What a lovely story we have today - a fairy tale right in the Bible. A beautiful Queen who shows great courage, and a King who shows great wisdom. Or is it?
One of the things the lectionary doesn’t do is give us entire stories. In this case we’ve missed the opening of the story, and the middle - which are pretty critical parts. So let me tell you the rest.
In 589 BCE King Cyrus decreed an end to the forced captivity of the Hebrew people. One hundred years later, the story begins with King Xerxes and his wife Vashti, considered a most beautiful woman; Xerxes ordered Vashti to parade herself in a kind of beauty pageant; Vashti refused. Because of her refusal, Xerxes ordered her killed - and then searched the kingdom for another woman to be his queen. Esther was found, and became the wife of the King. Her uncle, Mordecai, also her guardian, suggested that she not say that she was a Jew.
The King’s adviser Haman plotted to get rid of Mordecai, and slaughter the Hebrew people. Mordecai learned of the plot, and sent a message to Esther, who decided to speak with the King. Two nights in a row, Esther and Haman and the king had dinner, and Esther told Xerxes that she was a Jew. She asked him to spare her people. - and when Xerxes learned from Esther that Haman was the leader of this movement, he ordered that Haman be hung on the very gallows which was to be used for Mordecai.
Here’s the missing part before we get to the feasts and celebrations. The Jews, led by Mordecai, then proceed to slaughter virtually everyone perceived to be an enemy. The edict for the killing was extended for an extra day, and the ten dead sons of Haman were hung in public. It is a violent and bloody massacre, ostensibly in self-defense.
Then, because the Hebrews were spared, the people are told to celebrate and feast their deliverance, on the 14th day of the month which had been set for their extermination. This is the origin of the Feast of Purim. It is not a Holy Day, but nevertheless a day of observance. Everyone dresses up in costumes, and has big parties - but every party stops while the whole story of Esther is read.
Rev. Judith Evenden, says that “at one level it is a great story of victory over oppression.” The victory of Esther, and in fact the courage of Vashti! Where all of us preachers get squeamish is the massacre, after the threat of their being killed had passed. So Judith asked for some comments from Rabbi Ruth Abusch-Magder. (1)
Rabbi Ruth comments “This is a relatively late biblical book. The story is one that has no connection to history in a way that makes sense. As a result, one must view it as a farce; a carnival story written by a diaspora people, disempowered and imagining their potential to reinvent themselves and avenge the wrongs perpetrated upon minorities.” (2) So the story of Esther, on one level, is a kind of humorous morality play - representing the wishful dreaming of a people in exile - a king who is a buffoon, a cartoon-character villain who comes to a sad end, a woman who outsmarts most of them. At the reading of Esther during Purim, those who are dressed in costume - and the audience - boo and hiss the villains, ridicule the foolish king, and celebrate Esther, a woman with great wisdom and skill.
“One of the four ritual obligations at Purim is to read Megillat Ester, the scroll of Esther. We are obligated to listen to the whole story, start to finish. Despite what one might think sitting in a contemporary synagogue with noisemakers, we are obligated to hear every word of the story. We cannot gloss over the challenging parts. We need to pay attention to the frivolity of the King, his excess of food and drink, and the consequences for those in his immediate family and those over whom he reigns. The Jewish people are both the victim and the beneficiaries of the King's tendency to indulge. His lack of involvement allows his advisor Haman to pursue a personal vendetta against the Jews. His fondness for food and drink (and beautiful ladies) draws him to Esther's feast where he is persuaded to save the Jews.” (3)
In fact, the house of King Xerxes was not a house ruled by wisdom. Xerxes prized only the beauty of his wife Vashti. His murder of her set back women’s freedoms throughout Persia for ages; internal plots and intrigue brought the life of the entire Israelite nation into danger. Esther’s actions did save the day, but they also left the Persians not in awe of God, but in mortal fear of the Israelite people. Her request that her people be spared resulted not in peace, but in a death warrant based in the rationale of self-defense. To the contrary, Esther’s actions kindled a violent civil war.
We watch Haman, whose single-minded evil and anger leads to his undoing. We learn that physical survival is full of challenge. For Esther, surviving means giving up her name and community, going into hiding, being sexually compromised. Mordecai has to give up his ability to protect her, and has to rely on the protection of others. (4)
If we use the Hebrew practice of ‘midrash’, interpreting the text in its historical context, and then interpreting it for modern times, one of the messages that sits in this story is the ability of those who are oppressed to become the oppressor; we see that the lines between power and powerless, frivolity and insanity are not as clear as we might like to think. We see those with power using it unwisely, and the powerless showing great wisdom.
The country of Zimbabwe might be a good example. From being a revered leader of an oppressed people, Robert Mugabe became the oppressor, even of his own people. He demonstrated that those lines are not as clear as we might like. Think back to Idi Amin and the nightmare of Uganda; or the horrors of Angola.
Or China - a country which once was occupied by Japan, armies marching through a slaughtering Chinese civilians without a thought. Now China invades and claims places like Tibet as its own. The oppressed have become the oppressor.
The Jewish people have been the object of hatred in many parts of the world for centuries. Six million Jews were exterminated during World War II. Many Jews changed their names, or lied about their origins, just as Esther did - fearing persecution. As of 1950 the historic home of both Jew and Arab was divided into Israel and Palestine. Yet in its claims of self-defense, Israel has slaughtered many, even while holding up the Holocaust to the world. Land which is rightly that of Palestine is being taken over and settled. Yet Israel is not all to blame. The Palestinian leaders deliberately provoke response. They know full well that if they attack Israel the response will be swift and devastating. Innocent people are used as shields and become collateral damage in a power struggle without end. Should Palestine ever get the upper hand, I am sure they would do exactly what is being done. Both claim they act in self-defense.
