Reflections and Sermons
Host: David Ellingson
This podcast explores adventures in life, relationships, and spirit. Pastor Kelly weaves together his varied and diverse work in schools, churches, and neighborhoods and says "It's all about relationships," as we battle against racism, discrimination, and privilege and engage in conversation and action to build God's world of justice and peace.
Janet Hagberg and Kelly Chatman interview each other as an example of a way to better understand and empathize with each other’s stories about race, discrimination and faith. They both describe an example of what racial reconciliation looks like in real life. And they end the podcast with a moving example of deep racial healing.
Interview questions include: What was your first experience of a white/black person? Could you give an example or two of how you have personally been discriminated against as a black person/woman? What was one of your hardest experiences with a white/black person? What was your most memorable healing experiences with a white/black person? How has your faith informed race relations for you? What would you like to say to white/black people? Would you like to share a current story of a racial conversation that has healing or reconciliation potential? Easter Sunday, April 16, 2017 | Matthew 28
Grace, peace, and mercy from God our Lord and Savior, amen. Praise the Lord, everybody! Praise the Lord. Here is what we are going to do. In a few minutes, I will say, Jesus rises. Then I want you to respond by saying, He is risen indeed. Some of us who have been attending church for a while know how this goes because we have been blessed to be in the company of one another for a while. Some of us know the flow of our worship service. Some of us have spent the past sixty days preparing for this day. We have been worshiping on Wednesday nights. Some of us have been giving up certain foods and collecting money to dedicate to the church's ministries. I am sharing this information because we want you to know that church and the Jesus we celebrate did not come to save church folk; he came to save sinners. Jesus came to liberate people who view themselves as failures, people who are ill, and people who know death and pain in their lives. So, when we say He is risen! You say He is risen indeed, Alleluia! Please pray with me: Gracious and loving God we give thanks for this day we celebrate as Easter, Resurrection Sunday. We thank you for loving us so much that you gave Jesus to sacrifice his life for us. We thank you too for Holy Spirit and the promise that you will be with us to strengthen us. Bless us with your Word this morning that we will grow to love and serve you in our lives. We pray all these things in Jesus name. Amen Charnae is one of our youths, and I recall when she was in fourth grade and was involved in our after-school program. She was also involved in the after-school program in her school. Occasionally, the programs would have a schedule conflict. On this day, there was a schedule conflict, and Charnae chose to come to Redeemer instead of the program at her school. The instructor told Charnea she could not come to Redeemer. She had to attend the program at her school. Charnea responded to her instructor, “How are you going to tell me I can’t go to my church?” When I think of these words from Charnae, I think about Jesus and the Easter message. Jesus says to death, “How are you going to keep me from rising from the dead?”. I think of the bold words from Jesus and Charnea challenging each of us today to truly live into this reality of Easter to say to the world, “How are you going to tell me who I can or cannot love?” How can you tell me who I cannot provide sanctuary?” How are you going to tell me I cannot choose life over death!” This is what Easter is about. This is why God allowed his son to give his life on the cross. This is why God allowed Himself to experience humiliation and suffering. This is why Jesus died and was raised from the dead, to give us a voice and an understanding that says to the world How are you going to stop us from being the people of God? That really is not a question; it’s a statement! Jesus gave his life and rose from the grave to open us up to new possibilities. Easter is the power of God, opening us to see new people and new possibilities. When I think about Charnele and some of the new folks in the church, I thank God because the church needs new people. New people sometimes challenge us to be the people God calls us to be. New people sometimes help us to see things we don’t see. If you are new here, you strengthen us by your very presence. You strengthen us in your presence by your very presence. We hope you will come back here to Redeemer or some other church. I have been involved in the church since I was a teenager. I loved coming to church, but I remember back in the day how our family was what I call an “Easter Sunday family”. Our parents had migrated to Detroit, Michigan, from Tennessee in the south. In preparation for Easter Sunday, our parents would take us to the thrift store, where we were excited to receive new clothes, and we were giddy with excitement to be going to church on Easter Sunday. I recall how Easter brought with it the anticipation of baskets, coloring eggs, the egg hunt, and being outside after a