Listen!

           Church of the Redeemer, Chestnut Hill            The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling

 

Our General Convention for the Episcopal Church in the United States recently wrapped up in Louisville, Kentucky. Based upon our national political system, we have two houses: the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies, which includes both clergy and lay delegates. The big news coming out of our Convention this year was the election of our new Presiding Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Sean Rowe, whose message is one of change. Already, he has chosen to eschew a large and costly celebration at the National Cathedral in Washington D.C., and will begin his term in November after a simple ceremony in New York City.

It was also time at our General Convention to listen once again to our current Presiding Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Michael Curry, who is famous for his sermons about God’s love. In the revival worship service at the beginning of our Convention, Curry said, “Love can save us all. Love comes from the heart of God. This revival is not about what church you go to. It’s not about whether you are liberal or conservative. It’s not about whether you are Republican, Independent, or Democrat. Love is an equal opportunity employer. Love is bipartisan. Love is interreligious. Because love comes from God and love knows no bounds." PB, Rt. Rev. Michael Curry, GC Revival sermon, 6/25/24)

The Episcopal Church, while not known for its revival worship services, is known for being a big tent. Within this tent, we can find people coming from various religious backgrounds, perhaps looking for something different from the tradition they knew as a child, or perhaps looking for a tradition that is familiar. People come to listen to scripture, sermons, music, and each other.

When Jesus went home, after his whirlwind tour of calming the storms, healing the sick, feeding the hungry, and raising the dead, he was invited to speak in his hometown synagogue. The people were initially astounded at his teaching. They knew he hadn’t graduated from the local elite university, nor the famous rabbinical school for young men in his city. Instead he was showing a wisdom and power that was unaccounted for, and certainly not officially given to him by their leaders.

Jesus was just a carpenter who had become known as a rabbi with a small band of disciples trailing after him, hoping to pick up a few crumbs of his power and his knowledge. Today we may call them “groupies.” But there in Nazareth, Jesus was known as Mary’s son, and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters were there with him, perhaps modestly hanging back at a distance, proud of their big brother.

The people of Nazareth saw him as the local boy who had done well. And yet, there was no mention of his father in this gospel passage. Based upon the reaction of the leaders in the synagogue, some people have interpreted their questions about Jesus as slurs. Yes, he was a bona fide Jew, based upon his mother’s lineage, but who was his father? And where was he now? How is it that Jesus had the chutzpah to say and do all these things without their approval? And so they took offense at him.

The people who gathered that morning in the synagogue in Nazareth were expecting someone who would comfort them, not challenge them. And while St. Mark doesn’t tell us what Jesus said specifically, he does tell us that the people were offended. Rather than taking his teaching as an opportunity to understand God in new and different ways, they closed their minds and rejected Jesus. They refused to listen to him.

Power is an interesting animal or perhaps I should say an interesting temptation. Barbara Brown Taylor claims that our Church and our nation “have our own channels of power clearly marked and we are suspicious of people who operate outside of them. We believe we know what is right and what is wrong and we do not welcome anyone who challenges our beliefs.”(107, Bread of Angels) People who are ideologically, spiritually, and politically different from us are thorns in our flesh; and they keep poking us and afflicting us. So we take offense at them, refuse to listen to them, and like St. Paul, we beg God to remove them.

Barbara Brown Taylor also argues that God purposely sends people into our lives to shake us up. “God is always sending us people to disturb us - to wake us up, to yank our chains, to set us on fire - because the worst thing that can happen to us, religiously speaking, is for us to hold perfectly still without changing anything until we turn into fossils.” (107, Bread of Angels)  And so God sends us prophets like Ezekiel, St. Paul, and Jesus to speak truth to power, to afflict the comfortable, and to help us change and become better versions of ourselves. To help us become more faithful people.

God calls the people of Israel impudent and stubborn. Ezekiel calls them a “rebellious house.” When I’m being stubborn, I find myself digging in my heels, refusing to concede my points, justifying that I am right and they are wrong. And then someone comes along, or something happens to me, and a light begins to creep into my dark and closed mind. Or standing in the “hot mess” that I created, I look back and reflect on where I went wrong. I begin to see and understand life differently. I listen more attentively.

Eugene Petersen wrote a more contemporary version of the Bible which he called The Message. He translated part of today’s passage with these words: “On the Sabbath, Jesus gave a lecture in the meeting place. He made a real hit, impressing everyone. But in the next breath they were cutting him down. He couldn’t get over their stubbornness.”

Prophets appear like thorns in our flesh frequently. They call us back to a more faithful relationship with God, and a better way of living, and they are routinely ignored and rejected. Jesus was a prophet, who saw the stubbornness of God’s people in  his hometown. He knows what it is like to be a prophet without honor. He knows what it is like to have people laugh at him, disparage him, and reject him. And yet he carried on.

Have you ever been rejected? They say, “You’re too much of this, or too little of that.” It’s painful when someone rejects what we say, or what we have to offer, or what we believe. Many people are afraid of sharing their power and so they reject us. But Jesus’ response to the leaders in Nazareth is interesting. He doesn't invoke God’s fiery wrath to come down from heaven and torch the people who have rejected him. He doesn't curse them or even take offense at them. He just marvels at their unbelief. And then he moves on.

“Our differences may in fact bring us life,” said Barbara Brown Taylor, “if only we can manage to unstop our ears and listen to each other. If we cannot, then we should not be surprised if Jesus leaves us to go shine his light somewhere else.” (p108)

St. Paul was rejected repeatedly by his Jewish colleagues after coming to believe that Jesus was the Son of God. He was rejected by pagans, Romans, Greeks, and all sorts of people in power. Often persecuted and imprisoned, St. Paul didn’t stop proclaiming the good news about Christ, however. Although we don’t know exactly what that thorn was, St. Paul came to believe that it was a blessing. That thorn kept him from thinking too highly of himself. That thorn reminded him that his power came from God alone. That thorn reminded him that whenever he was weak he could find his strength in God.

After Jesus left his hometown, he immediately commissioned his disciples to go out two by two, giving them authority and power over unclean spirits. You see, Jesus shared his power and God’s power with others. He co-missioned his disciples for ministry. He told them, if people don’t listen to you, if they reject you, then just dust off your feet and move on. There are plenty of people who will need God’s healing power and love and who will listen to your message. Indeed, St. Mark wrote that after that, these disciples cast out demons and cured many people who were sick.

As the story of Jesus unfolds in the gospel of St. Mark, we repeatedly hear that Jesus was rejected not only by the powerful religious and political leaders of his day but also by his family and even his own disciples. And yet Jesus didn’t stop his mission of teaching and preaching about the power of God’s love. Like our current Presiding Bishop once said, “It’s not about us and our power or human affiliations. It’s all about the power of God’s love which will save us.”

The Spirit of God invites us to open our ears, our minds, and our hearts to God’s power and love as revealed in the person of Jesus. Don’t take offense; just listen to what He has to say and then go be a part of his mission and ministry.

Ezekiel 2:1-5            2 Corinthians 12:2-10        Mark 6:1-13