Faith and Compassion

Mark's gospel is the oldest of the four gospels.  It was written about thirty or forty years after Jesus’ death.  His gospel is a study in urgency.  It was a time of anticipation and expectation.  The risen Christ was expected to return and God’s anticipated kingdom of justice and peace would result.  So Mark said the time is now, it is fulfilled.  "The kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news."  

The Gospel then relates the beginning of Jesus' ministry and moves rapidly from the proclamation of his message to the call of the first disciples: "Follow me and I will make you fish for people… Immediately, they left their nets and followed him."

In the book, Jesus before Christianity, the author Albert Nolan says, "Jesus was relentless in his endeavors to awaken faith in the 'kingdom.'"  Albert Nolan invites us to focus on three words that are important for our understanding. What is meant by "faith", what is meant by "kingdom", and what was the "call" of the first disciples.  How does all this relate to us?

Nolan writes,  "Faith is not a magical power.  It is the straightforward decision in favor of the 'kingdom' of God.... The change [the transformation] for which Jesus was appealing was a change of mind and heart, a change of allegiance.  Seek first the 'kingdom,' set your hearts on it."  "Faith is a radical reorientation of one's life.... One either makes the 'kingdom' and its values the basic orientation of one's life or one does not."  In this sense, "faith is a decision;" it is decisive and any compromise would be a lack of faith or "little faith" and that would not be very good.

“The 'kingdom' in which Jesus wanted his contemporaries to believe was a 'kingdom' of love and service, a 'kingdom' of human brotherhood and sisterhood in which every person is loved and respected because he or she is a person.  We cannot believe in and hope for such a 'kingdom' unless we have learned to be moved with compassion for our fellow-beings.  God has now revealed God as the God of compassion.  God's power is the power of compassion.  People's compassion for one another releases God's power in the world, the only power that can bring about the miracle of the 'kingdom.'"

Jesus' proclamation of the nearness of God's kingdom reached a fishing village in Galilee, and the brothers, Simon and Andrew, James and John, were invited to join his mission.  The departure of two brothers from their obligations as fishermen was no small matter.  One commentator has written, "In a traditional society such a break with family and occupation is extraordinary...[and] might appear to put the welfare of the family at risk."  The brothers leave parents, nets, boats, and hired hands to become disciples.  Their discipleship came at a price, and at least some of the cost was born by family members left behind.

Jesus' invitation, his “call” to these workers to become "fishers of people" is often mis-understood.  Taking their mandate as his own Jesus is inviting ordinary people to join him in his struggle to overturn the existing order of power and privilege. The new order in its place is to be one of compassion for all people.

Jesus' call to discipleship does not demand that the brothers, or any of us, abandon what we are doing.  Instead, it demands that we transform what we do.  Simon and Andrew will no longer be simple fishermen.  They will fish for people.  James and John will leave their father not to abandon their family but to belong to a larger family, the family of those who hear the word of God and keep it.

They continue to fish.  Jesus' call evokes from the first disciples the essence of what they know best about themselves, the daily activity of their lives, and redirects those activities to a larger purpose.  No longer will they lure for fish to feed their immediate families, they will lure people to feed on the good news of God's reign of salvation.

The time is now; the kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent and believe.  Response cannot be delayed. The first response is repentance, conversion, a turning, a transformation, a reversal of mindset, and an openness to what is to come.  Only as a consequence of repentance is one able to believe the immensity of the good news.  A change of the mind and heart makes room for the expansive good news: "the time is fulfilled, and the reign of God has come near." 

Our response to this call to repentance is to look at ourselves in relation to God and to others, to focus on where we need to transform our lives as followers of Christ and bearers of the good news of God’s compassion for all people.

St. Paul affirmed all this in his Letter to the Corinthians when he wrote, “the present form of this world is passing away.”  What he means is that with God’s desire for creation to be whole, loved and compassionate we are bound together as “members one of another” in Christ.  Everything we do is to be about reconciling all people to God.   Amen.

“Greater Things than These”

During these weeks of the Epiphany season we journey from the time of the birth of Jesus and his baptism through stories about his mission and teaching.  Jesus ministered to the sick and needy, he proclaimed good news of salvation to poor and oppressed people, and he preached repentance and forgiveness so everyone will be transformed in the kingdom o

Jesus' ministry was a servant ministry.  It was one of hospitality that became controversial because it challenged the accepted norms of his time.  Hospitality was offered only to members of one's family, to friends, and to social contacts.  Jesus broke through this barrier by offering hospitality to everyone.  He welcomed sinners, tax collectors, foreigners, prostitutes, and those who were diseased or even presumed dead.  His hospitality was radically inclusive.  Everyone was welcomed.

Tomorrow we celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., a great leader who ministered to the needs of many of our citizens who were denied basic civil rights.  The importance of this day is that it provides a model of what it means to be servants of God offering hospitality and equality for everyone.

In his well-known letter from a Birmingham jail, Dr. King wrote, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. . . we are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality tied in a single garment of destiny.  Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."

Later, when Dr. King received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, our nation was engaged in the Vietnam War.  Dr. King said, "I believe that even amid today's mortar bursts and whining bullets there is still hope for a brighter tomorrow.  I believe that wounded justice, lying prostrate on the blood-flowing streets of our nations, can be lifted from this dust of shame to reign supreme among the children of men." 

Dr. King was a person of great hope and perseverance.  He was a strong advocate for justice and freedom for all who were oppressed and enslaved because of their skin color, the denial of their right to vote, and their freedom to be educated and employed on an equal basis with everyone else.  The theme of those days was the clarion call to freedom, "We are free at last."

Today, while many of us are free many others find freedom to be more hope than reality.  Tomorrow's observance should inspire us to keep that hope alive and to continue the on-going struggle for freedom and equality, and for justice and peace.