long winter. When we were children, it was enough to know that we were a part of a communal experience called Easter. My understanding of Easter grew as I heard the voice and witness of the civil rights movement in Reverend Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, and Ralph Abernathy. I understood that because of Jesus Christ, his death on the cross, and rising from the dead, bad things don’t always have the final say. I learned through a community of faith embodied by plain old ordinary people God is not dead; He rises from the dead. Hallelujah. This first Easter was not easy for the disciples. As much as Jesus' resurrection was right there in front of Jesus' followers, they still had that rearview picture of Good Friday, Jesus dead on a cross. Mary Madeleine and the women who came to the tomb had been standing at the cross where they saw Jesus suffer and die. On Friday, they witnessed Jesus being nailed to the cross. They witnessed the humiliation of his death as a common criminal. They saw his innocent blood flowing from his body. From the rear-view mirror, Jesus was dead. The story was over. All that was left was to go to the tomb where Jesus lay. Early that first Easter morning, Mary Madeleine, a woman whom Jesus had healed seven times, and the other women got up while it was still dark. They prepared the spices that they were going to put on Jesus' body. When they got to the tomb, they saw an angel sitting on the stone, they felt the earthquake, and they were shocked to discover that the tomb was empty. Immediately, Mary Madeleine returned to share the news with the fellows that the tomb was empty. Mary thought that the tomb had been robbed, rearview. Then we read about how John, the one who loved Jesus, and Peter ran to the tomb. John got there first. Peter went inside and saw that Jesus' clothes had been folded, and then the text tells us John, the one who loved Jesus, went inside and believed. After the men had gone and Mary was standing by herself crying, the angels said to Mary, “Woman, why are you crying?” She said they have taken my Lord away, and I do not know where they have laid him.” For Mary Madeleine and the first followers to grasp the meaning of Easter, they had to let go of their rearview mirrors. They had to stop looking back and start looking forward. Jesus was moving on. “tell the fellas they can catch me in Galilee.” To see the resurrected Jesus, they had to let go of the past and become open to the new life, the resurrected life Jesus offers. Easter does not mean that Jesus died on the cross in order that we would have easy answers and have lives that are perfect and immune from pain. There will still be accidents on Highway 35, and people who want to put up walls, drop bombs, and deny refuge to vulnerable people. Easter reminds us how God allows Jesus, who is the very presence of God to give his life in order that we might face life head on as it comes to us. “How you going to stop us from being the church!” How you going to stop us from being the people of God? Easter is the power God gives to us to face failure, illness, death, and pain. Cheryl and I had just arrived back from Florida, where we spent time with Cheryl's family for the Christmas holiday. While we were in Florida, Cheryl and her sister, along with some of the children, went to see the movie Dreamgirls. They invited me to join them, but I declined. Cheryl and her sister tend to talk during movies, but I prefer to focus on the dialogue on the screen. They say the inspiration for the film Dreamgirls is Diana Ross and the Supremes. If you know anything about Diana Ross and the Supremes, you know they came out of Detroit, Michigan, where I grew up. Detroit, in its heyday, was known throughout the movie industry for a company called Motown Records, and they produced wonderful songs like "People Get Ready." "Aint Too Proud to Beg." "My Girl." Motown artists included groups like the Supremes, Temptations, Highlights, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross…
One of the songs I recall the words to from Motown was "Something's Got a Hold on Me" I remember when I was young just walking around and singing this song, "Something's Got a Hold on Me," Something's a Whole on Me…" Jesus could have been singing the words to this song when his parents found him in the temple. Jesus' parents, Mary and Joseph, had been missing Jesus for three days. The family had traveled to Jerusalem to attend worship for the Passover, and they must have traveled with a big group, much like we did at Redeemer when we all packed up and went to Westwood for worship on Pentecost. The family must have assumed that Jesus, at twelve years old, had hooked up with his cousin John and his family. When they discovered that Jesus was gone, they began looking for him, and he was nowhere to be found. They backtracked and thought, "Where was he last seen?" This led them to the temple where, sure enough, Jesus was still hanging out in the temple, sitting at the feet of the teachers, asking deep questions about the Scriptures. Mary and Joseph asked Jesus, "What were you thinking?" Jesus then began singing the song, "Something's Got a Hold of Me." When I was in Florida with Cheryl and her family, I returned with a new image to help me describe what I think the gap between God and us looks