. (Psalm 51:10)

Jesus models a compassionate heart willing to stand in solidarity with the oppressed. Eduardo Galeano affirms that "Unlike solidarity, which is horizontal and is exercised as equals, charity is practiced from top to bottom, it humiliates the recipient and never alters the power relations one bit.”

Jesus not only feed the crowd, but he also spent time teaching them, demonstrating that he saw the people as equal and affirming their dignity.

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As we celebrate the 245th anniversary of our nation’s independence today, and reflect on our gospel lesson, the thought occurs to me that all but 1% of Americans either come from humble beginnings and somewhere else, or they are the descendants of people who were of humble beginnings and from somewhere else. This fact is part of the narrative that we tell ourselves as a nation, and that we depict in our artifacts.

Consider the Statue of Liberty as an example. . .

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One was a man named Jairus, whose twelve-year old daughter, Tabitha, was near death. The other was an unnamed woman, who had been hemorrhaging for twelve years.

On the face of it, these two people were polar opposites. Jairus was a man of wealth and privilege whose family carried Platinum-level health care coverage. The unnamed woman, meanwhile, was penniless and had no healthcare coverage and no advocate but herself.

As Americans, I suspect that we either have or know someone who has Platinum-level health care coverage, so we can imagine what such health care coverage affords. The experience of the unnamed woman may be less familiar to some of us, so let’s try to imagine what it was like to be her. Let’s start by trying to imagine why we don't know her name.

I venture that the reason we don’t know her name is because she had been living in quarantine for 12 years on account of her health and her lack of access to quality care.

In the ancient world, quarantine was one of the few medical interventions available to treat disease and infirmity.

Most ailments were deemed contagious until proven otherwise. So even if the woman’s malady wasn’t contagious, she would have been subject to quarantine for medical reasons. But that is not all.

This woman was a Jew, and was subject to the Levite purity codes, which required sick persons to quarantine, wear masks, remove their head covering, and when approached shout “Unclean!” so that everyone around her knew to physically distance themselves from her.

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The way that Mark tells the story, Jesus and his twelve disciples had been hunkered down, working their tails off for months in and around his hometown, and finally, he declared the need for a day off. So he declared a holiday and directed his team to jump in their boat and go to the other side of the sea for a rest.

The disciples were all for a vacation. They jumped in the boat, dropped the rudder, hoisted the sail, and headed for the opposite side of the Sea of Galilee.

Even though it was night, the crew was undaunted. They knew the way. They were lifelong fishermen who were familiar with their rig, the water, and the weather conditions. They could cross the sea in their sleep.

Jesus knew that he was in good hands and he was tired, so he lay down in the stern of the boat to rest, and quickly fell asleep.

As it turned out, there would be no rest for the weary. Soon after the crew embarked on their trip, a storm came up. Waves crashed against the hull of the boat and water rushed over the bow. The boat was swamped. But Jesus didn’t notice. He was sound asleep.

In a panic, the disciples roused him saying, “Jesus, don’t you care that we are about to drown?”

Jesus awoke with a start, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" And all was calm.

Then Jesus asked the disciples, "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?"

Crickets. The disciples did not reply. Instead, they asked each other, “Who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

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Good morning, Rainbow People! If you’re like me, you may find the gospel passage today just a little confusing. Amen? So I’m going to start with a summary of the pericope.

The way that Mark tells the story, Jesus had just appointed twelve disciples and commissioned them to cast out demons. Then he headed home for supper; but his evening meal was delayed by a crowd of paparazzi, fair-weather friends, and some detractors who had gathered around his house.

Some of his detractors accused Jesus of being out of his mind, which was a nice way of saying “crazy.” Others, like the Jewish scribes, who had come down from Jerusalem, said that he was possessed by Beelzebul, the Philistines’ god, who was the prince of devils.

Neither charge was complimentary, but Jesus was not deterred. He countered these allegations with logical arguments, explaining that he could not be both the devil and the one who casts out the devil. He was either one or the other.

And, he called the people who said that he was possessed “blasphemers,” which meant that they were guilty of an unforgivable sin. This, he explained, was so, because they were equating the work that God was doing through him with the work of the devil.

