Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost-Year B - Br Simeon & Br luke

 Homily preached by Br. Luke at Springwood Sunday 13th September 2015

Andre-Rublev's Saviour

SIXTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. YR B.

Gospel:  Mark 8: 27-35

Along the way Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do you say I am?”  Peter said to him in reply, “You are the Christ . . .”

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord my strength and my Redeemer. Amen.

This week's reading is quite interesting and even a bit odd. It shows how Our Lord teaches those who believe in Him and is quick to correct those who follow when their human thinking gets in the way.

Caesar Philippi was a bazaar of worship places and temples, with altars erected to every concept of the divinity from the gods of Greece to the godhead of Caesar. Amid this marketplace of gods, Jesus asks Peter and the Twelve, “Who do people say that I am? . . . Who do you say that I am?”  This is a turning point in Mark's Gospel:  Until now, Mark's Jesus has been reluctant to have people believe in him only because of his miracles.  Jesus talks, for the first time in Mark’s Gospel, about dark things ahead: rejection, suffering, death and resurrection (concepts that the disciples are unable to grasp).

In this incident (recorded by all three synoptics), Peter immediately confesses his faith in Jesus as the Messiah -- the Messiah of victory and salvation. But when Jesus begins to speak of a Messiah who will suffer rejection and death, Peter objects. Peter’s reaction is ours, as well:  We prefer to follow the popular, happy Jesus, the healing and comforting Jesus – but we back away from the suffering, humble, unsettling Jesus of the cross.

Every moment we live, every decision and choice we make, every good thing we do is our most revealing and telling response to the question, Who do you say I am? Our love for family and friends, our commitment to the highest moral and ethical standards, our willingness to take the first step toward reconciliation and forgiveness are, ultimately, our true confession of faith in Jesus Christ as the Love and Word of God incarnate.

Only in “denying ourselves” in order to imitate the servanthood of Christ do we experience the true depth of our faith; only in embracing his compassion and humility

in our lives do we enable the Spirit of God to renew and transform our world in God’s life and love.

We cannot belong to the company of Jesus unless we embrace the Crucified One’s spirit of selfless servanthood; we cannot stand with the Crucified Jesus unless we unconditionally and completely love and forgive others as he did; we cannot hope to share in the victory of the Risen Christ unless we "crucify" our fears, self-consciousness and prejudices that blind us from seeing him in the faces of every human being.

So my friends, I stand here before you at this pulpit and my question is to you and of course for me today...Who do you say that Jesus is? Of course, he is the Christ. But what does that mean to you? Do you want a Jesus for anything other than what he is? Are you looking for Jesus the healer? Who will always cure your diseases? Are you looking for Jesus the therapist? Who will help you work out all your “issues”? Are you seeking Jesus the job-provider, Jesus the child-rearing-advice-giver, Jesus the marriage counsellor, a Jesus who comes to simply solve your problems and answer your questions? Then you will not find him.

But in his word, and in his sacraments, you will find Jesus who is the Christ. And a Christ of the cross. A Jesus who suffered and died, for your forgiveness, a Jesus who rose from death to guarantee you life, a Jesus who ascended to heaven to rule for you there, and a Jesus who will come again to bring final victory and peace. A Jesus on his terms, not ours. A Jesus who deals with sin, the root of all our other problems. A Christ that we need, not that we think we want.

Nor do we come to this answer on our own. It is God who shows us, leads us, and brings us to faith by his Spirit. He gives the answer that we confess. We confess, like Peter, in our words, who Jesus is and what he has done. “Jesus Christ, God’s only Son our Lord… who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, crucified, died, was buried, descended into Hell, rose on the third day, ascended into heaven, sits at God’s right hand, and one day will come again to judge the living and the dead.

Asking the right question is important. So is getting the right answer.
“Who is Jesus?” “He is the Christ.” “What kind of Christ?” “A Christ of the Cross – a Saviour from sin – your saviour and mine.” Good questions, and good answers – all given by God.

