Love Rather than Integrity - Mark 7 - 14th Sunday after Pentecost, Aug 30, 2015

In the Name of God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

This past week, on August 28, the church remembered and celebrated two saints.  One everyone knows - St. Augustine of Hippo.  The other is not nearly as well known, but his story is just as noteworthy and is a wonderful lens into the Gospel reading for this morning.  

He may be known today as St. Moses the Black or simply as Abbot Moses, but he wasn’t always known to be such a holy example of the faith.  Moses was born in the late fourth century in Ancient Africa - likely somewhere in Ethiopa.  He was a slave in Egypt to a government official and escaped.  Following his escape, Moses became a notorious criminal and even led a mob of 75 members who terrorized and reeked havoc along the Nile River Valley, earning him a reputation for violence and vengeance.  He was a large man who brought dread upon any who looked upon him.  He just had that way about him.  

But like most criminals, Moses eventually was sought out by local authorities.  It is then that he retreated to a colony of monks near Alexandria and took refuge as a monk.  It was here that Moses’ life was transformed - where he found the meaning of life and began to seek out the one eternal and true God of the universe.  

But, as you can imagine, the monastic life didn’t come easy for Moses.  He led a life full of adventure - meditation, stillness, charity — these things didn’t come easy for him.  He was often frustrated early on in his monastic life.  One day his mentor, St. Isidore, invited Moses to the roof top with him.  He said, “Moses, just watch the sun rise with me.”  As they watched, St. Isidore said to Moses, “Only slowly do the rays of the sun drive away the night and usher in a new day, and thus, only slowly does one become a perfect contemplative.”  

St. Isidore was right.  As Moses gave himself to the disciplined spiritual life of meditation and prayer, his life slowly was crafted into one of the most Christ-like monks the church holds up as an example for all to imitate.  The man who was once violent became known as the ‘apostle of non-violence.’  God had completely changed Moses’ life.  

One time a group of robbers broke into the monastery and attacked Moses.  He was so strong he was able to stop them, but he didn’t think it Christian to hurt them, so he brought them to the chapel where the other monks were in prayer.  There he told the monks that he didn’t believe it right to hurt the robbers and ended up converting the robbers to the faith, and they became monks.  

St. Moses’ life became so dedicated to the ways of God that he was distinguished as being worth to be ordained a priest at the hands of the Pope.  This was very uncommon during this time for desert monks.  St. Moses ended up founding a monastery of 75 monks (the same number as they number of criminals he once led in the Nile River Valley!)  The man who was once a criminal was now an Abbot.  

What fascinates me most about Abbot Moses’ story, however, is his non-judgmental attitude toward others.  Once a brother had been caught in a particular sin, and the abbot of the monastery asked St. Moses to join council that would convict the monk. He reluctantly came to the council, carrying on his back a leaking bag of sand. Seeing this strange scene, the brothers asked him the significance of it. He simply said, "My sins run out behind me and I do not see them, but today I am coming to judge the errors of another." At such a reply the brothers forgave the offender and decided to focus on their own salvation rather than their brother’s sins. 

Focusing on our own salvation rather than our sister or brother’s sins - now there’s some solid advice from someone who knows the life of sin and holiness both all-too-well!  

In today’s Gospel Lesson, we have an interruption in Mark’s Gospel that becomes a powerful contrast in his gospel. In chapter 6 the focus was on Jesus and his disciples attending to the elemental needs of people around them.  Propelled by compassion for those who are like sheep without a shepherd, Jesus healed, taught, and restored people who had been marginalized, alienated and rejected.  

That was chapter 6.  Now in chapter 7 new characters are introduced and these are not concerned with meeting the elemental needs of those around them.  No - these are on a fact finding mission or shall we say a ‘fault finding mission!?”  They’ve heard about Jesus and his disciples.  They’re now on a mission to find fault and thus reveal that he / they are not truly who they claim to be.  