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In the past year, I’ve had the joy of meeting with our Church school children each week and the challenge of picking, teaching, and explaining Bible stories. I try to remember that young children grow into the metaphorical language we use as adults but I also try to always push the envelope of their understanding a little.

There are times, particularly if the lesson is about kindness toward others or love of family and friends or prayer or the importance of giving, I hear in their answers that they not only understand but that they practice these traditions.

There are other times, particularly if the lesson is explicitly about God or Jesus or the Spirit, when I can hear they don’t understand, as often indicated by one of them saying the first time I take a breath, “Can we have “show & tell” now?”

When it comes to teaching, the kids may be onto something, with a slight tweak of order. The best way to answer our children’s questions about bodies, souls, and life may be “tell & show.”

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The first is personal humility, and it is the turn key for all other forms of humility.

To exhibit personal humility one must realize and demonstrate that I am not the center of the universe. The world does not revolve around me. I do not know all that there is to know, and I do not have all the answers or all the tools needed to solve every problem. I am willing to approach group problems inductively, mindful that I likely have as much to learn as I do to impart to others. I’m willing to examine my own assumptions, receive constructive feedback, learn, adapt, change, evolve. I am willing to share power, to receive as well as give.

Personal humility is something that we strive to teach children at an early age, but it is a lifelong process--a spiritual practice--that requires time and intention and persistence.

A second form of humility that is much in need today is cultural humility, which is the ability to maintain an interpersonal stance that is other-oriented (or open to the other) in relation to aspects of cultural identity that are most important to the person.

Cultural humility is different from other culturally-based training ideals because it focuses on self-humility, rather than on simply acquiring knowledge or awareness of other cultures. This practice was identified and first cultivated in the physical healthcare field and adapted into other helping professionals and helps caregivers learn more about the experiences and cultural identities of others, in order to increase the quality of their interactions with clients and community members.

When we express cultural humility, we acknowledge that our culture is not the only way, or the better way--ours is simply a way.

A third form of humility that I’ll mention today, since this is the culmination of our stewardship campaign is philanthropic humility. One must exhibit both a personal posture of humility and cultural humility to effectively exhibit philanthropic humility. Donors who exhibit their generosity in this way ask persons and organizations in need of resources what they need and how they would go about resolving whatever issue they are addressing with their project. Donors don’t assume that they understand the problem being addressed or the best way to tackle it. Instead, they listen, they learn, they collaborate, and everyone is blessed as a result.

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According to Luke, the eleven were together in Jerusalem, with the one hundred twenty, including Peter, and despite his tainted credentials, the other apostles affirmed Peter’s recommendation that all nominees be people who had been continuous followers of Jesus since his baptism. (This idea eventually was overturned by Paul, but it prevailed in the early days of the Christian community.)

Given this criteria, only two names surfaced: Joseph called Barsabbas and Matthias. According to the minutes of the meeting in Acts, chapter 1, the nominating committee prayed for the spirit’s guidance, and then they drew lots. That’s right, they said a prayer and played the lottery.

How crazy is that? No strategic planning, no succession planning, and no training for his successor, they just pulled Matthias name out of a hat and he got the nod to fill the vacancy.

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First, it’s not really an ode to any particular woman or to all perfected women. Most of the Book of Proverbs is an ode to the mysterious Lady Wisdom (capital W), who is the personification of wisdom (small w), i.e. “smarts.” There are many theories about Lady Wisdom and her appearance here in Proverbs. She may be the Biblical version of other Middle Eastern wisdom goddesses such Ma’at or Isis and/or she may be the precursor of the Greek Sophia (feminine) or Logos (masculine) philosophical concepts of wisdom and logic which found embodiment in Holy Spirit and Jesus, especially in the Gospel of John. After 30 chapters of instruction on how to embody wisdom if you are a man, the Book of Proverbs concludes with this lengthy passage on how it might look if Wisdom was embodied in a woman.

