Real Power

Sermon 7-15- 18

Grace to you and peace from God our creator and our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

There is a theme happening in our last two readings from Mark … and that theme is power. What is power, who has it, where does it come from, and how does it get used.

Last week we talked about trips, and in the adventures of Jesus, we heard how he took a trip to his hometown… and how he could do almost no deeds of power there. Thanks to unbelief of the people Jesus’ grew up with, it seemed like all his power just got sucked right out of him. But when Jesus gave power to his disciples, and sent them out two by two, THEY were able to do what JESUS could not. They healed the sick and proclaimed the gospel of repentance …and it turned out AWESOME! The disciples doing deeds of power in Jesus name, and they are getting RESULTS!! But these results make the people who had political and religious power very, very nervous.

Imagine an episode of House of Cards – have any of you ever seen the show? Back room deals, closed-door discussions, people socially maneuvering, manipulating others and bending the truth to get what they want, using whatever means necessary...  The ENDS always justify the MEANS…if in the END, YOU end up the one with the power. And power always seems to be in such short supply. At least, power that is based here in the world. And those who seem to operate outside of those rules, who don’t “play” the game, like John the Baptist, become easy targets.

John the Baptist, if you remember, is Jesus’ forerunner. At the very beginning of Mark, the prophet Isaiah announces his arrival…. He writes: “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the Way of the Lord!’.” Then – POOF- there he was! Proclaiming a baptism of repentance and forgiveness of sins, he was basically a homeless man wearing camel skins and eating whatever he could find – bugs and honey. And, unexpectedly, he was a HUGE hit with the people, baptizing left and right, making the people with political and religious powers very nervous… sound familiar?

They became even more worried when John told the people that there was someone coming after him… MORE powerful than John. And this person will baptize with the Holy Spirit!

And sure enough, after John – POOF! - Jesus arrived, showing a kind of power that humanity had never seen: healing women and children, casting out demons, calming storms … doing deeds of power yet hanging out with powerless people. 

Born to a powerless ethnic group in a backwater town as far as you could get from the shining political power center of the empire, Jesus revealed to the world a new kind of power - a power that did not come from brute force, or intimidation, or violence, or injustice, or discrimination, or bullying, or manipulation. This is not human power. This is God’s power. And God’s kind of power doesn’t play by human rules.

See, it was all coming true, just as John said.  And that make King Herod – the local guy with the power - very nervous, indeed. Not only was John the Baptist getting a huge following, but he was also saying some pretty bad things about him. Herod was already hanging onto his power by a fingernail. So, he threw John in jail – and you heard the rest of what happened to John.

This traumatic little story is actually a flashback. John the Baptist has already been arrested and killed by Herod by the time Jesus sent out his disciples last week. But John’s execution haunted Herod, which must be why Herod believed in the most absurd thing – that John, whom he had killed must be alive again. He’s baaaaaaack…. or at least that is what he feared.  What else could be the explanation? And that thought scared him to his very core.

Because John was SUPPOSED to be an example – an example of what happens to you when you speak truth to power. THIS (head chopping motion) is what happens to you when you call out the leaders, behaviors, and cherished institutions in this world, those that are built on racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, hate, fear, ignorance, and apathy. Most of the time, if you speak truth to power, you will not get a trophy or metal or pat on the back. You will not win any popularity contexts. There will be consequences.

Now, you might not get thrown in jail and lose your head like John. But you might lose friends, lose face, be labeled as “easily offended” (or as a “delicate snowflake”) by your friends or family, or otherwise get thrown under the bus. So, the power of the world would advise you to “keep quiet, don’t make a fuss, keep your head down, or you WILL lose IT.” (Again, the head chop motion) Lay low, or face the alternative. 

The true alternative to their claim to power in actuality scares the powerful half to death. John knew, and Jesus knew, and we know that God’s power, Jesus’ power, the power of the disciples did not come from this world, from King Herod or the Romans or any Caesar. 

And likewise, OUR power does not come from what others have to say about our worth – from having big houses or cars or jobs or our kids’ accomplishments or putting on the best face of “having it all together.” OUR power comes from CHRIST. The one who carried on John’s work, speaking truth to power, and showing the world power through God’s truth.

