OUTSIDERS October 1,2006
Sermon for World Communion Sunday
Scripture: Numbers 11 Mark 9: 33-41
Throughout the world today Protestant and Orthodox Christians are gathering to eat bread and drink wine or grape juice in memory of Jesus who said, “This is my body which is given to you and this is the cup that is poured out for you, the new covenant in my blood.” Some of these millions of people will be in churches like ours in countries like ours; however, most of them will be in places like Africa, the Philippines, South and Central America. Many of them will be worshiping in single room schools like I saw in Nicaragua, made out of sheet metal, wood scraps and cardboard or outdoors in village squares with chickens, dogs and pigs surrounding them. Although there will be many in magnificent cathedrals with great pipe organs and huge choirs others will be in humble dwellings where a simple wooden cross identifies it as a church and where the music is drumming and tambourines, like Rimbi, our partner church in Zimbabwe. There may be dancing and shouting or there may be a quiet worship similar to ours. In all of these places with the great diversity of men, women, and children, God’s name will be praised and Jesus will be honored. There’s another thing that I bet is true of all these places: some folks feel like insiders and others feel like outsiders, on the margins. I bet there are people in all of these places that want to be special, Jesus’ favorites in the same way that his disciples argued about who would be the greatest.
In our gospel passage we are told that the disciples are upset because they saw some unknown person casting out demons in Jesus’ name. Whoever this exorcist was, the disciples were very unhappy that he was infringing on their turf. This man was an outsider; he didn’t have a membership card. The disciples tried to stop him but could not do so. Just to give you a little background on this Mark passage, just a few verses earlier the disciples had been unsuccessful in healing the young boy who had a spirit or demon that made it impossible for him to speak. Jesus was able to cast out the demon and heal the boy. They were very perplexed at why they had not been able to be successful in healing him. When the disciples complain to Jesus about this outsider who is healing in his name, Jesus responds to their complaint by saying, “Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us.” He goes on to say even someone that does as simple a thing as give a cup of water in the name of Christ will be rewarded.
We have a similar situation in our Hebrew Scripture lesson. Moses has had it with all the complaining and whining of the Hebrews. He goes to God and shares how burdened he feels and God directs him to choose 70 elders and God will take from Moses some of the spirit that is on him and put it on these 70 men. When the spirit rested on these men, we are told they began to prophesy. Two men, Eldad and Medad, who had remained in the camp and had apparently also felt the spirit come to them, also began prophesying. A young man ran and told Moses what he had seen and heard. Joshua, one of Moses chosen men, said, “My lord, Moses, stop them.” And Moses response is very much like Jesus’ response to his disciples, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!” It seems to me that in both the case of Jesus’ disciples and Moses’ elders, the men desired to have the exclusive rights to tell others about the good news.
Let’s look some more at the disciples of Jesus. What might they be feeling? Jealousy, a threat of not being as good as someone else? A little earlier in this Mark gospel, Jesus has told the disciples that he is to be betrayed and killed. We are told that they don’t really understand what he means and are afraid to ask him. They are probably feeling that their security is threatened. Whenever we are threatened with loss and insecurity, it is popular to gather the clan together to resist outsiders. Things such as ethnic cleansing, heretic hunting and other exclusions as well as 911 lead to reactions of fear and insecurity. So when the disciples say they tried to stop this unknown man because he was not following them, were not part of the in group, it is similar to what happens among Christians today. How often do we hear folks labeling other Christians as conservative, fundamentalist, liberal, radical, evangelical, social activist, and so on! How often do you and I do the same thing! I have heard it said that the greatest differences in the world are never between people who believe different things, but between people who believe in the same things but differ in their interpretation. This is just another way of excluding or rejecting people that don’t believe or act exactly the way we do. These labels can be used if describing someone like yourself in a positive way; however, they are often used to discount persons and ideas. Once a journalist asked Carl Sandburg, “What is the ugliest word in the English language?” And his response was “exclusive”. Now we well know that it depends on whether you are in or out how ugly this word becomes. Many Christians pride themselves on being members of exclusive churches and living in exclusive neighborhoods. If you are an insider, there is a sense of pride and security. When you are among the rejected, the different, the marginal, exclusive hurts. I can remember when in the late 60’s I first came to LA from Hawaii, married to an African American. At that time the Black is Beautiful movement was very big. We lived with my husband’s cousin in the beginning and most of the people we associated with were black. Even though I did not feel that they were purposely excluding me, I remember feeling on the outside. If Black was beautiful and I was not black, I was not beautiful. You can imagine if I found this hurtful as a member of the dominant group in our society, how much more hurtful it must be for those who have lived as part of the minority, less powerful group!
