The Intern's Turn

How We Teach

2010-03-26T14:54:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been a long hiatus. I sometimes forget that this page exists as all the other demands of world and work clamor for attention.

Today, I've been thinking about what and how we are actually teaching the faith. So, here's my first dip. I think we basically teach in three ways. 1) We teach something, 2) We teach how to find something, or 3) We teach how to think about something.

So, take the 10 Commandments for example.

We can either teach the commandments, teach them well, and teach them regularly so that when a kid leaves our church, she really knows the commandments.

Or, we can teach her where to find them. "This is the Small Catechism. Martin Luther wrote it; he wrote it for such-and-such a purpose." "Here is where to find the commandments in Scripture." Etc...

Or, finally (and maybe most common?) we can teach her how to think about the commandments. "The 4th Commandment is that you shall honor your father and your mother. How does that commandment change with you over the course of your life? What do the commandments do for you and how do they matter in your life today?"

What job do we perform most admirably? Least admirably? Where should we focus our attention in the future? I have a communion class coming up tomorrow morning. Hmm...

Poll Results: When do you think about God?

2010-02-16T00:17:00.000-08:00

Well, it was a pretty even split. About half of us chose option A and half chose B from the following poll:

When do you think more about God?

A: When things are Good

B: When things are Bad

These polls are intentionally simplistic. We are putting things down in the most basic language to encourage some response. Undoubtedly, the answers we live into from day to day are more complex and nuanced.

So, if you've got something to say that will help us understand your answer better, or provide another more subtle answer, post it here!

Finally! A "Real" Alaska Story...

2010-01-29T11:46:00.000-08:00

I was trapped out of my house by an angry moose!

What kind of city do we live in? A guy can't even walk to the mailbox without a rifle!

It's good to be in Alaska; every mundane task has the potential for excitement.

Old Testament 101

2010-01-21T19:22:00.000-08:00

We're in the middle of an Old Testament class on Sunday mornings in between services. If you can be there, this is what you should do before you come!

Read Genesis 3 (all)

Consider the following questions:
1. What is this story about?
2. What is God doing in this story? (and, what is God's nature/character?)
3. When does suffering become part of the story?
4. What is Evil in the story? Who does Evil? Who experiences Evil?

Lutheran 101: Important Lutheran Terms

2010-01-18T23:48:00.000-08:00

This is a list of terms we covered in a Lutheran 101 class that ran a few Sundays back at Gloria Dei.

These can be helpful if you're starting to figure out what it means to call yourself a Lutheran.

If you've got a question or a comment, let me know!

Peace.

Lutheran Heritage in Terms

sola Scriptura - “Word Alone” or “Only Scripture”

Luther coined this term in reference to the Catholic Church’s reliance on three pillars of authority. To establish what is “right,” the Church could look to Pope, Tradition, or Bible for a legitimate answer. In response, Luther said that the church can only properly find authority in God’s Word found in Scripture: sola Scriptura.

sola Fide – “Faith Alone”

This was another of Luther’s terms. There were two prominent understandings in his age. Either God would give an infusion of Grace which allowed the individual to make a holy step towards justification (this was called the via Antiqua, or “Old Way”), or the person would strive to take a holy step in their life which God would then reward with an infusion of Grace (called the via Moderna).

Luther comforted the people with the Biblical message that we are justified by Faith alone. The faith is not something we earn, but Christ gives it to us through his death and resurrection, and through the activity of the Spirit in the preached Word.

Fur Sie – “For You”

Luther wanted to emphasize the particularity of Christ’s saving death and resurrection. When Christ died for “our” sins, he did so with care for all the specific “you’s” that make up that collective. In the words spoken at Communion, “The body of Christ, broken for you!” “The blood of Christ, shed for you!”

simul Iustus et Peccator – “Simultaneously Justified and Sinful”

This is the tops! The bee’s knees! This is Luther’s term for the Biblical message that we are justified once and for all by Christ’s death and resurrection, but we still persist in sin. The practical implication: in our Baptism we die with Christ to sin and are raised with Christ to new life, but this new life is still human and therefore sinful.

Luther stated that Baptism plants faith (remember sola Fide!) in our hearts to save us, and it saves us because faith—and only faith—makes genuine repentance possible.

So, a Baptized member of the church is still full of pride, secrecy, shame, and fear. But, the Baptism gives us the faith that makes it possible for us to hear the Word and receive the Grace!