I keep returning to Rabbi Ruth’s comment - that the lines between power and powerless are not as clear as we might like to think. So how does this relate to us as Christians? On a global scale it’s not hard to comment, but what about the local?
The characters in the story did not use their power for the good of others, except perhaps Esther. The king, Mordecai and Haman had power and each used it unwisely to dominate and control others; Esther, who was supposedly powerless, found great power and used it wisely.
Here in this congregation I think the question is how do each of us use our power? Do we use it to be destructive, or do we use it for good or for ill? Everyone has power, whether or not they know it. Sometimes we can use our power in a way that has ripples throughout the community, causing harm. Sometimes we can use that power in such a way that the ripples produce great good, even beyond our community. It seems to me that the lesson from this story is how we use the power we have to build up all the individuals in our community, the body of Christ in the world, so that the whole body is healthy and productive.
For we believe we are the body of Christ in the world - every one of us - and every one of us has a function. Our role, in a community, is to recognise the contributions of each, and support and encourage them, help them grow and be productive members of the congregation. May it be so.
Sources:
1. Rev. Judith Evenden, Land o’ Lakes Emmanuel United Church congregation.
2,3,4. From a sermon by Rabbi Ruth Abusch-Magder, scholar in residence at University of Chicago Hillel, Director of Joint Commission on Sustaining Rabbinic Education.
5. Feasting on the Word, essay by Telford Work, Associate Professor of Theology, Westmount College, Santa Barbara, CA. 2009.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Saturday, September 22, 2012
“Wisdom Speaks” Proverbs 31:10-31, James 3 (selected verses), Mark 9:30-37
How hard it is to find a capable wife! She is worth far more than jewels! Her husband puts his confidence in her, and he will never be poor. As long as she lives, she does him good and never harm. She keeps herself busy making wool and linen cloth. She brings home food from out-of-the-way places, as merchant ships do. She gets up before daylight to prepare food for her family and to tell her servant women what to do. She looks at land and buys it, and with money she has earned she plants a vineyard. She is a hard worker, strong and industrious. She knows the value of everything she makes, and works late into the night.She spins her own thread and weaves her own cloth. She is generous to the poor and needy. She doesn't worry when it snows, because her family has warm clothing. She makes bedspreads and wears clothes of fine purple linen. Her husband is well known, one of the leading citizens. She makes clothes and belts, and sells them to merchants. She is strong and respected and not afraid of the future. She speaks with a gentle wisdom. She is always busy and looks after her family's needs. Her children show their appreciation, and her husband praises her. He says, “Many women are good wives, but you are the best of them all.” Charm is deceptive and beauty disappears, but a woman who honors the Lord should be praised. Give her credit for all she does. She deserves the respect of everyone.
James 3
Are there any of you who are wise and understanding? Prove it by your good life, by your good deeds performed with humility and wisdom. If in your heart you are jealous, bitter, and selfish, don't sin against the truth by boasting of your wisdom. Such wisdom does not come down from heaven; it belongs to the world, it is unspiritual and demonic. Where there is jealousy and selfishness, there is also disorder and every kind of evil. The wisdom from above is pure first of all; it is also peaceful, gentle, and friendly; it is full of compassion and produces a harvest of good deeds; it is free from prejudice and hypocrisy. Goodness is the harvest that is produced from the seeds the peacemakers plant in peace.
Mark 9
Jesus and his disciples left that place and went on through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where he was, because he was teaching his disciples: “The Son of Man will be handed over to those who will kill him. Three days later, however, he will rise to life.” They didn’t understand what this teaching meant, and they were afraid to ask him. They came to Capernaum, and after going indoors Jesus asked his disciples, “What were you arguing about on the road?” They would not answer him, because on the road they had been arguing among themselves about who was the greatest. Jesus sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must place himself last of all and be the servant of all.” Then he placed a child in front of them. He put his arms around the child and said “Whoever welcomes in my name one of these children, welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me, welcomes not only me but also the one who sent me.”
*****************************************************************************
A friend of mine is the living embodiment of superwoman. She cleans every room in the house a couple of times a week, has a huge vegetable garden, works in a nursing home, cooks fantastic meals every day, does handcrafts, and all the PowerPoints for her congregation’s worship. If asked, she will say it is her Christian duty as a wife to do all those things - the outside jobs are so she can enjoy her passion of cruising. She would probably quote Proverbs, too.
I remember trying to keep up with four kids, clean the house from top to bottom, freeze and preserve veggies for the winter, make jam, do handcrafts - and hold down a couple of outside jobs at the same time. A lot of women of my generation bought into this notion that they have to do all those things to be a good wife.
But in fact, this reading isn’t about wives at all. It is actually a poem in Hebrew; an acrostic arranged in alphabetical order; the first letter of each line is a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Given its place in the book of Proverbs, and the previous passages about wisdom, it becomes clear that this is not about a good wife, it is about Woman Wisdom; the husband of the passage is a kind of stand-in for the followers. The poem portrays the benefits to anyone who chooses to become wise. The passage opens with the question “A strong woman, who can find?” As well as commenting on the warrior-like qualities of Wisdom, it notes that life with Wisdom begins with a search. Wisdom has to be sought out, is not easily acquired, but when attained is “more precious than jewels”. Life with Wisdom is a life of devotion and trust, and brings benefits to the household of Wisdom.
Rather than being about a perfect woman and wife, it is about the personification of wisdom. It is about the universal values that sustain humanity. Integrity in personal relationships; opening our hands to the poor; doing what is there to be done, caring for those around us. Living with wisdom and insight.
So we move on to the letter of James, which says “Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom.” Wisdom is still the centrepiece, by which all other things are measured.