How can we apply Jesus’ response to the disciples and Moses’ response to the elders to our own situation? First of all these situations say to me that many are called to do God’s work in this world. Those called may not even have a designation of importance or a certain academic degree, or a license or a certificate of ordination. I know several people that are doing fantastic work for God without any of the above. I also know situations where God calls a particular person to teach and preach, but the human representatives of the church do not recognize or approve this call. What is such a person to do? My hope and prayer is that this person would continue to do God’s work in whatever way seems possible and right in his or her community. There is more than one way to follow Jesus; the proof is in the pudding, in the work accomplished by the follower, not in any degree or certificate. As this Mark passage points out, even when the disciples, the men that were called and certified to be Jesus’ apostles, told the uncertified person to stop his healing work, he did not stop. He continued to heal in the name of Jesus and his ministry was effective.
Jesus said, “Whoever is not against us if for us.” Now I don’t see this as blessing anything and everything that is not actively working against God’s will and mission. Rather I believe this means that anyone who is accomplishing the work of God, whether a part of our particular group or not, is in reality in partnership with us and is to be blessed for her work. Remember there are many paths to God. We don’t all have to have the same credentials or do it the same way. What a wonderful and important thing to remember on World Communion Day! We are all called to celebrate God’s great love for us by loving each other as well as those that are in different places, celebrating in different ways. Maybe prophets that are not of our faith are speaking God’s love in another way, just as I heard yesterday in Concord when the representatives of Jewish and Islam faiths spoke about peace. There are men and women are healing and prophesying in the power of God’s love even though they do not call themselves Christian. Remember that Jesus, the very incarnation of God’s power and presence, did not live by the divisions and rules of his time. He called those that were outsiders to be part of his ministry: he welcomed tax collectors, prostitutes. He touched untouchables such as those with leprosy; he talked with those that the rules said he should not speak to: women, Samaritans. And of course, he called Saul, a zealous persecutor of Christians, as the first missionary of our faith. Throughout history God has called and acted through outsiders: remember that Moses was a murderer, yet God chose him to deliver the Hebrews to the Promised Land. If we confine the good news that Jesus brought to us to our own kind, the insiders, instead of reaching out in mutual respect to the outsiders, we would definitely not be following Jesus’ final commission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always to the end of the age.” (Mt.28:19-20). Let each of us go forth, remembering Jesus’ command and bringing about the Kingdom of God here and now, wherever we may be. Amen
Scripture: Numbers 11 Mark 9: 33-41
Throughout the world today Protestant and Orthodox Christians are gathering to eat bread and drink wine or grape juice in memory of Jesus who said, “This is my body which is given to you and this is the cup that is poured out for you, the new covenant in my blood.” Some of these millions of people will be in churches like ours in countries like ours; however, most of them will be in places like Africa, the Philippines, South and Central America. Many of them will be worshiping in single room schools like I saw in Nicaragua, made out of sheet metal, wood scraps and cardboard or outdoors in village squares with chickens, dogs and pigs surrounding them. Although there will be many in magnificent cathedrals with great pipe organs and huge choirs others will be in humble dwellings where a simple wooden cross identifies it as a church and where the music is drumming and tambourines, like Rimbi, our partner church in Zimbabwe. There may be dancing and shouting or there may be a quiet worship similar to ours. In all of these places with the great diversity of men, women, and children, God’s name will be praised and Jesus will be honored. There’s another thing that I bet is true of all these places: some folks feel like insiders and others feel like outsiders, on the margins. I bet there are people in all of these places that want to be special, Jesus’ favorites in the same way that his disciples argued about who would be the greatest.
In our gospel passage we are told that the disciples are upset because they saw some unknown person casting out demons in Jesus’ name. Whoever this exorcist was, the disciples were very unhappy that he was infringing on their turf. This man was an outsider; he didn’t have a membership card. The disciples tried to stop him but could not do so. Just to give you a little background on this Mark passage, just a few verses earlier the disciples had been unsuccessful in healing the young boy who had a spirit or demon that made it impossible for him to speak. Jesus was able to cast out the demon and heal the boy. They were very perplexed at why they had not been able to be successful in healing him. When the disciples complain to Jesus about this outsider who is healing in his name, Jesus responds to their complaint by saying, “Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us.” He goes on to say even someone that does as simple a thing as give a cup of water in the name of Christ will be rewarded.
We have a similar situation in our Hebrew Scripture lesson. Moses has had it with all the complaining and whining of the Hebrews. He goes to God and shares how burdened he feels and God directs him to choose 70 elders and God will take from Moses some of the spirit that is on him and put it on these 70 men. When the spirit rested on these men, we are told they began to prophesy. Two men, Eldad and Medad, who had remained in the camp and had apparently also felt the spirit come to them, also began prophesying. A young man ran and told Moses what he had seen and heard. Joshua, one of Moses chosen men, said, “My lord, Moses, stop them.” And Moses response is very much like Jesus’ response to his disciples, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!” It seems to me that in both the case of Jesus’ disciples and Moses’ elders, the men desired to have the exclusive rights to tell others about the good news.