What does this mean?

This was Luther’s driving question. The church can become obsolete with every new generation. For Luther, the church only serves a good purpose when it strives to bring the Gospel to the people in an understandable way. So, if the people are tuned out, ignored, or talked over, the church is failing. Hence, the pastor’s most important question is “What does this mean for people today?” If the pastor and the congregation continue to ask this question, the church will continue to effectively bring the Word into the World.

I love this

2010-01-14T17:21:00.000-08:00

These are the first few lines from a poem written by Alexander Pope. It's called "Essay on Criticism" and it cautions us against learning a little bit and thinking we know a whole lot. I don't know if anyone else will dig this. (ps- the Pierian spring was the mythological source of knowledge, and this picture is not it.)

A little learning is a dang'rous thing;

Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring:

There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,

And drinking largely sobers us again.

Avatar!!

2010-01-04T13:59:00.000-08:00

Mollie and I just saw this movie. It was amazing! It was a real thought-provoker. Some of the things it brought to mind:

1. The inescapability of Sin. We all participate (willingly or unwillingly) in a sinful system.

2. The danger of a closed gaze, meaning--it is dangerous to close our eyes to the reality of someone else's experience.

3. This one's more difficult to describe. After seeing the mania surrounding this movie, the long lines, the packed theaters, it provided a stark contrast to the insignificance of Church. No long lines there, no powerful emotions generated, no excited conversations about "what happened in church?!"

***The big question: How can we make our faith lives as significant/interesting/exciting as a fabulous movie experience? Do you have any ideas?

Check out the new Videos!

2009-12-11T12:08:00.000-08:00

Head over to the right side of your screen for a couple new videos reflecting Christianity in Pop Culture.

Are you prouder than a 5th grader?

2009-12-08T12:14:00.000-08:00

A speaker once asked a group of Elementary School kids a series of questions. "How many of you can sing?" "How many of you can dance?" "How many of you are good at drawing?" "How many of you can play soccer?"

In response to every question, nearly every student raised his/her hand. They ALL thought they could sing, dance, draw, etc.

That same speaker also went to a high school auditorium and asked the same questions to an assembly of teenage students. When asked, "How many of you can sing?" very few raised their hands. Not even all choir members responded positively.

The same thing happened for every question. Who can play soccer? Only two or three of the best varsity soccer players would raise their hands.

So, what happened? What's the difference?

For Mason

2009-12-08T10:42:00.000-08:00

One of Gloria Dei's high schoolers has ridiculed me for the long absence of new posts. Since he has proven that someone must read this at some point, I have decided it is not a waste of time. Look for weekly updates! (I may only be talking to Mason, I just realized.)

Gloria Dei Talks $$

2009-11-06T00:53:00.000-08:00

Here's our new confirmation teacher, Erik Nelson, along with rockstar 7th grader, Lauren Logan. Joining them is acclaimed economist Anirban Basu.

He flew in to Anchorage from Maryland to give a keynote speech, and Lauren was seated at the head table! Erik and his wife, Laura, were guests, and I was invited to offer an opening prayer.

The whole thing was Rebecca Logan's project; so, congratulations to Rebecca! (She's Lauren's mom.)

He ain't heavy! He's my brother!

2009-11-05T12:17:00.000-08:00

(Above: Larry and Balki from "Perfect Strangers", Below: Neil Diamond)

You younger readers probably have no idea who these people are. "Click to read more...." and find out! You'll also find my last newsletter article about what it means to be "Brothers and Sisters" in Christ.

History Lesson: Larry and Balki were characters on a sitcom called "Perfect Strangers." Neil Diamond is the singer who made famous the song entitled "He ain't heavy; He's my brother." (ed. note- "Heavy" was a slang term for someone who was serious, boring, depressing, or detached.)

I included these two (ancient!) pop-culture references because the article below discusses the conflict between seeing this world as: 1) Full of 'perfect strangers' OR 2) Full of Brothers and Sisters.

Newsletter Article from November 2009

Greetings, brothers and sisters in Christ!

It’s strange to say that sometimes, isn’t it? “Brothers and Sisters in Christ.” We look around our church and have to strain to remember which names go with which faces. We go into a world filled with strangers, who sometimes feel like enemies! And, yet, it is good and true to think of all these as Brothers and Sisters in Christ.