Amen.

Written by Br Simeon

Preached by Br Luke

Using the Ordinary for The Extraordinary.

“Moses said to YHWH, “But, never in my life have I been a man of eloquence,

either before or since you have spoken to your servant.” Ex 4:10

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B:

 Using the Ordinary for The Extraordinary.

Our reading from Amos (7:12-15) seems to say that God isn't too fussy about who is called to be a prophet? God goes looking in some rather ordinary places to find “suitable” candidate for the all-important role of speaking for God to an often-resistant audience. The prophets themselves admit to being pretty ordinary until God called them. The prophet Amos preached in the northern kingdom at the King’s own temple at Bethel. The northern kingdom was enjoying prosperous times, so why did God need to choose and send a messenger to them? Because, while some had a lot, the needy were being neglected and religious practices had been reduced to empty ritual - which is people worshiping the ritual rather than worshiping through the ritual. Amos spoke against the excesses of society and the emptiness of its religious practices. The high priest at Bethel was Amaziah, who had prestige and religious authority on his side tells to Amos, “Off with you, visionary and flee to the land of Judah!” But good old Amos admits, “I was no prophet … I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores.” Let's face it, God chose a farmhand to go to a prominent religious centre to preach a message of reform to its people, prominent religious leaders and the king. So it's the old story of pride meets humility. The constant theme of scripture is 'God resists the proud but exalts the humble of heart.'


If God chooses the most unlikely to accomplish divine purposes and to speak God’s word then, God has to back up the chosen one. God must have been at work, not any mere human instrument on his or her own can fulfill such a calling. There have been some powerful prophets in our time from ordinary backgrounds, but obviously chosen by God to accomplish God’s intentions: Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Martin Luther King Jr., Dorothy Day, Archbishop Oscar Romero, artists and political voices, parents, grandparents, relatives, friends, teachers and even our critics, who address a word to us at a crucial moment and changed our present and future path. These were probably people without much formal faith education, perhaps even a young person. But they opened our eyes to the superficial character of our ways, or our social indifference to the needs of others. Amos describes of himself, “The Lord took me… and said to me, ‘Go to prophesy to my people….’” God chooses "ordinary people" like us to fulfill special tasks. Each of us, through our baptism, have been called to be a prophetic person because we share the life of Jesus. Last week Mark' gospel focused on Jesus’ rejection in his own hometown community. In response to their hostile reaction Jesus said, “A prophet is not without honour except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.” This week Jesus sends the Twelve out to perform prophetic deeds and speak prophetic words. Mark (6:7-13) makes the point that just as Jesus was rejected, so too, those sent in his name should expect the same treatment. When rejected and Jesus seems to expect they will be, they are to “… leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.” We should not be surprised when our words or deeds in Jesus’ name are rejected and ridiculed. The sending of apostles did not end when Jesus sent out the Twelve. We too have been called as "ordinary people" to advance the reign of God, to act and speak in the spirit of Jesus. Jesus’ recommendations to his disciples about taking nothing “but a walking stick, no food, no sack, no money in their belts,” certainly cuts me out of the picture as I never pack light.


Why is Jesus asking so much of his disciples? It was the Jewish custom that as a person entered the temple courts, they would have to stop first, remove their staff, shoes and money belt and, only then, enter. They were entering a sacred presence and everyday things had to be put aside. His message and the healings it would bring, were to be the first concern for his disciples; everything else being secondary. A disciple, on the way to preach would be in the presence of the Holy One, even while on the road. The houses they entered and the families who received them, would be like the Temple where God dwelt. Jesus reminds his disciples that when things got difficult they should rely on God and not what they brought along?

Jesus sends us to be prophets, to call the world to repentance; that is the immediate world we occupy, as well as the larger worlds we are part of. He wants us to change our behaviour and so as to drive out the demons that would destroy and lessen us as a loving people filled with the Holy Spirit. So we gather for worship to become a holy people, living temples, nourished by the Word and Sacrament so we can go forth strengthened to be prophets - truth speakers - to the world Jesus has entrusted to us for healing. Yes, now it is 'OUR TURN' to go out.

