Epiphany 4 Year B

Epiphany 4 Year B Mark 1:21-28

I have a somewhat shocking confession to make: I find it embarrassing to be called a Christian. It is not that I am embarrassed to believe in Christ. Not at all. I am just embarrassed by what the word “Christian” has come to mean in our society.

Now, of course there are people on both sides of this whole Christianity debate. There are people who find the word “Christianity” being bastardized by the Fundamentalists, and there are people who find the word “Christianity” being bastardized by the liberals. There are two sides to every argument, and even though I tend to fall on one side of this argument, I also truly believe that both sides are acting in good faith.

But this is where we run into a big problem: How can both sides be right? How can well meaning people come up with diametrically opposed ideas? How can groups on opposite sides of a topic both claim to have THE Spirit inspired interpretation? One group has got to be right and the other has to be wrong. Right?

This is not a new topic. This topic has been around for as long as there have been people of faith. Our gospel today presents us with an example of this challenge.

Jesus is in the temple healing. He is out there doing the will of God. The problem is that he is doing this on the Sabbath. Now, I am sure to the one who was healed, there was no problem of Jesus healing on the Sabbath. But we have another group of people who are wondering what is going on. Who is this man who is doing nasty things in the temple? Why is he driving out demons on the Sabbath? This is a new teaching! But the people have to wonder, is it a teaching that they can trust?

For the people of Jesus’ time, the teaching of their scripture, what we call the Old Testament, was interpreted to mean that no work was to be done on the Sabbath. This was the fundamental understanding of the commandment to “Keep the Sabbath day holy.” It was what was taught for years and there was no reason to doubt it. But here was this man, working on the Sabbath! This guy was commanding demons on the Sabbath! What’s up with this??

We generally assume that the people were impressed with Jesus’ teachings. We assume that the comment of “What is this? A new teaching – and with authority!” Was said with awe and reverence. But what if it was said differently? What if it was said with disgust and skepticism? What if the word that was spread quickly over the whole region was not a word of admiration but a word of contempt?

To many in Biblical times, what Jesus was doing in the temple was fundamentally wrong. What Jesus was doing was against everything the people had been taught and every tradition the people had. To many in Biblical times, Jesus was a heretic and was deserving of death. These people were not bad; they were just blinded by the world.

In our world today, we have a bunch of different teachings. Many of these differences can be found within the Episcopal Church. We have people saying that ordaining women is heresy. But right here at St. Swithen’s there has been a woman priest. We have people with differing opinions on abortion. We have a whole lot of fuss going on not only in the Episcopal Church but within the Anglican Union over homosexuality and the ordaining of gay people. With all of these people, people of good faith, at odds with each other, how can we know what is the proper teaching? How can we know what is new revelation? How can we tell if we are following God’s will or just doing what makes us feel comfortable? How do we know if we are hearing a new teaching with authority or if this is some kind of heresy?

When we look back on the story, we can easily figure out which side we should be baking; of course we should be following Jesus. But if we were to put ourselves into the shoes of those in the temple, would we believe Jesus had a new teaching or would we believe that Jesus was trying to push a personal or political agenda?

One of the unfortunate things about the Bible, or maybe it is a fortunate thing, is that we are not given clean-cut answers. We just can’t read a passage in the Bible and immediately know what it means. What makes this a fortunate thing is, if we are conscientious about growing in our faith, the Bible forces us to gather together to study and to learn. To get a more complete understanding, we need to come together in community and in Bible study. It is when we join together that the Holy Spirit can truly function.

But we still don’t have the answer: If someone were to walk into our midst -- right now -- and start teaching a new teaching, and started to teach it with authority, how would we know if this teaching was something new from the Spirit or just someone trying to advance their own agenda? Just because the teaching is “with authority” does not necessarily mean it is from God. We have a history littered with dead bodies from people who taught with authority. However, I doubt we would say that their teaching came from God.

We also cannot just go with the rule of majority, either, when deciding if something is a new teaching or heresy. Our past should show us that the majority can be just as heretical as a solo person. For many years, scripture was interpreted, and still is interpreted in some locations, to keep women and people of color from positions of power. Scripture was used to empower certain groups while disenfranchising others. I would hope that we would see this also as false teaching.