A couple of weeks ago, a horrendous video went around the internet, attacking the Muslim faith, and sparking violence in many places. The video was an incredible piece of junk, designed specifically to get a violent reaction. How many people have died? Did the person who made the video act with gentleness born of wisdom??? or act out of racism, hatred and anger?
In our very own back yards, do we act like the personification of wisdom? In our congregations, do we bend over backwards to learn to be wise? Or do we love the background noise, the gossip, innuendo, rumour. Do we contribute to the hurt of others with our words and actions? Do the stories get blown up as they get passed around? Or do we think carefully first?
Let’s go over to Mark for a moment - Jesus knows full well that the disciples were arguing over which one of them would be the greatest in the new realm....who would be “over” the others. Jesus knows there will be a dispute within the group of followers as to who is right and wrong. This time, after mentally banging his head against a wall at human nature, he acts with wisdom, and picks up a child as a demonstration of who the “greatest” will be - those who aren’t trying to be. Whoever welcomes a child welcomes Jesus, and whoever welcomes him instead welcomes God.
Here’s what Rev. Barbara Brown Taylor says: “If the preacher of today’s passage has had it up to here with church conflicts and disputes, James feels your pain. He is sick and tired of the kind of understandings that people use to pound one another. The only wisdom James is interested in is the wisdom from above. Wisdom from above focuses on the well-being of others and the needs of others.”
The reading from Proverbs is about the universal values that sustain humanity. Integrity in personal relationships; opening our hands to the poor; doing what is there to be done, doing what is good for those around us, and with a gentleness born of wisdom. Wisdom and peace are the things we, as Christians, are supposed to be about. As the letter of James says “The wisdom from above is pure first of all; it is also peaceful, gentle, and friendly; it is full of compassion and produces a harvest of good deeds; it is free from prejudice and hypocrisy. Goodness is the harvest that is produced from the seeds the peacemakers plant in peace.”
...and we are called to behave towards each other with wisdom, insight, and care. May it be so.
Sources:
1. Rev. David Shearman, Owen Sound, ON.
2. Rev. James Hopkins, Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church, Oakland CA.
3. Rev. Barbara Brown Taylor in “Feasting on the Word”.
James 3
Are there any of you who are wise and understanding? Prove it by your good life, by your good deeds performed with humility and wisdom. If in your heart you are jealous, bitter, and selfish, don't sin against the truth by boasting of your wisdom. Such wisdom does not come down from heaven; it belongs to the world, it is unspiritual and demonic. Where there is jealousy and selfishness, there is also disorder and every kind of evil. The wisdom from above is pure first of all; it is also peaceful, gentle, and friendly; it is full of compassion and produces a harvest of good deeds; it is free from prejudice and hypocrisy. Goodness is the harvest that is produced from the seeds the peacemakers plant in peace.
Mark 9
Jesus and his disciples left that place and went on through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where he was, because he was teaching his disciples: “The Son of Man will be handed over to those who will kill him. Three days later, however, he will rise to life.” They didn’t understand what this teaching meant, and they were afraid to ask him. They came to Capernaum, and after going indoors Jesus asked his disciples, “What were you arguing about on the road?” They would not answer him, because on the road they had been arguing among themselves about who was the greatest. Jesus sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must place himself last of all and be the servant of all.” Then he placed a child in front of them. He put his arms around the child and said “Whoever welcomes in my name one of these children, welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me, welcomes not only me but also the one who sent me.”
*****************************************************************************
A friend of mine is the living embodiment of superwoman. She cleans every room in the house a couple of times a week, has a huge vegetable garden, works in a nursing home, cooks fantastic meals every day, does handcrafts, and all the PowerPoints for her congregation’s worship. If asked, she will say it is her Christian duty as a wife to do all those things - the outside jobs are so she can enjoy her passion of cruising. She would probably quote Proverbs, too.
I remember trying to keep up with four kids, clean the house from top to bottom, freeze and preserve veggies for the winter, make jam, do handcrafts - and hold down a couple of outside jobs at the same time. A lot of women of my generation bought into this notion that they have to do all those things to be a good wife.
But in fact, this reading isn’t about wives at all. It is actually a poem in Hebrew; an acrostic arranged in alphabetical order; the first letter of each line is a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Given its place in the book of Proverbs, and the previous passages about wisdom, it becomes clear that this is not about a good wife, it is about Woman Wisdom; the husband of the passage is a kind of stand-in for the followers. The poem portrays the benefits to anyone who chooses to become wise. The passage opens with the question “A strong woman, who can find?” As well as commenting on the warrior-like qualities of Wisdom, it notes that life with Wisdom begins with a search. Wisdom has to be sought out, is not easily acquired, but when attained is “more precious than jewels”. Life with Wisdom is a life of devotion and trust, and brings benefits to the household of Wisdom.
Rather than being about a perfect woman and wife, it is about the personification of wisdom. It is about the universal values that sustain humanity. Integrity in personal relationships; opening our hands to the poor; doing what is there to be done, caring for those around us. Living with wisdom and insight.
So we move on to the letter of James, which says “Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom.” Wisdom is still the centrepiece, by which all other things are measured.
A couple of weeks ago, a horrendous video went around the internet, attacking the Muslim faith, and sparking violence in many places. The video was an incredible piece of junk, designed specifically to get a violent reaction. How many people have died? Did the person who made the video act with gentleness born of wisdom??? or act out of racism, hatred and anger?
In our very own back yards, do we act like the personification of wisdom? In our congregations, do we bend over backwards to learn to be wise? Or do we love the background noise, the gossip, innuendo, rumour. Do we contribute to the hurt of others with our words and actions? Do the stories get blown up as they get passed around? Or do we think carefully first?