Pastor Scott recently made it possible for me to attend AFACT* leadership training. As part of our training, we were asked to look at the “World As It Is.” Then, of course, we imagined the “World As It Should Be.” Notice how we could “Look” at the world as it is, but we can only “Imagine” the world as it should be.

As you can probably guess, there was a pretty big difference between the two worlds. Faced with that truth, the truth that things are NOT as they should be, we are given two options: 1) We can work to change the world as best we can, or 2) We can change our understanding of “What Should Be.”

What does your gut tell you? What does the Gospel tell us? It seems like Jesus was about the business of changing both the world AND our expectations! Jesus came to DO something in this world, and he daily wakes us up out of our complacency.

So, we have the world as it should be: all of us Brothers and Sisters in Christ.

And we have the world as it is: a sea of strangers!

Since my arrival at Gloria Dei, many of you have invited me into your homes. The result of all these get-togethers? It feels more appropriate each day to address this community as my “Brothers and Sisters.”

What happens over the course of all those dinners and cups of coffee? We share stories! And, once we know each others’ stories, we become friends and family. We wear nametags at Gloria Dei, and that’s wonderful. But, stories put a face and a heart alongside those thin paper tags.

Story is important. Story changes “assemblies of strangers” into “communities of neighbors.”

Coming up in November, we at Gloria Dei will have a chance to do something to make this a more neighborly world!

On Tuesday, November 17^th at 7:30 PM we will have a meeting and teaching session to prepare you all to write down a personal story of faith. Everyone is invited! Everyone is needed! We will pray together, discuss how the sharing of a story can make a difference, and talk about your role as leaders, ministers, and story-tellers in the church of Christ.

For those who cannot make the Tuesday night meeting, the same information will be shared that Saturday, November 21^st at 11:00 AM. Both meetings will be held at Gloria Dei.

*(ed. note--For those of you who don’t know, AFACT is “Anchorage Faith in Action, Congregations Together.” It is a federation of faith communities in Anchorage partnering to do the social justice work to which Christ called us.)

The Devil Loves Cell Phones

2009-11-04T10:14:00.000-08:00

Have you ever noticed that your day is filled with noise and anxiety? We never slow down; we never pause. In the car, we blast the radio. When we get where we're going, we're busy doing work or listening to people. When we get home, we turn on the TV or more Music. And, all the little in-between times are stuffed full with our Cell Phones.

Found this interesting article in Newsweek entitled "The Devil Loves Cell Phones." It's worth a read, and worth thinking about afterwords.

How can you find time for God and Silence in your daily routine?

Here's the article.

Sermon Post: Sunday, October 25th, 2009

2009-10-27T16:16:00.000-07:00

This Sunday (Reformation Sunday), Gloria Dei held a "Healing Service." Below is a synopsis of the sermon preached on the Biblical word about healing.

This Sunday's message brought the popular American beliefs about Healing into conversation with the 16th century controversy concerning Indulgences (the controversy which sparked Martin Luther's attempt to reform the Catholic church, which gave birth to the Lutheran church).

On Indulgences:

What were they?

Indulgences were objects that were supposedly actual pieces of historical significance to the Christian faith. (So, for example, they might be splinters from "Christ's Cross," or a vial of "Paul's Tears." It was all poppycock, of course.)
Authorities from the Church would sell these objects (or, Indulgences) to the people.

What did they do?

If you bought an indulgence, it was supposedly a "Demonstration of your Faith."
So, as a reward, the Pope would set one of your relatives free from Purgatory.

Martin Luther's Simple Question:

If the Pope can do this for the people, why wouldn't he do it out of simple Love and Mercy?
Why would he make them live in fear, and pay huge sums for the gift of Forgiveness?
Wasn't God's forgiveness part of the Free Gift known as Jesus Christ?

On Healing:

The Popular Belief in America:

If you pray HARD enough, and have ENOUGH faith, God will heal you.

What does this turn God into?

An emotionless judge
A distant button pusher
A God who will do something good for you, IF you give enough or do enough
In other words, the corrupt Pope from the Indulgences controversy

The Biblical View:

Gloria Dei at Center Ice!

2009-10-26T23:43:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Erin Wolverton! She and her teammates earned a 3-3 tie against a local guys' comp team. Looks like Ma and Pa are pretty proud!

Poll Results!