like. It is the image that came to me in the form of a ten-year-old girl named Taja. Last week, I was with Cheryl in her family home in Daytona Beach, Florida. This is Cheryl's annual journey to be with her family for the Christmas holiday. I joined Cheryl for a couple of days after Christmas Eve. As you can imagine, Cheryl is the popular aunt her nieces and nephews look forward to seeing come home. She entertains the children, treats them to movies, gives gifts, and shares advice. All the children are excited when Auntie Cheryl comes home. My role is to pick up the pieces and stay in my lane. This was all good until the first night when I was in bed with Cheryl, and out of my dead sleep, I woke up, and standing in the doorway, there stood my ten-year-old niece, Taja. Taja is tall, and I was surprised to wake up at night and see her silently standing in the doorway, watching us. This is a frightening picture! I had no idea what was going on in this ten-year-old's mind. Why was she standing in the middle of the doorway at three o'clock in the morning? Whatever was going on for her at three o'clock in the morning, I knew there was a considerable gap between this ten-year-old's world and my %+#@. In today's gospel, twelve-year-old Jesus visited the temple with his family, and after his parents returned to their home, they realized Jesus was not with them. They searched for Jesus only to find out three days later that Jesus was still in Jerusalem at the temple. Mary and Joseph had been worried about Jesus, but when they found Jesus still in the temple, they could not believe their ears; when Jesus said, "Dah," "where did you think I would be? Did you not know I would be in my father's house?" For Mary and Joseph, after realizing Jesus had been missing for three days and discovering that he had stayed at the temple, thinking it made perfect sense, there was a gap. Jesus came to bridge the gap between humanity and God, between our reality and the kingdom of God. Jesus is the Son of God standing in the doorway. At age twelve, Jesus stayed in the temple with biblical scholars, choosing to ask questions about Scripture rather than return with his family. There is a significant gap in our world this morning, and it is the Gap that continues to exist between God's love for the world and how we choose to live our lives as sinful human beings. The Gap appears to be widening. We live our lives seeking to make more money, being busier and busier, so we can have more stuff, so we get more attention, and where does it get us? Saddam Hussein was publicly hanged, and the whole Iraqi situation became a tragic reminder of the terrible situation we are in. Saddam was a leader who did awful things; he accumulated immense wealth and power, and where did it get him? Even worse is the fact that they hung him, and he received so much attention for his fate. I cannot understand the attraction of watching or publicizing Saddam's hanging. Saddam Hussein's hanging is a reminder to us, on this last Sunday of the year, that there is a Gap between the ways we live and the lives God intended for us to live. The Gap is cavernous! So God sent his very own son, Jesus, into the world so that we might live the kind of lives God intended for us. God sent the angels to a woman named Mary and a man named Joseph. The angel told Mary, "You are going to have a child, and all the world will call you blessed." Mary said, "But I am just a child, and I am poor, and I am not married." God said, "I got you." Mary and Joseph had the baby Jesus, and when Herod tried to kill their baby, they escaped to Egypt and lay low. When the time was right, they returned to Bethlehem and raised Jesus as their son. Then, on that Passover, when they went to the temple and returned home, and Jesus was missing, they went back to discover that Jesus had been at the temple, all Jesus had to say was, "Something's got a hold of me." The Old Testament lesson addresses the gap with another story, sharing how a childless woman named Rahab prayed to have a child. When God granted her wish for a child, she dedicated her child to the service of God. God blessed childless Rahab to have a son who would grow up to provide a significant witness to our faith. This Old Testament story is from 1 Samuel. Samuel was born to a woman named Rahab, who was childless and not able to bear children. Having children was a sign of value and worth. Rahab prayed for a child and vowed that if God granted her one, she would raise him to serve God. She raised the child to become a priest, carefully watching his diet and nurturing his love for God and righteousness. She dedicated Samuel to a life of serving God. God blessed Rahab, and she went on to have six children. Another part of the story is that under Eli's tutelage, Samuel worked in the temple assisting the priest Eli. Scripture tells us Eli had two sons who were also priests. In some detail, it describes how Eli's sons were scoundrels. When people brought their sacrificial offerings to Elie's, his sons sent their servants to take the best meat out of the offerings. The text describes how the servants of Eli's sons would take the meat before it was boiling, and they took the best parts and kept them for themselves. The people asked Elie's servants to at least wait until the fat had burned off the meat to