Let’s go over to Mark for a moment - Jesus knows full well that the disciples were arguing over which one of them would be the greatest in the new realm....who would be “over” the others. Jesus knows there will be a dispute within the group of followers as to who is right and wrong. This time, after mentally banging his head against a wall at human nature, he acts with wisdom, and picks up a child as a demonstration of who the “greatest” will be - those who aren’t trying to be. Whoever welcomes a child welcomes Jesus, and whoever welcomes him instead welcomes God.
Here’s what Rev. Barbara Brown Taylor says: “If the preacher of today’s passage has had it up to here with church conflicts and disputes, James feels your pain. He is sick and tired of the kind of understandings that people use to pound one another. The only wisdom James is interested in is the wisdom from above. Wisdom from above focuses on the well-being of others and the needs of others.”
The reading from Proverbs is about the universal values that sustain humanity. Integrity in personal relationships; opening our hands to the poor; doing what is there to be done, doing what is good for those around us, and with a gentleness born of wisdom. Wisdom and peace are the things we, as Christians, are supposed to be about. As the letter of James says “The wisdom from above is pure first of all; it is also peaceful, gentle, and friendly; it is full of compassion and produces a harvest of good deeds; it is free from prejudice and hypocrisy. Goodness is the harvest that is produced from the seeds the peacemakers plant in peace.”
...and we are called to behave towards each other with wisdom, insight, and care. May it be so.
Sources:
1. Rev. David Shearman, Owen Sound, ON.
2. Rev. James Hopkins, Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church, Oakland CA.
3. Rev. Barbara Brown Taylor in “Feasting on the Word”.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Who Is Jesus for You? Mark 8:27-38 September 16, 2012 Humber United Church
Then Jesus and his disciples went away to the villages near Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Tell me, who do people say I am?” “Some say that you are John the Baptist,” they answered; “others say that you are Elijah, while others say that you are one of the prophets.”
“What about you?” he asked them. “Who do you say I am?”
Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.” Jesus ordered them, “Do not tell anyone about me.”
Then Jesus began to teach his disciples: “The Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law. He will be put to death, but three days later he will rise to life.” He made this very clear to them. So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But Jesus turned around, looked at his disciples, and rebuked Peter. “Get away from me, Satan,” he said. “Your thoughts don't come from God but from human nature!”
Then Jesus called the crowd and his disciples to him. “If any of you want to come with me,” he told them, “you must forget yourself, carry your cross, and follow me. For if you want to save your own life, you will lose it; but if you lose your life for me and for the gospel, you will save it. Do you gain anything if you win the whole world but lose your life? Of course not! There is nothing you can give to regain your life. If you are ashamed of me and of my teaching in this godless and wicked day, then the Son of Man will be ashamed when he comes in the glory of God with the holy angels.”
************************************************************************
So here’s a little band of twelve marching along the dusty, hot and dry road to Jerusalem. Jesus is well out in front - followers always walked behind the rabbi as a sign of respect. Suddenly Jesus turns around, and, walking backward says, "So who do you think I really am?”
Huh???
They look at each other, and give a kind of French shoulder shrug, as if to say “Beats me, who are you really?” We do know that some people had their suspicions about who Jesus was, including a few of the disciples - but Mark always wrote as if the disciples were not terribly with it...
"Well," says one, "there’s a theory going around that you must be John the Baptist! Can you believe it! They saw his head on a platter, a little over two months ago, but miraculously you’re somehow him.”
"I’ve been hearing rumours that you’re really Elijah”, says another, "zoomed in from heaven, to preach the way you do and perform the miracles you have." And pretty soon every one of the twelve jumps in with some kind of rumour about who Jesus might be.
Still walking backwards, and with a rather wicked smile tucked in one side of his mouth, Jesus asks “and who do *you* say I am?"
Large silence. Very large and long silence.
Jesus turned around facing them, the disciples standing dead still looking totally dumbfounded. Peter finally blurts it out. "You’re the Messiah."
Good old Peter. No hemming and hawing, no shuffling of feet or oblique references. Peter gets right to it; and seriously, that’s the answer everyone wants, isn’t it? That was really the answer all the disciples wanted. Today, that answer could land him a place on our national committees, get us to encourage him to go into ordained ministry. Jesus has asked, "Who do you say that I am?", and Peter, speaking as Everyone, says, "You are the Messiah." You’d expect Jesus to be pleased as punch.
But no - Jesus pitches a fit. From being a little mischievous with the guys, he is now downright angry and harsh. In this passage we get to eavesdrop on a knockdown, drag-out argument - the worst argument in Jesus’ ministry. His response is neither gentle, nor affirming, nor comforting. He rips Peter, and to the twelve says “Don’t you dare say that to anyone, hear me????? Don’t anyone call me that!!!!" Jesus uses the Greek word, *epitimao* - a command he used to silence demons and drive them away.
Wait a minute! Isn’t that the answer we would have given????
Well, on with the story. Jesus, now walking together with the twelve, starts to explain what is coming next. When they get to Jerusalem, he says, he will be hauled in, profiled, knocked around and beaten up, and eventually killed - but that he will be resurrected on the third day.
This time Peter pitches a fit. Swelled up, red faced and indignant, Peter lets fly with “Stop yapping New Age nonsense, and think about the rest of us.” Jesus, now even more riled up, comes nose to nose, toe to toe, and eyeball to eyeball with Peter, and yells “Get outta here, you Satan!!!!” - and then he whirls around again, and yells at the rest of the group “Anyone who comes with me has to carry your own cross just like me, and go wherever I go. Whoever just wants to save their own skin will lose it, but whoever gives their life for me and for the teaching will *have* life.”