This truth is, as Paul writes, that our power comes from being chosen and beloved by God, adopted as God’s children, sharing in the never-ending inheritance of Jesus. This inheritance of being forgiven of our sins, healed of our brokenness, and redeemed from clenched jaws of death. We don’t earn it. We are just part of it… We are part of God’s Family… as siblings in the family of God… sharing in this abundant life together, because of Jesus.

We all know that Herod was wrong about Jesus. John had not come back from the dead, as some thought. But at the same time, Herod was also right about Jesus… just a little too soon. John would not rise again after his death (at least, not until we all do at the last day). But Jesus did rise again. That, I think, is the nugget of good news to be found in terrible little story.

Jesus also spoke truth to power. And the powers-that-be came after him. They murdered him too, like John before him, in another terrible and humiliating way. The powerful killed Jesus, and his body was laid in a borrowed tomb. But he did not stay buried. Three days later his tomb stood empty.

And someday, OUR tombs will be empty too. Someday, death and the grave will no longer have power over us either. At the last, we too will be raised with Christ in power and glory.

Unfortunately, we’re not there yet. We still live in a world ruled by King Herods and Ceasars and Herodiases and innocent children who get stuck making difficult decisions, shouldered forever with the legacy of their parents’ sins. We still live in a world where the consequences of speaking truth to power range from losing Facebook friends to losing your life.

We hope and long for the coming day of God’s reign, where the power of God makes the world a place of equality, justice, compassion, and enough for all.

Until that day, between now and then, we have the promise of God’s love to go with us along our way, no matter what happens. During our week of VBS, our theme verse was also a quote from the Prophet Isaiah: God tells us: “When you go through the waters, I will be with you.” When we feel powerless, this is a promise we can cling to, that will give us comfort no matter what happens. And because of this promise, we can’t say it any better than one of our VBS songs:

 I will hold on to you and the promises that you make, ‘Cuz it is well with my soul, no matter what comes my way.”

This is the ASL sign for “anything,” which the kids used as they sang this song. Anything can happen. But our power comes from the promise that God is with us “no matter what comes my way.” Thanks be to God. Amen.

Pack This, Not That.

Sermon 7-8-18

Grace to you and peace from God our creator from our Lord and savior Jesus the Christ by the power of the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

To me, and maybe for some of you, one of the most fun things about summer is traveling. For example, just this month I’m going to St. Louis and then driving through Illinois to WI to see my family. But before I became a pastor and moved to the East coast…. while I was still in college, I usually stayed home all summer and worked as a camp counselor… and loved every minute. However, even though I was in one place all summer, I still did just a little packing and a little traveling, at least around the camp itself. Every counselor was assigned to a different cabin each week. So, my colleagues and I quickly learned that the mores STUFF you brought with you… the more STUFF you had to shlep across the camp from week to week. The best packers among us had it down to a science – just enough to only have to make one, or MAYBE two trips tops. Or…. You just made a lot of friends to convince to help you do it for you.

Pine Lake Camp, WI, circa 2004

Then once the campers arrived, often there would be at least ONE in every cabin each with that just packed WAY too much stuff… hair straighteners and footballs and board games and nearly every pair of shoes in their closet. WAY more than they could ever use for just 5 days at church camp.

I think we’ve all been there when preparing a trip, or going to camp, or camping, or going to the beach, or any kind of travel really – we have every intention of packing light. But then we second guess ourselves - maybe we really do need three books instead of two… that extra sundress… a few more pairs of socks… six spare sunglasses…. another towel… and pretty soon, our suitcases are pretty big and pretty heavy. All in the name of “being prepared” for “just in case.”

Fortunately for us, the gospel of Mark is a master class in being no-frills and to the point. No word is wasted here. Mark is the shortest Gospel - you can easily read all of it in one sitting. There is no nativity scene or story of Jesus’ birth, no Sermon on the Mount, no Jesus in the temple at age 12… and Mark only takes 3 chapters to describe the evens of Jesus’ last week, compared to 8 chapters in the Gospel of John. There is not even TECHNICALLY a resurrection story, if you remember my sermon ALLLLLL the way back on Easter.