offer a sacrifice to God, but then Eli's son's servants would threaten to become violent. Because these were Eli's sons, even though Eli knew they were corrupt, Eli did not stop them. It was into such corruption that Samuel was raised to become a priest who would be righteous and strong in the Lord. What does it mean to take the best part of the sacrifice and keep it for ourselves? We grew up in a large family, living with my mother and father and twelve sisters and brothers. It was always a challenge to ensure there was enough for everyone to get what they wanted. I recall watching as somebody passed the chicken around the dinner table at a young age, wondering if I would get the piece of the chicken I wanted. Somebody here ought to know what I am talking about. I remember watching and waiting to see if I would get a thigh, leg, or wing. Most often, by the time the chicken got to me, I wound up with the back. Now, I know the back is not an option to many of us today, but when I was growing up, the back was a very real option. I know because I got it, and sometimes the neck! Not everyone can have the best part. Eli's sons wanted the best part for themselves. It did not matter that the point of the offering was that the sacrifice was intended to be for God; Levi's sons wanted to have the best part of the sacrifice for themselves. They wanted the best part of the means, and they wouldn't allow the fat to burn to God. They wanted the best part for themselves, and the Scriptures tell us this was an offense to God. The complaint against Eli's sons was not just that they took what was not theirs, but they took the best for themselves. As we end this year and prepare to begin the New Year, we want to remember not to be like Eli's sons. As faithful people of God, we want to make a sacrifice, but we do not want to keep the best parts for ourselves. When we look at our budgets and what we will offer to God, let's not keep the best parts for ourselves. When we look at our time and what we will or will not give to the church, let's not keep the best parts for ourselves. When we look at the hymns, we choose which ones to sing; let's not pick the best ones for ourselves. How we will use our buildings and which ones are worthy of our use, so that they take the best part of the sacrifice for themselves, I thought about how this Scripture provides a warning for us today. The Scripture says the problem was that Eli's sons kept the best part of the sacrifice for themselves. At the same time, the text brings to mind the corruption of priests and pastors who have been exposed for abuse of children and abuse of church finances. I think the story also speaks to us when we don't tithe and give back to God. I think about how we take the better part for ourselves when we choose only to sing the hymns we like or that remind us of and reinforce our traditions. I think about how we select the parts of the sacrifice we often want for ourselves. While working on my sermon, I conjured up this image that the Redeemer is a plate of my mother's fried chicken. As I considered this plate of fried chicken, I reflected on how the table symbolizes our community and the way people come together and engage. I imagined how we were limited in size, leadership, and financial resources, and yet God has blessed us to have this great plate of chicken to share with those around us. I pictured the plate as a symbol passed among NA, union meetings, neighborhood associations, and children's after-school programs. I imagined another piece is Redeemer Center for Life with the Peace Palace, affordable housing, Christmas parties, and block parties. Another piece is represented in how we worship as a diverse, multicultural community, Yolanda and Cheryl's invitation to students and mission partners, intentionally reaching into our neighborhood, children and youth, hip hop, traditional, and contemporary. We don't just look for the parts of serving God that satisfy us; the purpose for which we are here is to serve God and to ask God to take hold of US! This morning, two leaders, Samuel and Jesus, are lifted up as children. They were shaped by parents, people who loved God. Rahab was willing to give the only child she was able to have as a sacrifice to God. Mary and Joseph sacrificed so that Jesus might save the world. Mark 5:25-34 | Bleeding for Seven Years
Grace, peace and mercy from God our Lord and Savior Amen. Dear Lord, we thank you for the gift of this day for the opportunity to be like the woman in today’s lesson who stepped out from the crowd to be healed by you. Heal us this morning with the power of your word and fill our worship with your Holy Spirit this morning. In Jesus name we pray, amen. Dr. Robert Schuler tells a story about a graduate student who overslept and arrived late for his final math exam. The student rushed to the classroom only to discover that everyone else was deep into completing their test. On the blackboard, he saw that there were three math equations, and everyone had a big jump on filling out the test. The student began to work on the first question, and then while he was working on the second question, some of the students began to finish their exams. The student maintained his focus and managed to complete the second exam. Then he began to work on the third exam and found it very