One of the most important things that I learned in seminary is to use scripture to interpret scripture. What is meant by this is pretty simple: When trying to find the interpretation to a piece of scripture, does the interpretation you are defending make sense?

Hopefully, it took some effort to think of Jesus as being a heretic in today’s gospel. It just doesn’t make sense. We can look throughout the New Testament and see Jesus healing people, showing compassion on people -- lifting up the poor and lowly. Being compassionate was just a part of Jesus. And since Jesus is God incarnate, then being compassionate is part of God.

Another thing we learned in seminary is when there is a discrepancy in the scriptures, the New Testament takes precedence over the Old Testament. As I have said, the law of the Old Testament was interpreted to forbid healing on the Sabbath. But the actions of Jesus show us that healing on the Sabbath is not only acceptable but to be encouraged. So in this situation, we are to take the New Testament interpretation as the more appropriate interpretation.

I am taking the time to do this to give you all some tools. The Episcopal Church does not take too many political stands, but asks its members to pray, study, and discern the will of God in each situation. When you are confronted with a moral quandary, or we as a congregation are facing a challenge, we need to look back at our faith and our scriptures. We need to ask, “What would Jesus do?” We need to consider if the interpretation is consistent with the words and actions of one who died for the sin of the world? Is the interpretation consistent with the actions of the one who calls us all to the table and feeds us with his own body and blood? It the interpretation consistent with the kindness and compassion we see Jesus demonstrate throughout the New Testament? If our interpretation does not seem to make sense with the example we see coming from Christ in the New Testament, then we need to further question the interpretation.

We have no problem with Jesus casting out demons in the temple on Sabbath because this is something that seems natural and right for Jesus to do. Even though this goes against the Old Testament law to keep the Sabbath holy, for Jesus to have acted in any other way would have seemed wrong. Through Jesus’ life and actions, the people of Biblical times were given a new teaching and this teaching had the authority of the Son of God.

The teaching of the Holy Spirit did not end when the Bible was written down. The teaching continues. But it is up to us as a people to weigh the teaching and to see if it is consistent with the scriptures and to discern as a community how we are to apply these new teachings. It is not always an easy task, but it is a task God will equip us for. In asking questions, seeking clarity, and searching for the authority, we will meet new teachings with insight and with enlightenment.

Epiphany 3 Year B

Epiphany 3 January 25, 2009 Mark 1:14-20 Rev. Benton Quest

You know, serving God will really mess up your life.

I had a professor in seminary who said that “Go in peace, serve the Lord” was an oxymoron. If we truly serve the Lord, there is no way we could go in peace. And if we remained at peace, there was no way we could serve the Lord. This line of thought is born out in our readings for today. Today we are hearing about God’s call and how this call really messed up peoples’ lives.

You may think it strange that I would say that these calls messed up peoples’ lives. We get so used to hearing the stories that we forget to consider the people who are in the stories. These people had lives, families, jobs: they had all the same things we have today. They had to keep a roof over their heads. They had to earn a living. Probably the last thing any of them wanted to do was to go traveling, telling people to repent.

But God had a different plan. God had plans to use these ordinary people in extraordinary ways. Being used in extraordinary ways is great, except for one thing; when God calls, our lives tend to get totally messed up.

I just love the story of Jonah. Mostly what people think about is the whole whale thing. But the whale thing was such a small part of the story. Jonah’s story is so much bigger.

We actually do not know a whole lot about what Jonah did for a living, but he must have done something. Even so, we know that out of nowhere, God called to him. God called Jonah and told Jonah to go at once to a city called Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a really nasty place, kind of like Detroit. But God wanted Jonah to go to Nineveh and tell the people to repent.

Well, Jonah didn’t want to tell the people in Nineveh to repent, so he went as far as he could from Nineveh, to a place called Tarshish. But God had different plans. God used storms and giant fish to finally deposit Jonah on the shore of Nineveh. And when Jonah finally gave in and told the people of Nineveh to repent, the whole city put on sackcloth and ashes. We are told that even the animals put on sackcloth and repented.