Finding Pains Purpose

Moses said to YHWH, “But, never in my life have I been a man of eloquence,

either before or since you have spoken to your servant.” Ex 4:10

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B:

 Finding Pains Purpose

The lectionary readings for this Sunday are rich in meaning for us. The young Ezekiel (2:2-5) is empowered by the Spirit to "stand up" before God and to listen. It can take great courage to listen deeply to what God wants of us and to follow God's mission for us in life. God assured the young Ezekiel that the unfaithful Israelite community "shall know that there is a prophet in their midst." A prophet is 'a truth speaker' with deep insight. I believe all of us can be an Ezekiel wherever we stand in life. The Spirit will give us the needed courage. In Mark's gospel (6:1-6), Jesus experiences rejection in his own "home town" because as he said "a prophet is only despised in his/her own country." The people who he grew up with thought they knew him and could not let him be for them who he was. They saw him as someone 'ordinary' and were "astonished" by his wisdom and power as a miracle worker. They could NOT BELIEVE and ACCEPT him as he revealed who he was to them. Rejection can be painful and I am sure Jesus felt their response to him deeply. "He was amazed at their lack of faith." What lenses of perception limit us?


In the reading from 2 Corinthians (12:7-10), Saint Paul learns through prayer that God's power is made perfect in his weakness: "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong. (9-10) Paul who had been given so many special graces now has to endure what he describes as a "thorn in the flesh" the scripture scholars do not know exactly what the thorn was, although many have tried to have an educated guess. He realised that the 'thorn's purpose was to keep him humble and relying on God. It seems to be so easy for us who are striving to be spiritual to become 'ego inflated' and start thinking that we can somehow achieve spiritual holiness all by our own efforts. Helen Keller who was born deaf and blind said: "I thank God for my handicaps, for through them, I have found myself, my work and my God." It is all to easy to try and become something that we are not. All of us disciples of Christ have to come to terms with the fact that true spiritual growth comes from coming to terms with the pain of life's limitations. We have to be willing to move beyond what keeps us comfortable.


Our spiritual lives, begin in weakness and ignorance; we never suspect that anguish, a sense of loss, profound changes of heart and mind, dark nights of soul and spirit, the confusions of power and powerlessness of the soul’s unfolding journey. Like so many of life’s endeavours, if we knew what we were in for, we would probably never have begun. When pain comes into our lives it seems so easy for us to cry out to God for healing. I know a man who was a most energetic and gifted helper of others. When he had a stroke and became disabled, his self-image of being an able helper was shattered. But all through his rehabilitation he learnt the difference between healing and curing, self-will and God's will. He eventually came to learn despite his tears and tantrums, that healing does not mean going back to the way things were, but allowing 'WHAT IS' NOW to move one closer to God. Like St Paul and many others before him, he found the blessings that can only be found in the pain and limitation. "God does not see as humans see."


So to be like Ezekiel or Paul we need to the Holy Spirit for the strength for daring to find courage to set forth on the unknown path of faith. Somewhere along the way we will awaken to the immensity of our endeavour. Finally, we must summon a deep grace-inspired courage to continue and by God's grace to unexpectedly find ourselves with a deep acceptance of what is. The French poet Guillaume Apollinaire writes; "Come to the edge, he said. Come to the edge, he said. We are afraid, they said. Come to the edge, he said. They came to the edge, He pushed them and they flew. Come to the edge, Life said. They said: We are afraid. Come to the edge, Life said. They came. It pushed them... And they flew.” The power of God's grace is given for us to help others, not ourselves, a power that does not force or coerce others to do our will. Like Saint Paul we learn to place our fate in God's hands accepting our weaknesses and limitations, and like Ezekiel to accept God's Spirit and the word God speaks that empowers us to "stand up" for truth.