difficult, and as time went on, he discovered that he was the only one still taking the test. The exam time was expiring so she approached the professors and requested permission to take the exam home in order to have more time to complete the exam. The professor granted the student permission. Later that day, the student’s phone rang, and the professor was on the other end of the line. The professor was very excited. The professor said to her, “You are amazing.” “No one has ever been able to answer the third question right. The professor said the third question on the board was a brain teaser, and no one had ever been able to figure out the equation. The story's point is that when that student entered the classroom that day, she did not know that the equation was impossible. All she knew was that she wanted to pass the class, and she had faith that she could do so. Note I did not say she had confidence that she could pass the exam. I said she had faith that she could pass the exam. The big theological question for us this morning is, “Are we here because we have confidence, or are we here because we have faith? I want you to think of God as that professor, and the third question on the exam for us is to answer the question, “Do we have faith?” This morning’s gospel lesson is from Mark, and I want to talk a little about how Mark writes his gospel. The gospel of Mark starts with one story, and before you know it, you are in the middle of another story. I like reading Mark's book because I happen to like the way Mark writes; it’s familiar to me. Mark writes it a lot like Cheryl talks. I don’t know if you have noticed how when Cheryl tells a story, she begins with one story, and before you know it, she has moved into another story. Cheryl weaves all kinds of details into her stories, and they can sometimes appear to be disconnected from the original story. Listening to Cheryl is like going on a journey; it’s an adventure. You learn to trust that Cheryl knows where she is taking you, and you have to learn to enjoy the journey. You see, Cheryl is what I call a circular storyteller. When she tells a story, she has a conclusion but you are going to have to wait to get there because there is all this other exciting stuff she wants to offer along the way. As a circular storyteller, the point is not just in the details. Circular storytellers communicate relationships. As a guy, the way I am wired is to get to the point, but I love watching when Cheryl is telling a story. When Cheryl is telling a story, I might as well pull up a chair grab a seat and watch the crowd gather around her. This morning, I want to invite you to go home, and when you read Mark’s Gospel, think that Cheryl is the writer of Mark. Last Sunday, I was in beautiful Napa Valley, California, where I performed a wedding for one of my former students. I was in this beautiful wine country less than an hour from when I was to perform the wedding when I called Cheryl to check in. Before I came to California, Cheryl and I had some flooding at the house, and I wondered how it was going. Well, Cheryl started talking about how a friend had suggested calling some repair people, and she started talking about mold and tearing out walls and thousands of dollars in repairs. I could feel my blood pressure rising, and I felt frustrated as the information piled up. I just wanted to check-in. It was meant to be a casual phone call, a formality. In today’s gospel lesson, we can imagine that for the disciples traveling with Jesus, surrounded by the crowds was a bit of a formality, too. They were taking another walk with Jesus, surrounded by the crowds, when a temple leader named Jarius approached Jesus with his cry for help. Jarius was an important man. Jarius was a leader in the temple. He was a person who had influence over getting to preach in the temple. He was a leader who selected who would get the contracts to clean the temple, supply food, and move up to front-row seats on special occasions. You get the picture. Well, as Jesus was walking and surrounded by the crowds, the disciples were reminiscing about how Jesus calmed the storm, walked on water, and chased demons out of the man living in the graveyard. Then Jarius rolls up with his appeal for Jesus to cure his dying twelve-year-old daughter. In the midst of this story about Jarius, Mark then introduces the story of a woman in the crowd who has been bleeding for twelve years. So in the 5th chapter of Mark, he begins with the story about the man living in a graveyard possessed by demons, goes to the story of Jarius, the woman who has been bleeding for twelve years, and goes back to the story about Jarius dying twelve-year-old daughter. When you read Mark, think about Cheryl; think about someone who is a good circular storyteller. Now, as for the point of the story... The story about Jarius is about a religious leader who is connected. Jarius is like me in my role as senior pastor and director for our non-profit Redeemer Center for Life. I have power and influence. If something happens to me, a lot of people see what is going on, and a lot of people are affected. Jarius and I are highly visible people. You could say I am high on the food chain. The woman in the crowd represents the opposite. She is invisible to the crowd. She has been menstruating every day for twelve