You can bet that all of this traveling around probably messed up Jonah’s life. Also, Jonah’s beliefs got pretty messed up too! Jonah didn’t want to tell the folks of Nineveh to repent because he didn’t want God to save those people, people who he thought were horrible and nasty. Jonah knew that God was merciful, more merciful than Jonah himself. If God forgave the Ninevehites, maybe Jonah himself would also have to forgive. So Jonah didn’t want the people of Nineveh got off easy. He didn’t want to tell the people to repent because he didn’t want them to repent and he didn’t want God to forgive them. But even in spite of himself, Jonah spread the message. Although it caused some messiness in his life, God used Jonah to bring the message to the Ninevehites.

In the gospel, we again see where God was messing up peoples’ lives. Simon, Andrew, James, and John were going about their daily lives. We are told that Simon and Andrew were still out fishing when Jesus called; while James and John were mending their nets. We can assume that it was a normal day for each of them and that none of them though, “I think I will leave my fishing business and follow some roaming preacher,” when he woke up that morning. But that is exactly what happened; they each left their jobs, their livelihoods, their employees, and their families, to follow Jesus. Their lives went from some form of predictability to a total mess.

So why did God make their lives a total mess? Is it some kind of cruel joke on God’s part? Did God wake up one morning and say; “Things are getting too predictable for those folks down there, let’s mix it up a little”? Did God look down on these folks and decide that they were just relying too much on themselves and needed to learn a lesson? Was God just playing games with them? No, God had something special in store for the men in today’s readings.

From what we can tell, none of these men were exceedingly special. Yes, they were special in the way we all are special but they were not “off the scale” kind of special. They were just everyday people. But God had something special planned for them. Through these people, God had planned to bring a word of peace, forgiveness, and salvation to many. These men were walking away from their livelihood. These men were walking away from the means of providing for their families. These men were walking away from what we could consider a fairly hefty investment in nets and labor. Unlike Jonah, Simon, Andrew, James, and John didn’t need to be nudged; they just picked up and followed. They heard the call and responded.

What kind of followers are we? Are we the kind that drops everything or are we the type that needs a little nudging? Do we give in to the will of God or do we drag our feet trying to do things our own way? I know that personally, I tend to be more like Jonah than like the disciples. I know that I really don’t want my life messed up. I would be very content to stay where I am, (well, with a few changes) and not follow any call. I look at people like the disciples and think that following a major call is really good for them, but that is not for me.

However, it seems like when I try to just stay put, or even go running in the opposite direction, God is there, nudging me in another direction; God is there, leading me in the direction of God’s will. Have you felt this? Have you felt God stirring within you; moving you to places and things you had never considered? I think we rebel because we are frightened. Or, like Jonah, maybe we rebel because we do not want God to work for the people other than ourselves. I don’t know. But I do know that we do rebel.

What is funny is that in rebelling, we are forgetting one of the great truths of life: God is with us through all things. It is not us who are doing the changing in the people we encounter, but God working through us. Jonah speaking the word of repentance did not cause the people of Nineveh to repent. Actually, he did as little as possible to spread the message of repentance. But God, working through Jonah, caused the message to be spread throughout the whole city.

But we need to remember that quickly following does not guarantee that all will go smoothly either. The disciples did quickly follow, but their lives still got messed up. They too had to rely on God working through them. Still, in either case, God did work through the people in today’s lessons and God will work through us. We may not be called to tell a city to repent. We may not be called to devote our lives to following a traveling preacher. We may not be called to do “Home Run” kinds of things. We may just be called to spread God’s love to those we work with or to share our belongings with those who are in need. We may just be called to hit a pop-fly to get someone on base. It doesn’t matter the size of the call, what does matter is we are each called by God to follow.