These new characters came to the Capernaum area (located on the Northwest side of the sea of Galilee) all the way from Jerusalem for the sole purpose of finding fault with Jesus and his disciples.  That’s 90 miles at best but more likely 120 miles - because then they wouldn’t have to travel through Samaria!  Sometimes it seems folks go out of the way to find fault!  This is going out of the way to find fault in another if I have ever seen it!  

And fault is exactly what they find. We do find what we look for, don’t we.  If we look for the best in others, we usually find it…and when we look for the worst, well, we find that too!  But sadly, it seems that we are into fault finding these days more than we are into looking for the good in others.  

Many of you know that I enjoy riding motorcycles, being around motorcycles, talking about motorcycles, reading about motorcycles. I absolutely love them. There is just nothing like that feeling of being on two wheels with the wind in your face, the fresh air, the fragrance of God’s creation tickling your nose hairs, the sunrises and sunsets in the distance, the winding roads…it’s such a fun, free and exhilarating  experience.  But it comes with stereotypes.  I can’t tell you how many times I stopped to rest my legs at a bar or somewhere and someone asked me “What do you do!?”  I tell them I’m a minister or that I work for the church, and they are shocked!  “A minister! A churchman!  and you ride a motorcycle!?  Never heard of that before!”  Yet some of the most authentic, God-fearing, loving and most down-to-earth people I’ve met ride motorcycles.  Black leather, loud pipes, and tattoos do not equal criminal or monster.  But too often judgments are made too quickly.  This is simply one example among countless others!  We find what we look for…

That’s exactly what happened in the Gospel.  The pharisees and scribes were looking for fault and fault is exactly what they found.  “Your disciples are eating with defiled hands!”  A more literal translation here would be “Your disciples are eating with common hands!”  This wasn’t a simple case of needing a little Purell hand sanitizer and then you’re good to dig in!  No, this is ritual hand washing that most common people could’t possibly accomplish every time they ate a meal!  That’s why the accusation is that they are eating with common hands!  What an easy fault to find!  The tradition of the elders made that one easy!  Make a law that most people cannot possibly follow and “bam!” you caught them in the act!  

But Jesus doesn’t let them off the hook.  He publicly shames them.  Following Jesus rebuke, they disappear in silence and defeat!  

Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites:  “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines!”  

Not too different from what St. James says in his general epistle:  “Be doers of the word and not simply hearers of the word!”  

Sometimes, we, like these pharisees and scribes, get a little too big for our britches, to use a favorite phrase from the south.  We think we have it all figured out…we know the liturgy…we expect it to be performed RIGHTLY and we will let you know when you got it all wrong!  We know and desire orthodoxy and we’re going to make sure to point out when it is done incorrectly or when you do or say something that is not orthodox. We want to be right and we prove we’re right by finding fault in others.  

But God is not concerned with the outward appearance of righteousness.  God is not concerned with how well I know the rubrics of the Book of Common Prayer or how much Scripture i can quote or how much I know about theology, philosophy, doctrine, or any of that.  Somewhere along the way I think we got orthodoxy wrong.  It is not so much about adhering to a set of dos and don’ts, rights rather than wrongs, as it is living a life of love.  You want to be orthodox, Love well, because God is love.  

Krister Stendahl, in his well-known book Paul Among Jews and Gentiles, fleshes out the problem well when he says Paul called for Love rather Integrity when it came to relating with one other in the life of the church.  Sometimes what we thing we know about the faith and the zeal that comes with it truly needs to be put on the back burner for the sake of love.  God is concerned more with a pure heart and honest intentions rather than rigid observance of ritual or doctrine.  Whenever a rigid concern for ritual for the sake of ritual usurps compassion for the needs of God’s people and God’s creation, we have gravely missed the point of God’s kingdom.