years, which made her an outcast because unholy back at that time. Mark gives us a picture of how this woman spent all that she had on doctors. She is the picture of desperation. Jarius is also desperate, in spite of all that he has, position, power, and social connections. Jarius and the bleeding woman in the crow may have been polar opposites, but Mark helps us to see the one thing they had in common: faith in Jesus that Jesus could give them what they wanted. They knew what they wanted, and they believed in Jesus as the one who could give them what they wanted. Jarius wanted healing for his twelve-year-old girl, and the woman wanted healing for herself. The question for you this morning is what do you want and where will you get it? Do you want a house, a safe place to live? Do you want your health restored? A relationship, cable? What do you want,, and where are you going to get it? Are you looking to your job, friends, the casino, lottery, nightclubs, or Oprah to get what you long for? It took the woman in the crowd twelve years to find Jesus. She spent her life savings on doctors and searching for the cure to her problems. She found what she wanted in Jesus. What do you want, and how long have you been looking in the wrong places? Today’s gospel reminds us that God is like that professor who wrote the three questions on the board. What is it that you want? Where are you looking to get it? Do you have faith? Do we have the kind of faith that knows no limits? The kind of faith in Jesus that’s not bound by reason and limitation. The kind of faith that builds apartment buildings that can keep a restaurant from moving out of the neighborhood. The kind of faith that buys properties in order to have a strategic future for the church. The kind of faith that says we can worship together Black and White, young and old, where people come wanting and believing that they will be healed! Mark’s gospel is circular, but it is a circle that points us to Jesus. The story is about Jesus, the son of God, who invites inside leaders like Jarius and outcasts like a bleeding woman who was an outcast for twelve years, and a man consumed by demons to bring their wants to Jesus. Jesus' message to us is in the kingdom of God, there is room for us all! In the kingdom of God, there is healing for all. Do you know what you want? Amen. October 15, 2006 | Mark 10:17-31
Grace, peace and mercy from God our Lord and Savior, amen. There has been a lot in the news these past weeks and it is really hurting the Republican Party. There is the war in Iraq, and then it was the Halliburton connections, the Foley scandal and just this week congressman Ney. For the Republican Party it’s not just a question of image this is beginning to look like a virus. My point is not just to take a shot at the Republican Party, but to say there comes a time when you can’ just point the figure at someone else. There comes a time when you can’t just use somebody else as a smoke screen. There comes a time when we have to look at our own lives, own imperfections. When we spend too much time looking at the faults and inadequacies of others we wind up with the virus, only to discover that we are the ones who are sick. This is the situation the wealthy man in today’s lesson finds himself. He has the virus and he is in denial. In a moment I am going to invite you to pull out your bibles or your inserts out so we can at the text a little more closely. In the chapters leading up this section of Mark’s gospel Jesus was in the area called Galilee. In Galilee Jesus was healing and teaching people. Before this section of Mark Jesus was in Galilee healing the 5,000, walking on water, healing people in homes, like the man who was lifted through the roof by his friends. It was in Galilee were people begun to hear about Jesus as someone who healed people and someone who could taught the Scriptures. People were coming to Jesus to be healed and to learn about the kingdom of God. For the purpose of today’s sermon I want you to think of the kingdom of God as a place where people are healed. I want you to think about the kingdom of God as a place where people come to be inoculated from the virus of greed, self-centeredness. When you think of the kingdom of God I want you to think of a place where people are not separated by what they have, color of their skin, gender, sexual orientation. When you think about the kingdom of God think of a place where people are healed and communities are made whole. Now let’s look at the text. Jesus is on his way from Galilee to Judea and Jerusalem. The contrast would be like if Jesus is going from Des Moine, Iowa to Chicago. Along the way a wealthy man runs up to Jesus and falls down on his knees. Now this wealthy man is wearing a fancy suit, goochi shoes, Ralph Lauren tie. It is really evident that this was not a poor man, this man was a saved, Christian right, Republican. The fact that this man is on his knees is a good thing. This is a sign that in spite of the fact that this man had a lot of money, a lot of power and a lot of influence this man was bowing down before Jesus. The first words of the man are “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus first checks the man for calling him good teacher. This is probably because Jesus reads the man because he is spreading the butter. This