Second, in the debunking category, the word that we often see translated as “capable wife” is the Hebrew words “eshet hayil,” which the editors Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler of the Jewish Study Bible point out would be better translated as “woman of strength.” since “hayil” refers to strength of all sorts, including military prowess and bodily strength as well as all other emotional and psychological powers.[2]

The Protestant feminist theologian Katherine Bushnell, an expert “sex bias” in Biblical translation rips the translation bandaid off “eshet hayil” more quickly by pointing out that “hayil” “occurs 242 times in the Old Testament and is translated “army” and “war” 58 times; “host” and “forces” 43 times; “might” or “power” 16 times; “goods,” “riches,” “substance” and “wealth” in all 31 times; “band of soldiers,” “band of men,” “company,” and “train” once each; “activity” once; “valor” 28 times; “strength” 11 times.

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Jesus was a master of metaphor and one of the great practical theologians of all time. He used metaphors and images to get his messages across to primarily illiterate audiences in a manner that was clear and memorable.

His reference to himself as the vine and his followers as the branches, in today’s gospel story, are a case in point. Jesus lived and served in wine country, so the image of vines and grapes and the way he applied the metaphor to himself and his people was instantly clear to all who had ears to hear.

The metaphor expresses the intimate and integral relationship between himself and his followers, who embodied a spiritual extension of their relationship with God.

“I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me, and I in them bear much fruit…” (John 15:5a)

Jesus uses the term “abide'' multiple times in today’s gospel lesson. Abide is a term that is rarely used outside of church circles. What does it mean?

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Long ago and far away, I was a freshman in college and enrolled in my first college-level religion class--Hebrew Bible. Back home, we would have called the subject matter by a name more familiar to us--Old Testament.

I don’t remember a lot about that class or even my college experience. I can barely remember life before COVID-19. But I remember that my grandparents sometimes called me on Sunday evenings to see how I was doing. During one of those calls--the call that I remember most clearly--Grandpa asked me, “Are they teaching you anything?”

That last question was a showstopper for me, because of course I was learning a lot. But I was stymied by the challenge of how to sum up a month of college for two people whose economic circumstances had prohibited them from graduating high school.

Then this idea popped into my head, and I said, “I’m learning that city kids don’t have a clue about the Bible, because they weren’t taught the things that you were able to teach us, and because they don’t know the first thing about nomadic or rural life.”

The Bible isn’t just old. It’s filled with images and metaphors from nomadic and rural life that are opaque to people who grew up in cities and suburbs. So I learned in my first OT class that before the preacher exegete the Bible, she needs to exegete the nomadic and rural metaphors.

As an example, it’s tough to appreciate the full meaning of John’s description of Jesus as “The Good Shepherd” if you have never met a shepherd and you do not know much about sheep. Comprende?

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As Jesus spoke, hopes rose in the hearts of his followers, but they remained hesitant to believe. The news seemed too good to be true. So Jesus asked for something to eat. He was offered a piece of broiled fish which he ate in their presence. Then Jesus went on to interpret the scriptures, drawing the connections between the visions of the prophets, and his present-day mission, and then they got it. They finally understood the Easter message — suffering was not their purpose, death was not the end, and their hope was restored — and they were called to be witnesses of these things.

Did you notice how the disciples didn’t begin to comprehend the full meaning of these events in Jerusalem until they saw Jesus eat something, which is another way of saying — until they all had something to eat. Remember, in this setting, Jesus was the guest, so he would have been invited to eat first. That was and still is the norm in neareastern cultures, and many others. Guests are served first.

Where I come from, we say, “Company first. Family hold back.” The principle is the same. It’s about hospitality. It’s also about having enough to eat.

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I wonder sometimes what would have happened to Thomas if Jesus hadn’t appeared to him. Would he have left the group that went on to found the early Church? Or would he have stuck around but continued to disbelieve? Would he have hidden his disbelief? Or would have he grown to believe by remaining part of the community as it began to reach out and proclaim its message of Christ’s resurrection? In other words, failing a direct encounter with Christ, would he stay or would he go?