Placement of stories in the Gospels is always critical, and not at all accidental. Thomas Hall notes that Mark places this story right at the middle of the book; “the equivalent of placing ambulance and police sirens around it. Or grenades and mines. For the earliest Christians, this story was not just another episode in an otherwise routine day of travel.” There’s wisdom here to be heard. This is one another story where we can’t really understand the text unless we understand the context in which Peter says to Jesus “You are the Messiah.”
The Hebrew statement of faith says "I believe with perfect faith in the coming of Meshiach (the messiah), and though he may tarry, nevertheless I await his coming every day." Those are the words that Orthodox Jews said and sang throughout the Jewish history of exile and persecution. It was this passage, written by Maimonides and based on ancient Jewish belief, which gave the Jews courage to survive. Forever hoping that at any given second Meshiach will come and redeem the Jewish people to take them to their homeland - Israel.
Orthodox Jews will bless each other "You shall live to see Meshiach". Almost every speech by a Jewish scholar will end with the words "we should be blessed to live to Meshiachs' days". It is a core central belief of Judaism without any disagreement or dispute. As Maimonides writes (Kings 11): "whoever does not believe in him, or does not await his coming, denies not only the other prophets, but also the Torah and of Moshe, our teacher, for the Torah attests to his coming".
As opposed to Christianity, the Jewish Messiah is not a savior. The Jewish Messiah is not a divine being. The Jewish Messiah will not come to save us from our sins. All these ideas are dismissed and considered heresy in Judaism. The word "Meshiach" translates to "the anointed one," as in ancient times when new kings were literally anointed. Meshiach will be the anointed king at the end of days. In Judaism Meshiach will be a king who will be a descendent of King David (2 Samuel 7:12-13; Jeremiah 23:5), observant of Jewish law (Isaiah 11:2-5), a righteous judge (Jeremiah 33:15), and a great military leader.
Mosheh ben Maimon, also known as Maimonides, was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher. He was born in Córdoba, Spain in 1135 and died in Egypt in 1204. He was a rabbi, physician, and philosopher in Morocco and Egypt. He rose to be the revered head of the Jewish community in Egypt, and has been acknowledged as one of the foremost rabbinical arbiters and philosophers in Jewish history. His fourteen-volume Mishneh Torah still carries canonical authority as a codification of Talmudic law.
He wrote "When Meshiach comes all Jews will return from exile to Israel (Isaiah 11:11-12; Jeremiah 23:8; 30:3; Hosea 3:4-5); there will be universal acceptance of the Jewish God and the Jewish religion (Isaiah 2:3; 11:10; 66:23; Micah 4:2-3; Zechariah 14:9); There will be no sin or evil; all Jews will obey the commandments (Zephaniah 3:13; Ezekiel 37:24); the Third and final Temple will be rebuilt (Ezekiel 37:26-27) and the Sanhedrin (Jewish high court of law) will be re-instituted (Maimonides Kings 11:1)."
Perhaps Peter really did have the wrong answer. Perhaps he was thinking this was the Messiah who would be the great military leader. Maybe he meant "the one who has come to meet our needs and to fix whatever needs fixing,"
So who do people say Jesus is? And who do YOU say Jesus is. Who is Jesus for YOU, today, right now - here in this congregation, in this church, in this world.
Is he only a kind of guru, a fully realized spiritual human being with lots of good teachings, but no interest in sickness, injustice, war, poverty, the environment, education or children; sitting way out of reach, offering wisdom to those who are enlightened enough to hear. Would we be able to understand, if we could get close enough, or would WE still need everything explained to us, as the disciples seemed to need.
Is Jesus your friend, a divine big brother, up in the sky somewhere? Is he your judge, counting out your sins and keeping a record? Is he sitting on the bench until things get tough and you call him to take over for you - a semi-divine coach in a game? Is he your vending machine – Zoltar the Fortune Teller from the Tom Hanks movie “Big”, where the little boy puts his quarter in the fortune-teller machine, makes a wish to be big, and it comes true. Pay for a prayer from Jesus???
Who do you say Jesus is? For those who claim discipleship, it is the one question we are called to keep on answering throughout our lives. Non-Christians, watching us, cannot even tell that we are Christians. We don’t look like the people on TV, we’re unable to articulate our faith. We don’t shout and condemn and we don’t have powerful lobby groups. So non-Christians conclude that "all Christians" claim to believe one way, but don't even follow their own teaching.
I suspect that Jesus lost it with Peter, because there was a major miscommunication all along the way. We know that the Israelites were oppressed by the Romans, we know that the people were subject to unfair practices and discrimination by their own religious leaders. Peter, in saying “You are the Messiah” is really saying you’re the one who is going to make everything right for us, unite the Israelites to drive out the Romans, get rid of the oppressive religious leaders, fix the church so it’s just the way we think it should be.
“Who do you SAY I am?” Jesus asks. Jesus is clear about who he is. He calls us to take up a cross, to risk our very life for those who need, right here in this neighbourhood. He is the bread of life, the living water, the one who will talk with those we like to ignore, who cares for those we consider the dregs of society. He is the one who asks everything from us, at the same time asking us to look deep into ourselves to see who we are, and make changes within as well as without. Do you take that commitment seriously? If you do, how do you live it out? Who is Jesus, for you, today, now - and how do you carry that message into the creation around you, every day?
Sources:
1. Rev. Christina Berry, First Presbyterian Church, Sterling, Illinois, from the sermon “What I Say”.
2. Rev. Thomas Hall, from the sermon “On the Way”.
3. http://www.orthodox-jews.com/moshiach.html
“What about you?” he asked them. “Who do you say I am?”
Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.” Jesus ordered them, “Do not tell anyone about me.”