wealthy and influential man was doing what you do to butter someone’s ego to soften them up. Jesus makes it clear, only God is good. This is also a reference to the first two commandments to worship God and only God. The other part of the question is the part of the text that stays most with me, the question about eternal life. What must I do to inherit eternal life? What is eternal life? For some people, eternal life is a destiny. They think that eternal life is about getting to the finish line, where we will be with God and reunited with our loved ones. For others, eternal life is the invitation to enter into a new reality, which Jesus talks about in the kingdom of God. This is critical to question how Jesus responds to the wealthy man. The wealthy man comes from a world of privilege, and he is looking for the guarantee that that world will continue in the next world. This wealthy man lives in a world where you have command over others and command over your environment. You live the right kind of life; you get the right kind of reward. For the man in the text, nothing is really new. Just tell me the rules, and I will work on it. But when we look down a little later in the text, in verse 21, Jesus tells the man to sell all that he has and give it to the poor. Now, I suspect that what was most difficult for the man was not the idea of selling all that he had. What was most difficult for the man was the idea of giving what he had to the poor. This wealthy man was raised in an environment that praised achievement, where if you worked hard and achieved success, you were blessed. The man in the text was raised in an environment where if you achieved wealth, it was a sign that God blessed you. I believe that when Jesus told the wealthy man to sell all that he had, that was not a problem. The problem was when Jesus said to sell what he had and give to who. To give what he had to the poor was to give what he had achieved and give it to people who did not deserve it. To give what he had to the poor meant he had to give what he worked hard for, what he achieved, to people who did not deserve it. It’s the virus, allowing illegal aliens to stay here, allowing teenagers to lead us in worship when they don’t clean up after themselves and leave wrappers in the sanctuary. People who drive all the way from St Cloud to worship at Redeemer? We do these things to innnoculate ourselves from the virus. Have potluck dinners when it is the same people bringing the dishes all the time. Why do we do these? Now, I know this is challenging for some of us to see because we have the virus. Let me tell you what the virus does to you. The virus gets into your checkbook and begins to tell you that what you have is yours; you earned it. The virus gets into your mind and persuades us to think that because we were born into the church, it eats away at our ability to let go of our possessions…. Because we have the virus, our vision gets in us, and we can never let go of its grip without the belief in someone; something can actually be greater than ourselves. Pentecost | Mark 12:1-8 | End Times
Some of you may recall the story about when the Redeemer had the church retreat, and we all packed up to spend a day on an island. We took a bus to the lake, and everybody got on the boat to head off to the island when, all of a sudden, someone remembered we left the drinks in Kent’s car. We were a little distance from the shore, and Erik Sommers jumped out of the boat and ran across the water to the shore, then Millie jumped out to help Kent, and she ran across the water, and Caleb decided he too would help and jumped out of the boat to follow them and he immediately found himself waist deep in water. T Williams reached down and pulled Caleb back in the boat and said to him, “You have to know where the rocks are.” In this morning’s gospel text, Jesus is teaching the disciples to look to where the rocks are. Jesus is saying to his followers that to be true followers of the gospel, the good news he came to bring, you have to know where the rocks are; YOU HAVE TO LOOK BELOW THE SURFACE. The focus of Mark’s gospel is Jesus and how he came as the Son of God to teach us to see the kingdom of God. Jesus comes into a world where we have been seduced by power. Jesus comes into a world where we have been oriented to look to people with power and knowledge. Jesus comes into a world where we are trained to look at what is on the surface and think that this is what life is all about. There are some great commercials out these days. Help me out. One commercial shows two men dreaming about fixing something and they are star-eyed in envy of one another. There are similar commercial about men being starry-eyed about cars. The commercials are cute but they reduce men to the image of little boys and their toys. With women, the commercials are more serious and the pay is on body types and good looks. We are bombarded with the picture of what we should be looking for in life and what we should look like. In Mark’s gospel Jesus is saying don’t fall for the oky doke, look for the deeper meaning in life. Look below the surface. In our lesson for today, Jesus is with his disciples, and they are leaving the temple. Remember who the disciples were. The disciples were simple people. They came from the countryside. They were fishermen