2009-10-26T22:31:00.000-07:00

The question was, "Who has taught you the most about faith?"

The choices: Parents, Friends, Pastors/Church Staff, Movies, Internet, or Bible

The results? 17 people answered. Most common answers were Parents, Friends, or Pastors (with 4 votes each). Second most popular was the Bible, with 3 votes. And, Movies and Internet got 1 apiece.

Does this seem accurate to you? Do you think we know what influences us the most?

Check out the new poll on the side and cast your vote. Also, make sure you become a "Reader" on the side!

Alaska in Sports Illustrated

2009-10-16T10:34:00.001-07:00

Just as a matter of interest (not faith or religion), I thought I'd link Sports Illustrated's cover story about the Alaska high school football championship being the National Game to Watch. Go, Alaska!

Sports Illustrated covers Bartlett vs. Chugiak

Gloria Dei at the Net!

2009-10-12T18:45:00.001-07:00

Danis with Janie Henderson (aka "Mom")

Congratulations to Danis Henderson for her success in the recent Grace Christian "Lady Griz" Volleyball tournament! We saw her deliver a match winning block, and she wound up on the all-tournament team.

God in Sports

2009-10-08T22:45:00.001-07:00

Hey, brothers and sisters!

Since so many of our 18-and-under members are athletes (or fans of athletics), it might be interesting to take a look at God in Sports.

One interesting issue is the post-game "Lemme Thank God" interview. I'm sure we've all seen the star athlete thank God for the big win.

Below, we've got some links to articles, blog posts, etc. about Thanking God in Sports. Some of the people are violently opposed, some of the people feel persecuted, and some are just bemused.

What do YOU think?

NFL Player feels discriminated against after religious celebration is penalized...

An atheist thinks it's dumb for an athlete to thank God after winning...

A bunch of people write in with their opinions on an Olympic message board...

Hey, brothers and sisters!

Since so many of our 18-and-under members are athletes (or fans of athletics), it might be interesting to take a look at God in Sports.

One interesting issue is the post-game "Lemme Thank God" interview. I'm sure we've all seen the star athlete thank God for the big win.

Above, we've got some links to articles, blog posts, etc. about Thanking God in Sports. Some of the people are violently opposed, some of the people feel persecuted, and some are just bemused.

What do YOU think?

Cool Interactive Bible Map

2009-10-05T22:13:00.001-07:00

Hey, all!

Here's a pretty helpful, informative map of the ancient Biblical landscape. Click on a location and it gives a short description (including Biblical references).

I recommend clicking the "Jordan River," "Galilee," and "Jerusalem."

Here's the link.

Peace!

WHAT?! Some things to laugh at...

2009-10-02T23:31:00.001-07:00

This video is called "Jesus pwn3d U." What are some 2nd commandment reflections here?

A guy on Craigslist has 1300, umm...Pope Hats for Sale. Okay, sure.

An author decided to spend a year living according to EVERY SINGLE LAW in the Bible.

As we get used to each other, I should say that I don't post these things because I think they are a fair portrayal of Christianity or demonstrate good theological understandings. I post them because they represent the voices of many in our community (especially young adults and high schoolers!). So, it's where part of the conversation needs to take place.

Jesus and Martin Luther took the theology into people's daily lives, into their world. We can do the same thing today!

The Summers Swimmers

2009-10-02T20:16:00.000-07:00

We all went to check out the Summers' and Dimond High compete in a swim meet today.

Pretty cool to see both Lauren and Matthew win races.

Congrats!

What's a Lutheran?

2009-10-02T11:12:00.000-07:00

Hey, everyone...

If you've ever felt like, "I'm Lutheran, but what does that mean?"

Or: "I'm Lutheran, but there's not really any difference between Lutheran and Catholic (except music and our pastors can marry)."

Then, here's a good site. It's a Just-the-Facts-Ma'am look at Lutheranism. Consider this your 10-minute confirmation crash course.

Lutheran 101

Ever Thought the Church was Wrong?

2009-09-29T23:29:00.000-07:00

Hello, All!

This message is primarily for high school aged readers. But, it could apply to anyone, at any age, who has felt marginalized by Church.

The link below will take you to an open letter written by a young man who'd had enough of Church. His opinion is just that: HIS opinion. But, it's interesting. It's worth talking about.

It would be great to hear what you think.