Then Jesus began to teach his disciples: “The Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law. He will be put to death, but three days later he will rise to life.” He made this very clear to them. So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But Jesus turned around, looked at his disciples, and rebuked Peter. “Get away from me, Satan,” he said. “Your thoughts don't come from God but from human nature!”
Then Jesus called the crowd and his disciples to him. “If any of you want to come with me,” he told them, “you must forget yourself, carry your cross, and follow me. For if you want to save your own life, you will lose it; but if you lose your life for me and for the gospel, you will save it. Do you gain anything if you win the whole world but lose your life? Of course not! There is nothing you can give to regain your life. If you are ashamed of me and of my teaching in this godless and wicked day, then the Son of Man will be ashamed when he comes in the glory of God with the holy angels.”
************************************************************************
So here’s a little band of twelve marching along the dusty, hot and dry road to Jerusalem. Jesus is well out in front - followers always walked behind the rabbi as a sign of respect. Suddenly Jesus turns around, and, walking backward says, "So who do you think I really am?”
Huh???
They look at each other, and give a kind of French shoulder shrug, as if to say “Beats me, who are you really?” We do know that some people had their suspicions about who Jesus was, including a few of the disciples - but Mark always wrote as if the disciples were not terribly with it...
"Well," says one, "there’s a theory going around that you must be John the Baptist! Can you believe it! They saw his head on a platter, a little over two months ago, but miraculously you’re somehow him.”
"I’ve been hearing rumours that you’re really Elijah”, says another, "zoomed in from heaven, to preach the way you do and perform the miracles you have." And pretty soon every one of the twelve jumps in with some kind of rumour about who Jesus might be.
Still walking backwards, and with a rather wicked smile tucked in one side of his mouth, Jesus asks “and who do *you* say I am?"
Large silence. Very large and long silence.
Jesus turned around facing them, the disciples standing dead still looking totally dumbfounded. Peter finally blurts it out. "You’re the Messiah."
Good old Peter. No hemming and hawing, no shuffling of feet or oblique references. Peter gets right to it; and seriously, that’s the answer everyone wants, isn’t it? That was really the answer all the disciples wanted. Today, that answer could land him a place on our national committees, get us to encourage him to go into ordained ministry. Jesus has asked, "Who do you say that I am?", and Peter, speaking as Everyone, says, "You are the Messiah." You’d expect Jesus to be pleased as punch.
But no - Jesus pitches a fit. From being a little mischievous with the guys, he is now downright angry and harsh. In this passage we get to eavesdrop on a knockdown, drag-out argument - the worst argument in Jesus’ ministry. His response is neither gentle, nor affirming, nor comforting. He rips Peter, and to the twelve says “Don’t you dare say that to anyone, hear me????? Don’t anyone call me that!!!!" Jesus uses the Greek word, *epitimao* - a command he used to silence demons and drive them away.
Wait a minute! Isn’t that the answer we would have given????
Well, on with the story. Jesus, now walking together with the twelve, starts to explain what is coming next. When they get to Jerusalem, he says, he will be hauled in, profiled, knocked around and beaten up, and eventually killed - but that he will be resurrected on the third day.
This time Peter pitches a fit. Swelled up, red faced and indignant, Peter lets fly with “Stop yapping New Age nonsense, and think about the rest of us.” Jesus, now even more riled up, comes nose to nose, toe to toe, and eyeball to eyeball with Peter, and yells “Get outta here, you Satan!!!!” - and then he whirls around again, and yells at the rest of the group “Anyone who comes with me has to carry your own cross just like me, and go wherever I go. Whoever just wants to save their own skin will lose it, but whoever gives their life for me and for the teaching will *have* life.”
Placement of stories in the Gospels is always critical, and not at all accidental. Thomas Hall notes that Mark places this story right at the middle of the book; “the equivalent of placing ambulance and police sirens around it. Or grenades and mines. For the earliest Christians, this story was not just another episode in an otherwise routine day of travel.” There’s wisdom here to be heard. This is one another story where we can’t really understand the text unless we understand the context in which Peter says to Jesus “You are the Messiah.”
The Hebrew statement of faith says "I believe with perfect faith in the coming of Meshiach (the messiah), and though he may tarry, nevertheless I await his coming every day." Those are the words that Orthodox Jews said and sang throughout the Jewish history of exile and persecution. It was this passage, written by Maimonides and based on ancient Jewish belief, which gave the Jews courage to survive. Forever hoping that at any given second Meshiach will come and redeem the Jewish people to take them to their homeland - Israel.
Orthodox Jews will bless each other "You shall live to see Meshiach". Almost every speech by a Jewish scholar will end with the words "we should be blessed to live to Meshiachs' days". It is a core central belief of Judaism without any disagreement or dispute. As Maimonides writes (Kings 11): "whoever does not believe in him, or does not await his coming, denies not only the other prophets, but also the Torah and of Moshe, our teacher, for the Torah attests to his coming".
As opposed to Christianity, the Jewish Messiah is not a savior. The Jewish Messiah is not a divine being. The Jewish Messiah will not come to save us from our sins. All these ideas are dismissed and considered heresy in Judaism. The word "Meshiach" translates to "the anointed one," as in ancient times when new kings were literally anointed. Meshiach will be the anointed king at the end of days. In Judaism Meshiach will be a king who will be a descendent of King David (2 Samuel 7:12-13; Jeremiah 23:5), observant of Jewish law (Isaiah 11:2-5), a righteous judge (Jeremiah 33:15), and a great military leader.
Mosheh ben Maimon, also known as Maimonides, was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher. He was born in Córdoba, Spain in 1135 and died in Egypt in 1204. He was a rabbi, physician, and philosopher in Morocco and Egypt. He rose to be the revered head of the Jewish community in Egypt, and has been acknowledged as one of the foremost rabbinical arbiters and philosophers in Jewish history. His fourteen-volume Mishneh Torah still carries canonical authority as a codification of Talmudic law.