Martin Luther King was like Nathaniel in today’s gospel passage from John.  We, like King and Nathaniel, are invited to come and see the wonders and signs that Jesus did during his ministry.  Jesus recognized Nathanael under the fig tree and impressed him by saying he was “truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”

Nathanael’s reply to Jesus’ statement was revelatory:  “Rabbi, you are the Son of God!”  And Jesus said, “You will see greater things than these.... I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

 

Philip invited Nathanael to come and see who really was Jesus from Nazareth.  We are invited to come and see the wonders and signs Jesus did during his ministry so that we will also be followers and participants in service to God's people.  Our witness today is to proclaim what we have seen and to invite others to come and see for themselves.   

Following our service this morning we will have our Annual Parish meeting.  It is a time to "come and see," to come together as a parish to see what we have been doing over the past year in our offerings of hospitality and ministry to the needs of others.  We shall hear our Treasurer's report, adopt a budget for this year of 2015, elect new vestry leaders, and share reports about the state of our parish.  It is an important time in our life together, and I encourage all of us to make a special effort to attend. 

We have many diverse members and programs; we try to have a place for everyone to find spiritual nourishment and growth; and we work to extend our ministries of worship, pastoral care, and service to everyone who enters this building and to the wider community beyond this sacred space.  Reach out and invite your friends to worship and serve with us, and you and they will see greater things than these.  Amen.

Flight into Egypt

An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him."  So, Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod.

How tragic it must be to flee your homeland because somebody wants to kill you.  This is an experience far too familiar for many people throughout the world.  There are refugees from several countries today who have been in exile for many years and are still waiting for a time when they can go home.  In 2013, there were 16.7 million refugees around the world, including 5 million Palestinian refugees.  According to the UN Refugee Agency, the leading countries of origin for refugees in 2013 were: Afghanistan: 2.56 million, Syria: 2.47 million, Somalia:1.12 million.  The story of Mary and Joseph and their baby Jesus fleeing to Egypt should be one we know well; one that should help us to understand the plight of refugees.

The story takes on renewed meaning as more and more people are being forced to flee from their homes into foreign lands to escape political and religious persecution.  These refugees often face perilous journeys, stowing away in the holds of cargo ships, crowding onto rafts to cross shark-infested waters or walking through hostile terrain, as they move toward possible freedom and safety.

There is a wonderful painting by the 17^th century German artist, Adam Elsheimer, titled, "Flight into Egypt."  A description that accompanies this painting says: 

"This small painting is undoubtedly the most beautiful example of the night scenes that brought Elsheimer so much fame.  Four sources of light illuminate the greenish-blue landscape with its starry sky: the full moon on the right above the trees around a lake, its reflection in the water, the campfire of the cowherds on the left, from which a column of sparks rises into the darkness of the tree tops, and finally the torch in the hand of Joseph, who is leading the donkey with Mary and the child.  Each of these sources of light models the objects in the immediate surroundings only fragmentarily, so that illuminated areas are directly juxtaposed with unlit areas. Our gaze is drawn across expanses of impenetrable darkness, settling upon islands of fine draughtsmanship, and following the vaulted silhouettes of the tree tops."

"Here, night is portrayed as a miracle that can help the holy family on their flight to Egypt. Elsheimer has succeeded in evoking a sense of danger and comfort at the same time entirely by means of the atmospheric values of his use of light and to place the emphasis entirely on the subject of landscape. This picture represents something entirely new in the field of religious imagery, with landscape opening up possibilities of exploring new narrative contents."

For me, this painting with its mixture of darkness and the illumining light of the starry sky and the fire, brings together the risks of leaving home to go to a strange land and the promise of hope for the future.  The gospel tells us that Joseph was warned about Herod's plot, so in the middle of the night, he took Mary and Jesus and went in the darkness of night to Egypt, where he knew they would be safe. They remained in Egypt until they got word that Herod had died. Then the angel of God again appeared to Joseph and told him it was safe to take his family back to the district of Galilee and the town of Nazareth.

This text of the "Flight into Egypt" comes to us at a time when, for many people, Christmas is now past, and the after-Christmas sales have begun in earnest.  Unwanted or ill-fitting gifts are being returned or exchanged, the trees and other trimmings have lost their luster, and general clean-up has begun. 

However, we know that Christmas is not past.  The gift of God's presence among us, Emmanuel, "God with us," continues.  Epiphany, the season that marks the visit of the wise men from the East, begins this Tuesday.  The Gospel proclamation will continue to ring out clearly and faithfully.  Christians everywhere will continue to celebrate the Incarnation, the birth of God in our midst, even when the attention of many people has turned elsewhere.

Both Christmas and the season of Epiphany remind us that, through the birth of Jesus, God is in relationship with us.  No matter how dark the night or how bright the day, God is the one who is faithful and always present even when we feel God's absence.  As someone said, "If we feel God is distant from us, if we feel somehow God is absent from our lives, guess who moved?"  God does not leave us, but we can and often leave God!  Just look at our culture and how quickly we move from one holiday to the next.  Or look at the lives of those around us, the refugees and prisoners, the sick and hungry, and ask what ever happened to God's reign of peace and justice.  Have we not just been celebrating the birth of the Prince of Peace?

The reality of the world's frequent failure either to praise God for restoring human dignity in Jesus Christ, or to respect the dignity of every human being, is a major concern.  Whether we work to contribute to the shelter, feeding and clothing of the homeless or to advocate for humane care and repatriation of refugees, our vocation and ministry is a direct response to Jesus and our relationship with God.

In this Christmas season we join in the blessing we heard from the Epistle to the Ephesians:  "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love.… I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ…may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation… so that with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe."

May God continue to bless us, and keep us ever faithful, loving, and striving for peace and justice.  Amen.