God Bless,
Intern Mark

(Beware that he uses mildly inappropriate language at one point.)

An Open Letter to Those Who Have Been Hurt by Church -Curtis Honeycutt

SERMON POST: from Sept. 27th, 2009

2009-09-29T18:10:00.000-07:00

Yo,

This was the sermon for September 27th, on Mark 9:38-50, an exciting and challenging text.

Jesus says some harsh things in this story. It can be hard for us to accept that our Lord would say those things, so we are tempted to lock this "Crazy Jesus" away.

But, if we do that, the "Tame Jesus" that we keep around does us no good!

If we lock up the Jesus who tells us we are sinful, what good is the Jesus who tells us we're forgiven?

Sermon on Mark 9:38-50 (Delivered Sept. 27th, 2009)

Who is Jesus? A couple weeks ago, we talked about all the different ways there are to understand Jesus based on snippets of Biblical evidence. The champion of the poor or the giver of great wealth? The peace-making lamb of the beatitudes or the crazed lion who ransacks the temple? The social-justice revolutionary or the dismissive vacationer who insults the mother of a sick child?

Ultimately, over the course of our lives, if we listen carefully, we come to understand that Jesus is all of these things and more. We are often tempted to reduce him to some “type” of thing, like Jesus the loving forgiver—and nothing else. But, that reduction is a mere idol, a figment of our imagination. When we thank, praise, and call upon Jesus the Son of God, we must take into account ALL that He is. He is more than the velvet-covered forgiver of our sins. He is also the speaker of a hard truth, namely, the reality of judgment, sin, and death. In fact, when we let Jesus speak freely, even Forgiveness becomes a hard word. If we take the Forgiveness seriously, it means we needed forgiving.

So, we can begin to see how it must be. How those two contradictory themes (forgiveness and judgment) must be contained in the same Jesus, who Himself is a contradiction: Fully Human? AND, Fully God?!

Consider this question: If the judgment isn’t real, isn’t possible, what comfort can there be in forgiveness?

Over the past couple of weeks my wife—Mollie—and I have had two interesting encounters with canines.

The First Encounter:

We were out on a short walk through the neighborhood, my wife and I. Our rumbling stomachs signaled that it was time to head towards home and the promise of dinner when, all of a sudden, we found our way blocked by a strange dog.

He was jet black with floppy ears and a long-haired coat. None of that mattered. It was his stance and his “air” that were immediately significant to Mollie and me. He stood very awkwardly in the road, not coming towards us, nor backing away. And, staring, always staring right at us. He didn’t bark, but as we approached he began to growl softly.

Well, let me tell you, our finely tuned wilderness instincts kicked in. We froze in our tracks and began sweating profusely. Our muscles tensed, our hearts pounded, and our breathing became erratic.

Eventually, we summoned enough courage to hop a fence and completely avoid this domesticated pet, which had so rattled us.

The Second Encounter:

Later that week, after we grew bold enough to leave the house again, Mollie and I ventured to the zoo here in Anchorage. While there, we spent a lot of time watching the wolves. They were so active: racing up to the fence and loping around the perimeter.

We were able to get quite close to these proud hunters. They kept running right up to the fence. In fact, we were much closer to these predators than we ever got to the pet in our neighborhood.

Strangely enough, though, our heart rates didn’t accelerate. Our breathing stayed even, and our shoulders were relaxed and loose. We felt no anxiety at all! What was different about these encounters?

Well, of course, one answer is clear. The FENCE!

Do we ever build fences around Jesus when we read the Bible? Do the fences ever give us a sense of comfort around an “untamed” Jesus?

In today’s Gospel lesson, Jesus says some truly frightening things. He speaks of self-mutilation, a violent drowning, and unquenchable fire. Whoa! How can these things be compatible with the gentle Jesus we have depicted in our window here, for example?

Well, those two images can be pretty tough to reconcile. And, so, we are tempted to build a fence. Keep the scary, wild Jesus safely locked away, and only engage with the Jesus we prefer. The Jesus that speaks harsh words, the Jesus that whips the money changers in the temple, the Jesus who curses a fig tree to smithereens because it doesn’t bear fruit for him OUT OF SEASON! This is a tough Jesus to hold in our hearts. We prefer the Easter Jesus, the baby Jesus, and Jesus the healer.