He wrote "When Meshiach comes all Jews will return from exile to Israel (Isaiah 11:11-12; Jeremiah 23:8; 30:3; Hosea 3:4-5); there will be universal acceptance of the Jewish God and the Jewish religion (Isaiah 2:3; 11:10; 66:23; Micah 4:2-3; Zechariah 14:9); There will be no sin or evil; all Jews will obey the commandments (Zephaniah 3:13; Ezekiel 37:24); the Third and final Temple will be rebuilt (Ezekiel 37:26-27) and the Sanhedrin (Jewish high court of law) will be re-instituted (Maimonides Kings 11:1)."
Perhaps Peter really did have the wrong answer. Perhaps he was thinking this was the Messiah who would be the great military leader. Maybe he meant "the one who has come to meet our needs and to fix whatever needs fixing,"
So who do people say Jesus is? And who do YOU say Jesus is. Who is Jesus for YOU, today, right now - here in this congregation, in this church, in this world.
Is he only a kind of guru, a fully realized spiritual human being with lots of good teachings, but no interest in sickness, injustice, war, poverty, the environment, education or children; sitting way out of reach, offering wisdom to those who are enlightened enough to hear. Would we be able to understand, if we could get close enough, or would WE still need everything explained to us, as the disciples seemed to need.
Is Jesus your friend, a divine big brother, up in the sky somewhere? Is he your judge, counting out your sins and keeping a record? Is he sitting on the bench until things get tough and you call him to take over for you - a semi-divine coach in a game? Is he your vending machine – Zoltar the Fortune Teller from the Tom Hanks movie “Big”, where the little boy puts his quarter in the fortune-teller machine, makes a wish to be big, and it comes true. Pay for a prayer from Jesus???
Who do you say Jesus is? For those who claim discipleship, it is the one question we are called to keep on answering throughout our lives. Non-Christians, watching us, cannot even tell that we are Christians. We don’t look like the people on TV, we’re unable to articulate our faith. We don’t shout and condemn and we don’t have powerful lobby groups. So non-Christians conclude that "all Christians" claim to believe one way, but don't even follow their own teaching.
I suspect that Jesus lost it with Peter, because there was a major miscommunication all along the way. We know that the Israelites were oppressed by the Romans, we know that the people were subject to unfair practices and discrimination by their own religious leaders. Peter, in saying “You are the Messiah” is really saying you’re the one who is going to make everything right for us, unite the Israelites to drive out the Romans, get rid of the oppressive religious leaders, fix the church so it’s just the way we think it should be.
“Who do you SAY I am?” Jesus asks. Jesus is clear about who he is. He calls us to take up a cross, to risk our very life for those who need, right here in this neighbourhood. He is the bread of life, the living water, the one who will talk with those we like to ignore, who cares for those we consider the dregs of society. He is the one who asks everything from us, at the same time asking us to look deep into ourselves to see who we are, and make changes within as well as without. Do you take that commitment seriously? If you do, how do you live it out? Who is Jesus, for you, today, now - and how do you carry that message into the creation around you, every day?
Sources:
1. Rev. Christina Berry, First Presbyterian Church, Sterling, Illinois, from the sermon “What I Say”.
2. Rev. Thomas Hall, from the sermon “On the Way”.
3. http://www.orthodox-jews.com/moshiach.html
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Crossing Boundaries September 9, 2012 Humber United Church, Corner Brook, NL. Mark 7:24-30
Then Jesus left and went away to the territory near the city of Tyre. He went into a house and did not want anyone to know he was there, but he could not stay hidden. A woman, whose daughter had an evil spirit in her, heard about Jesus and came to him at once and fell at his feet. The woman was a Gentile, born in the region of Phoenicia in Syria. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. Jesus answered, “Let us first feed the children. It isn't right to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs.” “But Sir,” she answered, “even the dogs under the table eat the children's leftovers!” So Jesus said to her, “Because of that answer, go back home, where you will find that the demon has gone out of your daughter!” She went home and found her child lying on the bed; the demon had indeed gone out of her. *****************************************************************************The earliest of the written Gospels starts "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." In the first seven chapters Jesus travels through Galilee, achieving fame as rabbi, healer, miracle worker and teacher. The people around him are not quite sure of who he is. In spite of being close to him, the disciples don’t seem to understand who he is, or what his ministry is. Mark goes to great pains to demonstrate that they were rather thick. No one understands how the son of a carpenter from Nazareth can do and say the things he does, with such authority.
By Chapter 6 even the reader, who at least has the advantage
of that first sentence of the book - is confused. Jesus performs miracles, but tells everyone
to keep quiet. He exorcises demons, but again tells those around to keep quiet.
He preaches a good sermon in his home town, but is ineffective at working
miracles. He teaches with a wisdom disproportionate to his humble origins, he
enters into debate with Pharisees as a rabbi, but prefers untouchable fishermen
and ordinary people. His choice of friends is the subject of gossip and rumour.
The first feeding of a crowd leads into the next phase of
Jesus ministry. He goes towards Jerusalem, but via a detour through the heart
of Gentile country. Tension is building between Jesus and those who oppose him,
and it is becoming clearer – at least to the reader - that the religious leaders want to get rid of
him.
It’s right at this point that Mark tells the story of Jesus and
the Syro-Phoenician woman. Under the cloud of growing opposition to his ministry,
in between two miraculous feedings, just after a debate with his opponents
about cleanliness, and just before the story of the healing of the deaf and
mute man.