Mark does not mess around. So, it’s not entirely surprising in Mark, Jesus gives us a packing list of what we will and won’t need to do ministry… and Jesus is pretty much telling his disciples – and us – to pack light.

Do you remember a book that came out a number of years ago, called “Eat this, not that?” People went nuts over how it debunks some of the health food myths out there. And following that book’s success, a whole series spun off – “Cook this, Not That” …. “Drink This, Not That” … you get the picture. Well, as you might have guessed, Jesus has his own version to give to the disciples as they are about to embark in this ministry adventure in Jesus’ name. “Pack this, not that.”

What does Jesus tell us to bring along on this mission? A staff for walking…. Sandals on their feet…And that’s about it. No money. No extra clothes. No snacks, not even a backpack. So really, mostly “…Not that”!

On the surface, Jesus’ packing list is going over-board on this “minimalist, packing light” idea at best, and actually dangerous at worst. Traveling back then was very different from traveling today. Anything could happen to the disciples while out there on the road – they might get hungry, they might get robbed, they might need a place to stay for a night – and there was no Google to help find the nearest Motel 6. What Jesus is suggesting here seems to be pretty foolhardy – the very mission to spread God’s kingdom seems to be utterly dependent on the hospitality of complete strangers.

But look what happened…. Where we might think that Jesus sets up his followers for failure… instead, they are wildly successful! They cast out demons! They anointed the sick and cured them! People welcomed them into their homes! I would call that a BIG success!

Jesus knew something that we tend to forget… or ignore – the more we bring with us…. the more stuff we gather around us in the name of “being prepared” … the more things to surround ourselves with in the name of trying to be “successful,” the more we are burdened and weighed down, both physically and mentally. We worry too much about stuff, what we do have and what we don’t have, and what we may think we need.

Now, Jesus is not saying that we should not be ready and prepared AT ALL… but instead, Jesus is helping us differentiate between what is necessary and what is not. Or, to put it another way, what to pack on this journey of discipleship, and what to leave out of our suitcase. “Pack This, Not That.”

Here is Jesus’ packing list:

First, before they even leave on their journey, you hopefully noticed that Jesus didn’t send the twelve out one at a time. He sent them out two by two, so that no one person would shoulder the burden and the stress by themselves. Having partners in ministry is important to encouraging us when times get tough, to keeping us on track and accountable, to pray for us, and to labor next to us – “work smarter, not harder.”

Next, Jesus says told his disciples to bring a staff, or a walking stick, and a pair of sandals. For when the path ahead gets rocky and becomes hard to climb, or when the way gets dark and difficult to navigate, we could all use some support and assistance. Sometime this takes the form of a supportive posse of people who love us. And sometimes this takes the form of some comfortable walking shoes.

That’s it for the physical items Jesus tells us to pack. But there are some intangible once that don’t weight a lot but are essential. The most important thing that Jesus gives us on our journey is the call to do his work in his name… in other words, the most important thing we pack is our baptisms. Jesus gave his disciples the authority to heal and to cast out unclean spirits. When we were baptized, we officially turned our backs on the empty promises of the world, and all the powers of the world that draw us away from God. God chooses us as beloved children, then sends us out into the world with the power and presence of God.

Your baptism is pretty portable. In fact, you carry it with you wherever you go. And it takes up less room than your toothbrush. There, on your forehead, is the invisible mark of the cross that was drawn on your forehead on that momentous day. From then on, the promise that God is with you is there forever, no matter what where you go, or if your journey takes you far or near. No matter if you succeed or if you fail.

I would argue that Jesus gave his disciples one more item on his packing list: a spirit of openness. Jesus hinted to the twelve that not everything would go the way they wanted, and not everyone would welcome them. To quote the great modern prophet Taylor Swift: “Haters gonna hate (hate, hate, hate, hate, hate) … and the fakers gonna fake (fake, fake, fake, fake) …. But baby, I’M just gonna shake (shake, shake, shake, shake) Shake it off, shake it off.”

Or, as Jesus said it first: “If any place does not welcome you… shake the dust off your feet.” Because sometimes you can do everything right and things still don’t work out. Look at what happened to Jesus at the beginning of this section of Mark – Jesus showed up in his home town and it turns out that there he could do diddly-squat. And that kind of gives me just a little bit of comfort. 