But, let’s think about this. Let’s think about the hidden dangers of this user-friendly Jesus when he’s separated from the big-bad-bold Jesus. When we fence in and lock away the scriptural Jesus who preaches about the reality of judgment, the reality of our sinfulness, what do we leave ourselves? What do we wind up with?

We wind up with a Jesus who forgives us, but we’re not sinful. A Jesus who offers healing, but to a world without sickness or suffering. A Jesus who offers salvation to people who never thought they needed it.

In short, we leave ourselves with a worthless Jesus.

Mollie and I were happy to have the wolf caged up, but the neighborhood dog represented a threat we wouldn’t have expected. In the same way, on paper most of us would choose to ignore or lock away the wild Jesus of today’s lesson, but in so doing we’d forget about the danger of a purely domesticated Jesus.

Remember the question we asked at the outset: If judgment isn’t real, isn’t possible, what comfort can there be in forgiveness?

So, one way to read today’s text is—to not! We can choose to ignore it, lock it away. Or, we can go the other direction. We can cling to this story, Jesus as he’s described here, and lock everything else away.

And, we do this sometimes, don’t we? There are moments in our lives when we live only in the reality of Judgment and forget about the reality of Grace. There are days, and especially there are nights, when despair steals into our rooms, creeps into our hearts and robs us of the comfort we have in Christ’s promise to take us from Good Friday into Easter.

So, clinging to the gentle Jesus robs us of our need for a savior, and getting stuck on Judge Jesus robs us of our hope and life. There must be another option!

And, there is.

We have the option to listen to scripture, to listen deeply to the complex truth of the Bible. We have the option to hear God’s promise in all the strange and surprising ways it is spoken to us. We have the option to let God’s word break free in our hearts and lives, the option to let our fences drop so that God may run wildly off the page and into our world.

You know, Martin Luther loved to ask, “What does this mean for us?” So, what does it mean to “listen to scripture,” to “let our fences drop?”

Let’s take a listen to the Gospel lesson. Actually, let’s just focus on one verse, Mark 9:42. Today, Jesus tells us that it would be bad news to keep children from hearing his Word. How bad? Well, he says it would be better if we were thrown into the ocean with a gigantic stone around our neck.

When we don’t listen to this text, when we keep it locked out of our lives, when we seek to control it, we miss one of the most exciting lessons taught by Jesus! This story looks standard to us. So we might easily gloss right over. This text is about the “mean” disciples going so far overboard to protect Jesus that they even shun children. And, since children are so precious, Jesus tells them that mistreating children will be punished appropriately by God in heaven, which is to say, severely. Nothing interesting there!

But, wait! When we allow the scripture to speak freely and independently, we find a whole other story.

For starters, “little ones” may just as well be called “insignificant ones.” In Jesus’ time, children were not precious. They were the least of the least. Forget all the rules and regulations today regarding abortion and child abuse. In 1^st century Jerusalem, if you had a kid and didn’t want it, it was common to just abandon it. Today, our laws protect children more passionately than any other members of society. But, when the Book of Mark was written, children had no rights at all! In fact, the stiffest punishments went to those who harmed elite male property-owners.

So, we need to remember that in ancient Jerusalem, as in modern America, punishments were to fit the crime; the more serious the crime, the more serious the punishment. Being violently drowned seems like a pretty serious penalty, don’t you think? But, we just learned that mistreating a child was standard in the time this story was written! Jesus is saying that the most extreme punishment will be handed down for the lightest of crimes. In fact, in the disciple’s eyes, they would be punished for nothing at all! It’s like getting the death penalty because you parked your car legally, or paid your taxes on time!

Jesus is changing the rules. He is teaching a new wisdom. We are not sent into the world to protect the powerful, we are sent into the world to seek out the suffering.

All of a sudden, this story, which appeared to be about overzealous disciples and a clearheaded Jesus now looks like clearheaded disciples and an overzealous Jesus! The disciples weren’t out of line! They acted in accordance with everything they’d ever learned. It’s Jesus’ perspective that seems so wacky, so revolutionary.

How much would we have missed if we’d left the fence up, left the wolf in the cage! This passage isn’t about punishment only. It is about the very core of Christ’s ministry, which is to say: justice, love, and humility.

And, there is one more thing. Grace. When we receive ALL that Jesus has to offer here, we find the reality of punishment alongside the depth of Grace.