It is also critical to remember that
while Jesus valued the tradition and practices of his religion, he sees the
leadership as corrupt and ingrown. He sets out to initiate reform, in the
tradition of the prophets. He tries to help people remember what their faith
and practices are to be. For Jesus the spoken word has much more power than the
written word. Against the misdirection of the community, he begins to gather
and empower new ministers and leaders from among the lay people. It isn’t going
quite the way he would like, and there is a lot of resistance.
So he takes a break. He is tired and probably rather discouraged, and goes for a bit of a retreat by the seashore, trying to keep a low profile. The encounter takes place in Tyre, out of his comfort zone; he is way from home, amongst different people, essentially a tourist, in the most Gentile of all Gentile cities. And yet he is found by a woman asking for help for her daughter who is possessed by a demon.
So he takes a break. He is tired and probably rather discouraged, and goes for a bit of a retreat by the seashore, trying to keep a low profile. The encounter takes place in Tyre, out of his comfort zone; he is way from home, amongst different people, essentially a tourist, in the most Gentile of all Gentile cities. And yet he is found by a woman asking for help for her daughter who is possessed by a demon.
And even here there is more going on than meets the eye. She
is one of the wealthy upper crust of Tyre, part of a community of Greek
speaking expatriates who were able to afford food the poor could not. Worse:
when the crop failed they would buy the little there was, leaving the local Jewish
people to starve in the streets. It is pure irony that she comes asking, and
responds the way she does.
So Jesus is approached by a woman described as a
Syro-Phoenician – that is, she is an Aramaic-speaking non-Jew who comes from
the coastal region of Phoenicia. She asks Jesus to exorcise the evil spirit
which has possessed her child. Jesus rebuffs her in the rudest way possible –
he compares her, as a female Gentile, to “dogs”. In Gentile territory,
expressing the particular Jewish sentiments about cleanliness was asking for
trouble – and she gave it to him, gently but firmly. She has the verbal victory
over Jesus….and it’s significant how she does it.
This is the only time in Mark’s Gospel that Jesus is
addressed as Lord. In spite of being a "dog", in spite of everyone
else not understanding who Jesus is, this woman gets to the heart of it in two
seconds flat. It is this woman who cuts to the bone and to what will prove to
be the heart of his calling. Jesus doesn’t want to help her. She doesn’t fit his
ministry profile. He doesn’t want to see her, or help her, or give her what he feels is not hers. In the
Syro-Phoenician woman Jesus comes up against his boundaries, against someone he
does not consider to be part of his ministry focus, does not see as someone he
has come to serve. And what does she do? She reflects his own gospel back to
him, in the spoken word: "Come on Jesus, with all that left over bread you
can’t now say there are no crumbs under the table!"
What brings Jesus up short is that she
would go anywhere, cross any boundary, for the well-being of her child –
regardless of insults or lack of consideration. Her response rocks Jesus where
he sits: "But sir, even the meanest mutts under the table get to eat the
children's crumbs." In other words, "I know I`m not much and am
certainly not special nor deserving, but surely there must be a little bit -
which is more than enough, for people even like me and my daughter." There
is a long moment of silence all around the room. Jesus is faced with the fact that a Gentile
woman has just pretty well hit him over the head, albeit with grace, the very
point he had been trying to teach his own disciples about purity and
cleanliness; that what comes out of the mouth defines us far more than what
goes in – that social conventions are meaningless when there are people in
need. She was in need of grace, she knew it, and she believed that grace would
be given if she asked in humility.
What does it mean, if even Jesus needed his boundaries stretched, his views broadened to include people he assumed did not share in the abundance of all those baskets of left over grace? This shift in Jesus’ view of himself and ministry meant that we here and now, are part of the body. In this story, we are the Gentile dogs, wealthy, and having no part of the poor peasant Jews in Galilee. Without this woman’s courage challenging Jesus’ somewhat xenophobic preconceptions, we might still have been outsiders.
What does it mean, if even Jesus needed his boundaries stretched, his views broadened to include people he assumed did not share in the abundance of all those baskets of left over grace? This shift in Jesus’ view of himself and ministry meant that we here and now, are part of the body. In this story, we are the Gentile dogs, wealthy, and having no part of the poor peasant Jews in Galilee. Without this woman’s courage challenging Jesus’ somewhat xenophobic preconceptions, we might still have been outsiders.
One more thing needs to be learned in Mark’s gospel before
the full picture of Jesus has been painted. That serious growth only happens if
we give of ourselves. True healing and redemption only occur where the seed
dies to its self and grows into giving of itself without restraint or caution. We
are called to extend ministry to the whole creation, even those who we have
serious trouble accepting. We are called to stop panicking about what the
future may or may not bring, and open our ears to hear the truth about
ourselves and God’s will for us. We are called to be transformed into people
who, like Jesus, are able to make a real difference in the world because they
trust God and are willing to take a chance, recognizing that it won’t look like
it does today. We are bound to the trust that what today may seem to be beyond
hope, will burst the boundaries of its grave tomorrow.
And trust that we are made worthy by faith; nothing else
does make us worthy - not church attendance, not family membership, not the size
of donation, or our history in the community – none of those things make us
more worthy or more deserving than any other. It is in those words “Help
me....” Everyone who comes through the door of the church, searching, in
humility, is made welcome and worthy by the Spirit of God. What they want is
acceptance, and grace. What will they find here at Humber?
Sources:
1. “Crumbs from the Table” by Rev. Brian Donst, Fifty United Church, Winona, Ontario
2. Chilton, Bruce. “Rabbi Jesus” The Jewish Life
and Teaching that Inspired Christianity”. Doubleday. New York, 2000. P. 181.Sources:
1. “Crumbs from the Table” by Rev. Brian Donst, Fifty United Church, Winona, Ontario
3. Feasting on the Word, Year B Volume 4
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