Jesus sums it up well in his closing parable to the crowds:  “Listen to me, all of you, and understand; there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.” Later on the disciples asked Jesus to clarify what he meant by the parable.  He responded, “It is what comes out of a person that defiles.  For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly.  All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”  

In the famous 51st Psalm where David confesses his sin to God, we read these words:  “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”   

When we are aware of the magnitude of our own sin, we no longer join the Pharisees and scribes on a fault - finding mission.  Instead, we are concerned with our own heart and begin to look for the best in others rather than the worst.  Like St. Moses the Black, we realize that every time we look for faults in another, we carry that open bag of sand on our own shoulders, unaware that our own sins run out behind us while we embark on the journey to judge the another.  

Loving God, teach us to be more like you, doing all the good we can for all we can in your world.  Mend our broken and contrite hearts so that our hearts and not simply our lips honor you in all the way say and do. Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.  

Striving for the Imperishable - John 6:24-35 - 10th Sunday after Pentecost, Aug 2, 2015

“Striving for the Imperishable”

John 6:24-35

Ms. Sherbert is in her fifties and lives alone with no family, friends or other support groups to help her with day to day activities and chores.  She is blind in one eye and partially blind in the other, only able to see partially in darkness.  Light bothers her so much that she had to have her windows blacked out.  Due to complications from past medical issues, including cancer, Ms. Sherbet is barely mobile with severe arthritis making it almost impossible for her to stand even with a walker for more than minutes at a time. 

As if her situation isn’t already bad enough, the entrances to her home are not handicap accessible.  There is a front porch with steps that she cannot use, and the back porch is a simple cement three steps to the ground.  In order to go to the doctor, Ms. Sherbert has to call an ambulance service which eats up much of the little income she receives.  She knows she needs help.  She needs a ramp built from her back door out to the front of the house so that cheaper public transportation and other services can come and pick her up and take her to the doctor and to run other important errands.  She prayed…she hoped.  She heard about a small Episcopal church in town who is known for helping folks in the local community.  They call their ministry “Beach Towel Ministry.”  She’s not sure why it’s called that, but she would love to have some help. 

So Ms. Sherbert called the church and asked how to sign up for help.  She was told that the church receives many requests, and they would accept her application for help  as well, but they could make no promises, as they are only able to help a few households per summer. 

Ms. Sherbert isn’t alone.  She represents so many others who cannot help themselves and need the loving and caring support of others.  If someone doesn’t act, these peoples’ lives will only get more difficult and almost unbearable.  Could you imagine that period of waiting?  You have no one else, you desperately need help.  You put your faith and trust in God that his church will come through and do what you cannot do on your own.  Will it happen or will life continue to be grudging and difficult? 

Back to Ms. Sherbert and company in a little bit. 

Enter today’s Gospel Lesson.  Just yesterday Jesus had everyone sit down on the grass, asked a young boy for his lunch of barley bread and fish, and multiplied that offering into more than enough to meet the needs of every person gathered on Galilee’s shores that day.  But today Jesus is nowhere to be found.  Many of the people began searching for him.  They want more … they want to know more, they’re curious about this one who offers thanks to God and turns meager offerings into extravagant feasts! 

Eventually they find Jesus - over on the other side of the sea in Capernaum.  They rush to him - “how and when did you get here?!”  Before they could get another word out, Jesus tells them, “…you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life…” 

Work - now that’s something to which we can relate!  We live in a culture that is consumed by work.  When we meet someone, we ask not who are you? What makes you tick?  What are your hobbies?  Tell me about your family?  No, instead we ask, “What do you do!?” …we define others by their work and they define us by our work.  Work is a god in our culture; we bow to it.  A five day work week has become a seven day work week with little time for anything else.  It’s like we are in a competition on who’s the busiest.  We love to tell folks how busy we are.  How was your day? busy! How was your weekend?  Busy!  If we’re not careful, being busy and working will become an end in itself. 

But why?  What is the point of the rat race?  Does it ever stop?  What happens to our relationships?  Our families?  our spouses?  our children? 

Jesus looked at the crowd and said, “Do not work for the food that perishes but for the food that endures for everlasting life.”  The word here translated as ‘work’ is best understood as ‘strive for.’  Do not strive for that which is perishable, but instead for that which is imperishable. 