and women who worked hard for a living. The disciples were people who rarely spent time in the city. You can imagine how it was for the disciples coming from a humble background and what it must have been like being in the big city and in the “temple.” As Jesus and the disciples were walking out of the temple, one of the disciples looked up and began to ooh and awe as they looked at the temple. Jesus warned the disciples not to get caught up in what was on the surface, and he told them these things would all pass away. Jesus talks about war and destruction; he talks about earthquakes and floods. Jesus reminds his followers to look below the surface to set their sights on the kingdom of God. A couple of weeks ago, we had a sight visit from Wells Fargo. Two years ago, we received a grant for the after-school program, and during the site visit, they became so impressed with the success of our program that they decided to invite our program to do a presentation at the Wells Fargo building downtown. This was a big event for Wells Fargo because the national president of Wells Fargo was coming to Minneapolis, and they wanted to impress him. Our children were the only ones on the program. When the staff and the children arrived at the program, escorted by David Scherer, the Wells Fargo people escorted us to the back room and started telling us how they were running behind and that we were going to have to cut out the poems Lonna had the children prepare. They rushed Julie and the three girls out to do the praise dance, and they were great. Then teens went and danced to Hip Hop, and they were great. Suddenly, the Wells Fargo people began to ask how long the poems were, and by the time Dave Scherer and Lonna said a few words, the Wells Fargo people were saying, “Take as long as you want.” Lonna had seven of the children in the after-school program write a poem about who they are. It was wonderful to hear the children confidently express who they are and what they value. Maggie read her poem and discussed her identity as a child of God. Among the employees attending the program was W's daughter. Harry Davis. W. Harry Davis is the community leader after whom the school is named. Another Wells Fargo, after the program, sought Maggie out to share her appreciation for Maggie sharing her identity as a child of God. When we left the Wells Fargo building downtown, I got a phone call from Lonna. She wanted some directions in order to get back to the church. If you have ever been to downtown Minneapolis, you know what it can be like in the midst of all the tall buildings and traffic you can get lost. I can imagine that when Jesus and the disciples were coming out of the temple and the disciple was looking in awe at the temple’s structure, he was trying to get his bearing. To set him in the right direction and to help him not get lost, Jesus warns the disciples not to get lost in seeing their future in signs of power and success and to look below the surface. I began my career in Washington, D.C., where I worked for a small non-profit related to a congregation, much like the relationship between Redeemer and Redeemer Center for Life. First Trinity congregation in Washington, D.C., is surrounded by government buildings and ministers to people who are homeless, poor, and ex-offenders. Washington, D.C., is a city that attracts powerful people. Washington, D.C., is a city filled with impressive monuments built of stone, but the greatness as a nation is in the people whose lives are built on a reality that comes from below the surface. This past week in Washington, D.C., our nation revealed a new monument to Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King. The point is not that we now have a monument to Martin Luther King. We celebrate the witness of someone who faced the reality of racism and the promotion of war in Viet Nam, and he chose to look below the surface. Below the surface is the reality of the cross and the invitation God extends to each of us to pick up the cross and follow Jesus. Below the surface is the reality we received at our baptism when we were washed into our new identity as people of God and heirs to God’s kingdom. The challenge for us, people of God, is to know where the stones are. The challenge is to see life through the reality of the cross, the reality into which we were baptized. Life is about more than what we see on the surface. Life is about more than money. Life is about more than how many degrees we have or the kind of title we carry, doctor, lawyer, Mr. Mrs. Black, white, girl, boy, gay, straight, old, or young. The kingdom of God is beneath the surface! Racism, sexism, and exploitation of the poor are obvious; the solution and our true identity, people of God, are below the surface. This afternoon, we have the opportunity to witness our lives below the surface by joining with Council Member Don Samuels and people from across the city as they gather in vigil. Another person was tragically killed in our community. People will gather in vigil to remember a victim of violence and witness a reality that is below the surface, but because it is below the surface does not mean it is not real. God is real. The kingdom of God is real. It is our witness to show to others where the stones are in order that they might reach their safe harbor. Amen. |