Time out! What are the questions we’ve been asking this morning? We’ve been wondering about fences, and if we ever box Jesus and the Bible in. Then, we asked what it means to knock those fences down and let the Scripture speak fully and freely. And there’s one more that we’re always asking, even when we don’t ask it. Today, tomorrow, yesterday, everyday our hearts cry out asking for the comfort of God’s Grace. Isn’t it interesting how “big” Jesus goes with this “Millstone around your neck” thing…

If that’s what is at stake, if the fate of the unrighteous is worse than the fate of one drowning in the ocean, how precious does that Grace appear? The punishment for our life of sin is worse than death! This isn’t some parking ticket Jesus forgave. This is the governor’s phone call just before they throw the switch! Jesus tells us we have a millstone(!) around our necks. That ain’t no pebble.

And so our hearts cry out ever more urgently for a Good Word from God, and find it. It has taken our millstone to the cross, buried it in death with Him, and raised us above the foaming waters.

May God’s Grace, which is larger than any millstone, Salt your heart and preserve it in peace. Amen.

SERMON POST: from Sept. 6th, 2009

2009-09-29T17:54:00.000-07:00

This is the manuscript for a sermon delivered on Mark 7:24-37.

We're used to thinking of Jesus as a serene guru, unshaken by the daily grind that can put as at the end of our rope. BUT, in this story, Jesus responds with the same frustration we might have at the end of a long, hard, day when we just want some peace and quiet.

Jesus basically tells the woman with the sick child to "Get Lost!" And, this is frightening for the woman (and the reader). Though we most often think of Doubt and Faith as opposites, this sermon sets up Fear and Faith as the real struggle.

Fear paralyzes us in the face of cancer, violence, death, and despair.

Faith emboldens us to rest confidently in Christ's promise however fiercely the storms of this world may blow.

Sermon on Mark 7:24-37 (Delivered on Sept. 6th, 2009)

Dear brothers and sisters, Grace to you and peace from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ was a funny guy, don’t you think? Tough to pin him down. Every time you think you’ve got him figured out, he surprises you. To the wealthy, he said, “Give away all that you have.”(Mt 19) But, to the poor, he said, “You shall inherit the earth.”(Mt 5) To those who love the law, he says that the Law is a distraction.(Mark 7) But, to those who ignore the Law, he says that it will outlast the heavens and the earth.(Lk 16) Even the winds and the seas obey his command.(Mark 4) But his own disciples disobey his order to “stay silent” in our lesson today.(Mark 7)

So, which is it? Does Jesus offer his followers wealth? Or demand that they give it all away? Does he Love the Law or Loathe it? Is Jesus the powerful Lord of all creation, or the harassed substitute teacher trying to get the kids in line?

Well, how are you feeling today? Because a lot depends on the reader’s perspective.

When we go to the pages of the Bible, we might find Jesus differently depending on the Lens we look through.

Imagine that your father is a rabbi from Jerusalem in the 1^st Century. He teaches the Law and maintains the status quo. To you, this Jesus would look like a rabble-rouser! Now imagine you are begging on the streets, being kicked into the gutter at every turn. Now Jesus looks like a ray of hope!

The Pharisees feared and hated Jesus; the lepers loved him! The Pharisees looked through a lens colored by tradition, power, and authority, and saw Jesus as a threat. Lepers looked through a lens of defeat and disease, and saw Jesus as a healer.

What about us today? How do we see Jesus? Of course, there are as many different relationships with Him as there are people in the pews.

But, there is certainly one very common lens for us today. Fear. We often think that doubt is the opposite of faith. Unbelief. But, over and over in the Bible, we are shown that fear is the true enemy of faith.

When Peter is walking across the waves to Jesus, he does not sink because of disbelief. He knew Jesus better than anyone, he knew exactly who and what Jesus was. His belief was well in hand, it was his Fear that he couldn’t control. Remember, Jesus doesn’t command those in the boat to “believe” he tells them “Do not be afraid.” Fear is the opposite of faith.

And so it is with us today. We can pass the test. We know how to answer the question when we’re asked directly. Is Jesus with us? Yes, we say confidently. But, in our guts, where the fear hits us, we experience the reality of death, darkness, and the unknown sometimes more clearly than we experience the closeness of God.

So, if fear is the opposite of faith, faith must be the opposite of fear! And what the heck does that mean?