But Jesus continued the work, even in the setbacks. And sometimes our hard work will actually pay off. But not because we bulked up and packed everything and the kitchen sink. It’s because we remembered to pack Jesus.

There are lots of things we don’t have. But there are lots of things that we DO. We have generous hearts. We have an eagerness to learn and to try new things. We are willing to work hard and work together. And those things, I think, will be extremely useful to take along this journey with us. Thanks be to God, amen.

Jesus Leaks

Sermon 7-1-18

Grace to you and peace from God our creator and from our Lord and savior Jesus the Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

This past week, over thirty thousand ELCA youth gathered in Houston for their Youth Gathering, which happens every three years in different cities around the country. During this week, they learned together, worshiped together, and served their neighbor together. If you haven’t already, go and watch the videos of the nightly speakers, they are amazing. 

But in the days and weeks before the Youth gathering, my Facebook feed was flooded with the travel preparations questions of my pastor friends, on how to be ready for everything: from minor injuries, sunburn, dehydration, Hangry-ness, and boredom. As you can imagine, that’s a lot to stuff to try to pack in one bag. Like putting too many toppings on your sandwich… with things falling everywhere when you try to take a bite.

The gospel of Mark, which we are reading through this summer, LOVES to pack too much into his sandwiches. You may have noticed during the reading that there is a story within a story here – a story sandwich – where story A is interrupted by Story B, then we hear the end of Story A again. For a short Gospel, Mark packs a lot in his sandwiches.

I remember packing my bag the last time I went to the Youth Gathering 3 years ago in Detroit. A friend who was a Youth Gathering Novice asked us what not-obvious things she would need. My suggestion is something that you will not normally here in a sermon AND related to today’s healing story. I told here there is one thing I ALWAYS bring on a youth trip: menstrual products. Yes, I’m talking about pads and tampons.

Are you uncomfortable yet? We should be, because we pretty much avoid this topic at all costs. Even the translators shy away from it, using the euphemism “hemorrhaging.” Which is just a fancier way of saying “on the rag,” “Aunt Flow was visiting,” or, according to one study… about 5,000OTHER slang terms for saying “period” around the world. I bet you REALLY wish you had stayed in bed today.

Are we uncomfortable yet? OUR discomfort is nothing compared to what this woman was going through. And I am not just talking about the pain that must have been horrible from having a period for twelve straight years. For the Jewish people thousands of years ago, “that time of the month” wasn’t just inconvenient and awkward. There were strict rules in the Old Testament saying what you could and could not do at this time. Bear with me as we get a little “Levitical” for a moment.

Back then, when a woman is menstruating, she is considered “unclean” for seven days. Everything she touches, including people, becomes unclean too. And everyone who touches what SHE touches becomes unclean. Imagine what that does to your family life and social life. Fortunately, when that time of the month is over, she takes a ritual bath and becomes “clean” again (Lev. 15) and resume regular life. … But what do you think would happen if “that time of the month” never stopped? No one would want to be near you. No one would want to touch you. Sooner or later, you would be completely alone.

I should explain that the terms “unclean” does not equal dirty or messy. The ancient Israelites divided everything into two categories: “Holy” or “ordinary,” “Divine” or “earthly” and heaven forbid that the two should be mixed. Blood was believed to be the source of life (Lev. 17) – they didn’t have any biology classes back then – and that is one reason keeping kosher does not involve eating any blood. Blood is holy, and so you do not eat it.

But women have blood monthly - and do not die – and that does not fit nicely into these categories. So, these women during this time were “unclean” – a dangerous mix of holy and human, and the ancient Israelites dealt with this by ritual separation once a month.  

Fast forward a few thousand years, and these rules still applied. And pile on the prevailing medical ideas stated that healthy bodies were balanced, controlled, strong, and dry. And this woman, with her bleeding, was none of those things. (from the article "The Man with the Flow of Power: Porous Bodies in Mark 5:25-34" by Candida Moss, JBL 129, no. 3 (2010) 507-519)

Her cultured viewed her (apparently incurable) condition to be a disability. Everyone in her life up to this point seemed to fail her. Her family had abandoned her, her doctors had taken her money and left her with no cure, and her religion had no place for her. And so, cut off and alone, she came to Jesus – to what she might have thought was her last hope.