Let’s look some more at the disciples of Jesus. What might they be feeling? Jealousy, a threat of not being as good as someone else? A little earlier in this Mark gospel, Jesus has told the disciples that he is to be betrayed and killed. We are told that they don’t really understand what he means and are afraid to ask him. They are probably feeling that their security is threatened. Whenever we are threatened with loss and insecurity, it is popular to gather the clan together to resist outsiders. Things such as ethnic cleansing, heretic hunting and other exclusions as well as 911 lead to reactions of fear and insecurity. So when the disciples say they tried to stop this unknown man because he was not following them, were not part of the in group, it is similar to what happens among Christians today. How often do we hear folks labeling other Christians as conservative, fundamentalist, liberal, radical, evangelical, social activist, and so on! How often do you and I do the same thing! I have heard it said that the greatest differences in the world are never between people who believe different things, but between people who believe in the same things but differ in their interpretation. This is just another way of excluding or rejecting people that don’t believe or act exactly the way we do. These labels can be used if describing someone like yourself in a positive way; however, they are often used to discount persons and ideas. Once a journalist asked Carl Sandburg, “What is the ugliest word in the English language?” And his response was “exclusive”. Now we well know that it depends on whether you are in or out how ugly this word becomes. Many Christians pride themselves on being members of exclusive churches and living in exclusive neighborhoods. If you are an insider, there is a sense of pride and security. When you are among the rejected, the different, the marginal, exclusive hurts. I can remember when in the late 60’s I first came to LA from Hawaii, married to an African American. At that time the Black is Beautiful movement was very big. We lived with my husband’s cousin in the beginning and most of the people we associated with were black. Even though I did not feel that they were purposely excluding me, I remember feeling on the outside. If Black was beautiful and I was not black, I was not beautiful. You can imagine if I found this hurtful as a member of the dominant group in our society, how much more hurtful it must be for those who have lived as part of the minority, less powerful group!
How can we apply Jesus’ response to the disciples and Moses’ response to the elders to our own situation? First of all these situations say to me that many are called to do God’s work in this world. Those called may not even have a designation of importance or a certain academic degree, or a license or a certificate of ordination. I know several people that are doing fantastic work for God without any of the above. I also know situations where God calls a particular person to teach and preach, but the human representatives of the church do not recognize or approve this call. What is such a person to do? My hope and prayer is that this person would continue to do God’s work in whatever way seems possible and right in his or her community. There is more than one way to follow Jesus; the proof is in the pudding, in the work accomplished by the follower, not in any degree or certificate. As this Mark passage points out, even when the disciples, the men that were called and certified to be Jesus’ apostles, told the uncertified person to stop his healing work, he did not stop. He continued to heal in the name of Jesus and his ministry was effective.
Jesus said, “Whoever is not against us if for us.” Now I don’t see this as blessing anything and everything that is not actively working against God’s will and mission. Rather I believe this means that anyone who is accomplishing the work of God, whether a part of our particular group or not, is in reality in partnership with us and is to be blessed for her work. Remember there are many paths to God. We don’t all have to have the same credentials or do it the same way. What a wonderful and important thing to remember on World Communion Day! We are all called to celebrate God’s great love for us by loving each other as well as those that are in different places, celebrating in different ways. Maybe prophets that are not of our faith are speaking God’s love in another way, just as I heard yesterday in Concord when the representatives of Jewish and Islam faiths spoke about peace. There are men and women are healing and prophesying in the power of God’s love even though they do not call themselves Christian. Remember that Jesus, the very incarnation of God’s power and presence, did not live by the divisions and rules of his time. He called those that were outsiders to be part of his ministry: he welcomed tax collectors, prostitutes. He touched untouchables such as those with leprosy; he talked with those that the rules said he should not speak to: women, Samaritans. And of course, he called Saul, a zealous persecutor of Christians, as the first missionary of our faith. Throughout history God has called and acted through outsiders: remember that Moses was a murderer, yet God chose him to deliver the Hebrews to the Promised Land. If we confine the good news that Jesus brought to us to our own kind, the insiders, instead of reaching out in mutual respect to the outsiders, we would definitely not be following Jesus’ final commission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always to the end of the age.” (Mt.28:19-20). Let each of us go forth, remembering Jesus’ command and bringing about the Kingdom of God here and now, wherever we may be. Amen
posted by Sermons given at Deering Community Church @ 2:34 PM
<< Home