For what are you striving? How is your energy being spent?  For self gain, security, prosperity?  Miraslov Volf says, “We diminish ourselves when we let prosperity claim most of our energies.”  He’s right.  We diminish ourselves because our lives are not meant to be primarily turned in toward the self.  When they are, they become destructive.  Relationships fall apart, and we fall apart.  

In response to Jesus’ words the crowds asked, “What must we do to perform the work of God?”  That’s a good question. But fortunately, the answer is nothing. That’s the whole point of Jesus.  The work of God is, as Jesus responds, simply “that you believe in Him who He has sent.” Basically what Jesus says here is - “stop taking yourselves so seriously. You’re good at working…but this is not something you can earn. It is a gift. The Son has gifted you with life that is imperishable.  And he has done it by turning away from the self and toward the other in love, laying down his life for the sake of those he came to save.  By his sacrifice and resurrection, we are gifted with everlasting life - that which is imperishable. Strive, Jesus says, for this…not only the gift, but the means through which the gift was given - self giving love. 

What if more of your energy went into striving for the imperishable rather than the perishable?  What could happen?

Well, I can actually testify to did happen.  When God’s children accept God’s free gift and begin striving for this new way of self-giving and other centered work called love in God’s world, those who before only saw obstacles begin to receive life more fully. 

I couldn’t be any prouder of our seventeen sr. high missioners who made the decision to focus their energy on the imperishable a couple weeks ago in Swansboro, NC for Mission Possible 2015.  Because they turned their efforts away from self-gain, joining in Jesus’ work towards and for the sake of the other, Mrs. Sherbert and many others like her received good news.  Love was coming to their homes.  The ramp was going to be built.  The leaky roof was going to be sealed.  The rotted out bathroom was going to be restored.  Their lives, rather than becoming gradually harder and harder were about to get just a little bit easier.  All because a few teenagers decided to sacrifice making a few extra dollars or spending a little more time on the beach or playing x-box and instead focused their energies, by faith, on the work of God! 

I wish you all could have seen the face of Ms. Sherbert the day we finally were able to wheel her out onto her newly constructed back porch and push her around her house on her wrap around wheel chair ramp!  She will not have to call an ambulance to take her to the doctor again.  Because our youth made the commitment to strive for the imperishable, Mr. and Ms. Cambell’s door was widened so that her walker can easily fit through. They, too, were the proud recipients of a new wheel chair ramp. Ms. Laird’s back porch was so rotted that she fell through it on multiple occasions.  Now she has a new porch with sturdy boards. We also sealed her roof to stop the leaks and did other needed painting and repair work in her home.  Ms. Sutton’s trailer was power washed, her deck was painted and sealed, and her front and back steps were repaired and resurfaced.  Mr. Washburn’s bathroom floor had rotted out …it was so bad that one of our missioners actually fell through upon entering!  He now has a brand new bathroom!    Ms. Pridgen recently lost both her husband and her son.  Her yard was in disarray and many things needed to be done inside the house.  Her house was repaired and her yard was cleaned up.

Besides the physical improvements to the homes and quality of life of each of these children of God, they received the loving support of the body of Christ. Our team did a fantastic job spending time not simply building ramps and painting walls, but most importantly, building relationships, listening to stories, praying and eating together, and so much more.  The overwhelming amount of gratitude demonstrated by each of the households was more payment than any of us could have ever asked for.  It’s amazing how focusing our energy away from the self and toward the other for the sake of the other is such a blessing for us.  You’re never blessed as much as when you’re sharing the love of Christ with others. 

How will you strive for the food that does not perish?  How will you join in God’s work of self-giving love in the world?  It will make you a happier and more joy-filled person, because you were created to love outwardly, not turn inwardly.  Join our amazing youth here at St. Thomas and take a giant leap of faith, believing God is at work in the world and join Him in it - you will be amazed at the work he accomplishes through your hands.   Amen.