I had another professor in seminary that would say, “It is not if God calls you, it is when God calls you.” When God calls us, how will we respond? I would hope we would respond quickly and gladly. I would hope that we would drop whatever we are doing and lovingly follow. I would hope that we wouldn’t run the other direction. But whatever happens, we do not need to be afraid of the call. No matter what happens, we know that God is with us; God is caring for us and strengthening us. And we know that no matter what happens, God will never leave us. Our lives may get messed up. Our expectations may get changed. We may be asked to abandon our nets and move to other lands. Or we may be called to talk to the people we work with or go to school with. But whatever the case, we can be sure God will hold true and be there to lead us and strengthen us.

Epiphany 2, Year B

Epiphany 2 Year B John 1:43-51 January 18, 2009 The Rev. Benton Quest

I think today’s gospel reading is one of the more challenging lessons we read throughout the lectionary cycle. Today we encounter Jesus at the beginning of his ministry. Jesus is out putting together his group of followers. This should be a great lesson for us if we want to go out and bring the gospel of Christ to the world: How would Jesus go out and find people?

Well, in reading this gospel lesson, the key sentence that jumped out at me was “Come and see!” This is the invitation that Jesus gives; it is the invitation that Jesus used to draw his followers to him and it is still as applicable to us today as it was all those years ago.

When we think about this invitation, we first need to ask ourselves, “Who is it that offered the invitation to ‘Come and see’”? Well, that is a fairly easy one, it was Jesus, the Master, the Teacher, and the Messiah. Jesus made this invitation, but it was not only made to Nathaniel, Jesus has made this invitation to believers down through the ages. Jesus invites all believers, and that would include you and me, to “Come and see” “Come and see” where life in Christ can and will lead you. “Come and see” the miracles that Jesus will do in and through you.” “Come and see” where a journey, undertaken in faith, can and will lead. Jesus calls Nathaniel, and all his followers, to “come and see.”

Since we now know who is making this invitation, the next question would have to be, “To whom was the invitation offered?” Well, it was offered to Nathaniel, a plain and simple man and quite the skeptic. When Philip told Nathaniel that they had found the one foretold by Moses, Nathaniel scoffed and responded, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” But Jesus was not prevented from seeing past the skepticism and “simplicity” of the man. Jesus saw the true man. Jesus saw him, invited him, and called him to be a part the greatest ministry in all of history. Jesus invited this simple skeptic. Jesus gave the invitation to one who was not of high rank or noble birth. Jesus gave this invitation and this invitation rings down through the ages to us. Simple as we are; skeptical, doubtful, sinful, and rough around the edges as we are, Jesus sees beyond the here and now of our lives and sees our future; our future in his love and presence.

If we continue to think about this phrase, “Come and see”, I would hope we would begin to wonder how applies to each of us as people. Do we respond to the invitation; opening ourselves to the amazing things that God is doing in our midst and in the world? Do we keep our eyes, ears, and minds open to the possibilities that can be found in Christ? Or do get so wrapped up in the ordinary everyday world? Do we lose sight of the possibilities and power that are promised to each of us just by responding to Jesus’ invitation to “Come and see!”? Do we only look to the creation and forget about looking to the creator?

As a congregation who is called to keep putting that invitation out there to others in Christ’s name, how are doing? Do we offer the invitation only to certain people? Are we selective? Do we look for people who think, or act, or look, or believe, or worship like us? Or do we look beyond the moment, beyond the outward and worldly appearances? Or do we see the presence of Christ and that potential in everyone we encounter?

If we are selective in offering the invitation, then we are not understanding the ministry and teaching of Christ. If we are only reaching out to those certain few, then we need to recommit ourselves to reaching the lost, the hurting, the hungry, the disenfranchised, the “outsider”. There is room on this journey and at Christ’s table not for a select few, but for everyone.

Imagine if someone in your past had been selective in offering the invitation --- would you be here? Would you be on this journey with Christ? I’m not sure if I would be; but I encountered people like Bishop Gibbs and others who invited me to “come and see.” I encountered people who continued to walk with me and did not cast me out when it was discovered that I was something less than perfect. I found people, who like Jesus, were able to look beyond the simple skeptic and see the potential that lives within.