It’s a question that’s relevant to us as well. I believe each of us struggles with doubt from time to time. In a year of catastrophic happenings, with so much death and destruction and wholesale change, not to mention isolation for so many people of all ages, I’d be very surprised if you said you never doubted God, your faith, or your church. Our questions about faith today, especially in 2021, are the same as those facing Thomas during that long week when he was alone in not believing: What if I never believe? What if I’ve lost my faith? How can re-build my faith? How can I be more comfortable with what my faith asks of me? And ultimately, if I don’t believe as I think I ought, should I stay or should I go?

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The way that John tells the story, Mary Magdalene went early to the tomb to prepare Jesus’ body for burial. But when she got to the cemetery, she found the stone rolled away and the tomb empty.

So she ran to Peter and John and told them that someone had stolen Jesus’ body, and she didn’t know where they had taken him. The two men headed back to the tomb with her in hopes of making sense of these mysterious events.

John reached the tomb first. He bent down and looked in and saw linen wraps laying in the tomb, but he didn’t find the body. Peter arrived next, and was followed by a third.

John went into the tomb, confirmed Jesus’ absence, and affirmed his resurrection. The others weren’t as clear in their analysis. The three men headed to their respective homes, but Mary Magdalene stayed behind at the tomb grieving and wondering what to do next.

She saw two angels seated where Jesus’ body had lain. One asked why she was weeping.

She stated the obvious: “Someone has stolen my Jesus, and I do not know where they have laid him.” Then she turned around and saw someone standing next to her. According to John, that someone was Jesus, but Mary Magdalene didn’t recognize him.

Jesus asked her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?”

Supposing him to be the gardener, Mary Magdalene said, “Sir, if you have carried Jesus away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take his body away.”

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Despite my rejection of the orthodox doctrine of substitutionary atonement, I have come to believe that there is good to be found in this Friday’s narrative.

There is good that comes from confessing when one has betrayed another, especially when one has betrayed a person (or a group) to whom we have made significant promises, such as: a spouse, a best friend, a neighbor, a client, our family, or our faith community.

In addition, I believe that good comes from acknowledging how easily our values can be commodified and sold for a bag of silver. Like Peter, we can know what is right, good, and fitting--and still make the wrong choices. Like Peter, we say we won’t do x. We insist that we’ll stay strong. And then, mic drop, before we know it, we’ve accepted the purse, and the cock has crowed--not once or twice, but three times.

Furthermore, and perhaps especially in these current times, it is good that we face history and ourselves, and that we own up to the fact that we can be every bit as vulnerable to groupthink and mob rule as the rank and file who hovered around Jesus on that first Good Friday, and the fools who fed off of Adolf Hitler’s xenophobia in Nazi Germany.

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The first example, called the donkey walk, was practiced in Moscow and other cities in Russia for about 135 year from 1558 to 1693. For the first 100 years or so, it began at the Kremlin and ended at St. Basil’s Cathedral with its ornate onion style towers. The part of Jesus was played by the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church and his donkey was led by the Emperor (also known as Grand Prince, and later, the Tsar), who was followed by many of the Russian noblemen. The annual ritual changed from time to time during the 135 years, and by 1636, the direction had been reversed so the final destination was inside the Kremlin rather than the Cathedral. In 1694, the Tsar Peter I or Peter the Great, who had already forced the Orthodox Church into submission to government, abolished the ritual and some say replaced it with a mock drunk orgy of his own statesmen and minstrels.2

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So it is incumbent upon us as Progressive Christians to expose the ideas and practices within our tradition that defame the physical world and human sexuality, and counter them with more holistic and healthier ideas and practices that exist within scripture and that are being revealed through research and scholarship in the human sciences.

It is also incumbent upon us to counter gender stereotypes that define women as morally responsible for men’s behavior, and men as knights in shining armor.

In addition, it is incumbent upon us to denounce the fetishization of women in general and people of color, and to clearly and crisply affirm that all people are fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God (Ps. 149:14).

Without embracing these challenges and taking them on, I guarantee you that the roots of xenophobia that perpetuate egregious hate crimes like the type we saw unfold in metro Atlanta this past Tuesday will continue to plague us and our posterity.

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