She came to him in secret, because she had no reason NOT to believe that Jesus, would fail her too, as all the other men in her life had up until that point. She had no reason NOT to think that, once she knew what she was, Jesus would reject her and cast her off too. Surely, he would not notice a small touch on his clothes. Because that’s also all she thought she was worth.

Well, Jesus DID notice…. He felt the power go out of him, in an action that he could not control. Jesus ‘s body leaked power, just as the woman’s body leaked blood. Blood that represents divine power and the gift of potential life. Jesus… power…. Blood…. Life…. Is it really a stretch to say that in this moment Jesus felt what it’s like to have a period? I don’t think it’s much of a stretch at all.

I honestly don’t remember a lot of sermons… my own and other people’s. But I do remember the first time I heard this idea, at a conference through an organization I’m a member of called Young Clergywomen International. An episcopal pastor who would become a friend preached a sermon on this very text and this very thought just blew me away.

Because if this is REALLY TRUE… Jesus has also experienced something that is such a central aspect to what it means to have a female body. Jesus has experienced the very thing that biological women spend at least 25 percent of their lives worrying over, preparing for, having discomfort due to, and using precious resources over. And Jesus knows what it’s like struggle with having other people have agency and power over your body.

In other words, Jesus knows what a period feels like – and that sounds totally weird to us. Because he body of Jesus is not safe – Jesus is leaking power all over the place and ruining our perfectly ordered and controlled lives. Jesus is breaking down the boundaries between earthly and holy, between sacred and ordinary. Between men and women. Between black and white and brown. Between the Haves and the Have-nots. And things GET. MESSY. When this happens. And we don’t like it AT ALL.

The ancient Israelites tried to control this boundary by shutting their women away. But WE in our technological and “egalitarian” societies are not much better. Yes, the technologies of pads and tampons are awesome to help make one quarter of the normal lives of female bodies less challenging. But we can do better. The stigma is still there, and injustices are still happening. Pennsylvania is one of ONLY 9 states in the US that DOES NOT TAX menstrual products…. Let me say that again: 41 states TAXES things like tampons, but does not tax dandruff shampoo, candy bars, and Viagra. This is called the “Pink Tax,” where products that women and biologically female bodies NEED to do normal human daily things … if TANG is not taxed, neither should be tampons.

And beyond this, some people still suffer in silence from illnesses related to menstruation and reproductive health, isolated by embarrassment, being ignored, or being taken advantage of.

So… Jesus WAS a dude. But more importantly, Jesus was a human being, who encompassed ALL of our humanity: the messy parts, the embarrassing parts, the holy parts, the parts that contribute to new life. And the truth is, Jesus’ maleness didn’t heal her… her faith, and the power of God healed her.

Jesus’ own body crossed represented the crossing of borders, the pouring out for the sake of others, and contaminating others with the love of God. In short, Jesus leaks…. He leaks God’s love all over the place, and as followers of Jesus, we are called to do the same. This includes working for justice for ALL bodies, including women’s bodies, and especially vulnerable bodies.

Youth at the gathering did this by putting together two thousand toiletry kits for women escaping human trafficking. But we don’t have to travel half way a cross the country to be with 30,000 of our closest friends to do it. Right here, right now, we can ask ourselves – how are we contributing to menstruation justice?

Like this story having too much to talk about in one sermon, there is too much do for one person. But we can do something… like work to end the pink tax or donate toward organizations to help women and girls around the world.

We are the body OF Christ. I can’t put it better than to borrow the words from the newest ELCA draft social statement on “women and justice.” In this draft, people smarter than me have written:

“As this church seeks to value the bodies of all people and recognize that we depend upon one another, we will not dominate or politicize other people but respect them, promote their health and well-being, and suffer and rejoice together as we strive for justice for all bodies.  …We must continue the task of embracing our unity and diversity so we welcome and uplift people of every sex and gender—indeed, every body—in our work together as the Body of Christ in the world.”

To that we can roll up our sleeves and say, we can do it. Thanks be to God. Amen.