But there is another question that still needs to be asked: Just what was Jesus inviting Nathaniel to “come and see?” What great thing did Jesus have for Nathaniel that would be worth Nathaniel turning his whole life upside-down for? Jesus says that Nathaniel “will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man." If you ask me, that is kinda weird.

What I think Jesus is trying to say to Nathaniel is that what Jesus has to offer is more that can be imagined. Simple words cannot express the wonder that a life spent in service to Jesus can bring. That is accepting Christ’s invitation to “come and see,” Nathaniel was going to embark on something that his previous life could not even imagine.

If we extend the invitation for someone to “come and see” what is here at St. Swithan’s in the Swamp, what will they find? Will they find life as usual? Or will they find something beyond what their previous life could have prepared them for? Will they find the tried and the comfortable? Or will they find the exciting and the energizing? If we invite people to come and see, will what they find be worth the trip?

As I hope you do, I find the love of Christ to be inspiring and life giving. But for many, Sunday worship is just another chore in a long list of things that are demanding of a person’s time. Worship becomes something that saps life instead of restoring life. If we want to invite people to come and see, then we need to be sure that when they get here, they can find the love that Christ is all about.

The easiest way to do that? Daily step out and look at the world with the eyes of faith. Trust in the journey that is set before you. Coming and seeing is not a one time event, it is something that continues throughout our lives. And if the journey seems to be troubling, continue on knowing that God will not abandon you. Share the good things you have seen in Christ with those around you. If you can’t find any good thing that you have in Christ, ask God to open your eyes; they are there, it is just that sometimes we become blinded by the world. And always know that Christ calls you to the table to be fed, nurtured, and energized.

Christ’s table is a big table! Big enough for all to attend. If you feel lost, then please, come to the table and see. And if you know someone who needs to hear the good news, then invite them to the table, invite them to come and see!

Epiphany 1, The Baptism of Jesus

Epiphany 1 Mark 1:4-11 January 11, 2008 Rev. Benton Quest

You know, we really have a nice sanctuary here. It is comfortable. It is dry. It is clean. It really is nice. We take pride in this sanctuary and I think we are right in doing so.

Often when we think about the church, what we think about is this building. We think that the walls that surround us and the roof that covers us is the church. When we think about church, we think about this place. But in today’s gospel, we are asked to stretch our understanding of what church is and how we are church.

We start out with the description of John, out in the wilderness. John -- with the weird diet and the strange clothes. John -- who is calling the people to repent and then calling them to forgiveness. Surrounded by all these weird descriptions of John, we might not catch what is really odd about this story. The thing that is really odd is that John is in the wrong place.

In Biblical times, repentance and forgiveness is not something that happened in the wilderness. We have come to accept the whole baptism of Jesus out in the wilderness as commonplace because we have heard the story so many times. But in Biblical times, all this baptizing was not something that would be happening in the wilderness; repentance, forgiveness, and baptizing were things that were supposed to happen in the Jerusalem temple. The temple was a nice, even awe-inspiring place. People traveled from far-flung lands to come to the temple. The temple was the center of worship during biblical times. So it would be extremely odd for the promises of forgiveness to be happening outside the temple, out in the wilderness.

But this is where the baptizing was happening and this is where all the people were heading. The people were heading away from the established church, the established message, to hear the preaching of a man ranting in the wilderness. They were abandoning what they knew to go in search of something more.

And in this is odd place, away from the temple, is where we also find Jesus. We find Jesus, out in the wilderness, away from the established comfort of the temple. Jesus is not in the temple, following the way of the priests and Pharisees; he is out with the crowds, following the one ranting in the camelhair clothes. This is our Savior and Role Model -- outside of the established traditions. This is our savior and role model -- out in the untamed wilds.

If we are to be followers of Jesus, then is this reading telling us to totally abandon the church and the worship life of the community? Is it telling us to completely forget about what we have here? Is it telling us to abandon this building? This sanctuary? This denomination? I don’t know, I guess we could look at it that way. But before you all get up and leave, there is also another way we could look at the reading.