Let’s look to our Gospel lesson. The woman comes to Jesus with the weight of the world on her shoulders. Her daughter is in mortal peril and there is precious little time left. In the original Biblical Greek, it says that she “begged and begged and begged” for Jesus to heal her daughter. This was a woman at the end of her rope!

And how does our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ respond? With immediate assistance? Quick mercy? Not at all! Instead, Jesus throws some cagey answer in her direction. Effectively, dismissing her. It says in the text that he didn’t want to be bothered, and now this woman is “begging and begging and begging.” She may have been at the end of her rope, but Jesus had had it up to here!

What a terrifying moment! Daughter ailing, time waning, and Jesus avoiding! And, for us: what a terrifying read! We, who are used to Jesus the constant servant, now see a very human Jesus. Tired and frustrated.

And, how does the woman respond to this Dead end, as it were? Does she despair, and walk away wailing? No, she remains. And begs, and begs, and begs. What keeps her there? Jesus gives her no reassuring word at that moment. If anything, Jesus’ very human reaction should drive her into deeper fear than before. Her last hope is lost. We have felt this way, have we not? There have been times in our lives when it seems as if God is ignoring us.

This, then, is what it means to say that faith is the opposite of fear. She stays, not as some display of Good Work that Jesus rewards with a healing. She stays because a Faith that was planted in her heart by God keeps her there, keeps her from despair, keeps her in hope. This faith is a divine gift that is strong enough to persevere even through Christ’s human moment. This is the faith that saves her daughter.

And this is the faith we have, too! It means that we are able to stand in the face of this world’s trials and tribulations. When cancer attacks our families, when loneliness claws at our heart, when food hides from our table, it surely seems like Jesus has forgotten us. But, when fear ought to set in, Faith instead takes hold. This faith God has given us, sustains us during the times when it seems as if God is not listening.

And, so, there are two lenses we can use to read this story: A lens of Fear and a lens of Faith. If we are trapped in fear, this story looks like an example of a woman working to earn God’s grace. But, when we are freed by faith, this story becomes an example of faith sustaining a woman beyond a reasonable breaking point.

More importantly, if we are trapped in fear our thoughts can’t move beyond ourselves. A person drowning doesn’t pause to consider world hunger. But, when we are freed by faith, we are able to gaze outward and consider our neighbor!

When we are paralyzed by fear, every page of the Bible is a rulebook, telling us how to earn our eternal reward. When we are freed by faith, the Bible is a book telling the story of God’s unbreakable promise to us.

Once we learn to trust that promise, we can move on to the next step outlined in James. If we are still paralyzed by fear, James is a very dangerous passage. For one stuck in fear, James tells you that you must work hard to earn God’s grace. We never know how far we must go to get into God’s graces. So we just keep plugging, thinking only of our own skin even in the midst of charity. Thus, our good works are mere selfish acts.

But, once we learn to trust that promise, and read through the Lens of faith, James tells us how our faith can blossom into genuinely good works for our neighbor’s sake.

James asks us, “Can Faith save you?” What if the author actually asked, “Can Faith save him?” In the original Biblical Greek, the author asks precisely that! “Can Faith save him?” Isn’t that a great question? It’s not about “You,” it’s about “Him.” We can rest confidently enough in our faith not to be worried about Us. We are free to look after “Him and Her and Whoever may need us.”

As we look closer through our Faith Lens, we can ask, “Who is the James passage concerned with?” The neighbor! When is faith insufficient? When is it not enough? When the neighbor is hungry and cold. Faith isn’t enough to care for the neighbor. Faith plus Soup and Blankets might do. Without works, faith is dead because it doesn’t care for the life of the neighbor.

To put it differently, the faith that matters to our starving neighbor is not some quiet, private belief. It is an active, striving life rooted in God’s promise for us.

It is this faith that defeats fear in our hearts, and frees our hands to work for our neighbors! It comes from Jesus. This is the faith the woman had. This is the faith that keeps her active when her daughter’s illness could have paralyzed her with hopelessness. She didn’t earn faith by staying at Christ’s side; she HAD faith which kept here at Christ’s side in hope. Trusting deeply in the love of Christ, we can forget about our own fate and clothe the needy, feed the hungry, and comfort the lonely.

This is the faith we have. It has been given to us by Christ who died on the Cross, and it joins us to Him in the resurrection.

I pray that you rest confidently in God’s arms, and live boldly to do Christ’s work.