I think we often get overly comfortable with our lives. We get overly comfortable with our surroundings. We take the buildings, homes, cars, of our lives as our entitlement. We feel that it is our right to feel full and warm. We also get overly comfortable with God. We take the radical, frightening, life changing love of God for granted. We assume that it is something that is our due. In many ways, we have become complacent with the love of God; we forget that God’s love is not something that can be tamed.

By moving out into the wilderness, we leave all of our old assumptions behind. We cannot assume we will remain dry. We cannot assume we shall always have food. We cannot assume there will be walls to protect us. By moving out into the wilderness, John was telling the people that they would have to change their expectations. By moving out into the wilderness, John was showing people that the old way they had come to know, though not necessarily wrong, was not the way of the future that was dawning.

It was here, out in the wilderness; out in the new, that Jesus appeared. And with Jesus’ appearance, this concept of changing expectations was solidified. Jesus, at the start of his ministry, abandons all the usual trappings of a leader and teacher. He leaves behind the temple and all the assumptions that are made about the temple. He leaves behind the assumptions of the day that repentance and forgiveness happened in the temple. He leaves all these assumptions behind and goes out into the wilderness. He leaves all these assumptions behind and gives his would-be followers a new set of perspectives.

These actions should not surprise us. Jesus has been presenting us a new perspective his entire life. A great leader born in a stable. The Son of God worshipped by shepherds. The King honored, not by those of his own country, but by those who have traveled from distant lands. We just celebrated Epiphany and Christ being recognized by the magi. The ones whom we would expect to recognize Jesus were oblivious, but those from outside knew Jesus for what he was. From the very beginning, Jesus was not what was expected.

Even though we are followers of Jesus, many of us have followed Jesus our whole life, we need to listen anew to the call to go out into the wilderness. We need to move beyond that which is known and comfortable. We need to examine our faith and find where the walls that we have erected to keep us secure are keeping others out.

In Biblical times, not everyone was allowed into the temple. People were kept out due to their station in life, due to their sex, or due to their nationality. People were only allowed into certain parts and were excluded from others. But out in the wilderness things were different. Anyone and everyone was welcome. No one would be turned away. John’s call to repentance was for all people, not just to those who were acceptable in the temple.

And it was out into the wilderness that Jesus came to be baptized. In coming out into the wilderness, Jesus was telling those who would follow that his call was not limited to those who were acceptable to the temple folk, but that his call was to all people; not only the temple folk but those unacceptable in the temple. Not only those who were respectable, but those who were on the edges of society. Jesus was telling the people that he came not just for those who were inside the walls of the city, but also for those who, for whatever reason, found themselves on the outside.

As Christians, how have we been doing? Have we ventured out into the wilderness to find the people there? Have we followed our savior out to find those who may be on the edge of our society? Have we accepted those who the powers have told us are unacceptable? Or are we content to stay in the walls of the temple, both literally and metaphorically? Are we content to know that we have forgiveness even when there are those who do not feel welcome to come forward and receive this forgiveness? Are we ok, knowing that for some people, the word Christian is comparable to words such as “bigoted,” “cruel,” or “intolerant?”

I believe the actions of John, and Jesus’ response to John’s actions, tells us that if we are to truly follow Jesus, we cannot be content to just sit back. We cannot be ok with people hearing the message that the love of God is for some but not for others. We cannot stay inside the walls while others are forced to stand outside. If we are to truly follow Jesus, we too need to go out into the wilderness.

Who do we consider our “Ideal” new member? What makes this person “ideal” and others “not so ideal”? Are we willing to expand what we consider “ideal”? Can we challenge ourselves to move beyond what is common and expected?

By going out into the wilderness, Jesus was challenging what was accepted. He was challenging his family, his community, and his tradition. He was protesting the subtle and not so subtle divisions that had been established. He was saying that there was a new understanding.

We are the ones who benefit from this new understanding. We are the ones who were once outside the walls. We are the ones who were less than ideal. We are the ones who needed to find forgiveness in the wilderness. But this understanding was never intended to stop with us. We are to continue to move out into the wilderness. We are to bring the message to the people. We are to challenge the traditions that hold people back. We are to challenge our family and community when they are limiting the love of God. This is what Jesus did. Are we willing to follow?