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Hillside Street, Bennington, Vermont (802) 442-2559
"resolutely inclusive, spiritually alive, and empowered for ministry in the world." |
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“One Great Fellowship of Love”--October 4, 2009 Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12, Mark 10: 13-16
Posted: October 7th, 2009 @ 9:31am
How are we to hear and understand these two Scripture readings today, that at first glance, seem to have very little to do with one another? Where do we fit them in, after several weeks of hearing powerful stories of ministry and deeds of compassion and justice, from our youth group’s mission trip to Maine, the work of the Greater Bennington Interfaith Community Services here in our community, and the work of Church World Service throughout the U.S. and the world? What does any of this have to do with Worldwide Communion Sunday? And, finally, perhaps the question to be asked every Sunday, so what?
On the one hand, we have the familiar story of Jesus’ disciples turning away parents and children who wanted not only to see Jesus, but to have him bless them, “lay his hands on them.” The disciples have obviously bought into their society’s evaluation of children, which was, that they are not important. Jesus is a great teacher, with important lessons to teach, important deeds to do, and so clearly he doesn’t have time or interest in unimportant children.
As one commentator puts it, this was not only an error in judgment, but the disciples missed the whole point of Jesus’ ministry–which is that the kingdom of God is given to powerless people, who have no claims to stake and no demands to make. (Charles Cousar, Texts for Preaching, Year B) What Jesus embodies and seeks to uncover for his followers is a gift given freely to all who will receive it, not just to those who get the right answers on the great final exam or who have shown themselves “worthy” of such a gift. In fact, getting all wrapped up in finding the “right answers” or obsessing over becoming “worthy” can get in the way of being able to receive the gift. “Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child,” Jesus said, “will never enter it.” It’s simply a description of how and to whom the kingdom of God–this way of life, this perspective on the world, this embodiment of the radiance–comes, not merely in some afterlife, but here, in our midst, right now.
Don’t simply shelve this story in the Children’s Bible story section. It really isn’t that innocent or tame. It is a story about power, about challenging the power we seek and the power we have. Many children in our society have more power than adults elsewhere or the children in Jesus’ day, but there are a growing number of children and adults in our society who are increasingly slipping away from any sense of control or power in their lives. Don’t sugar coat Jesus’ words and make them simply a pretty picture of Jesus and the little children. Hear them rather as a challenge of our notions of power and powerlessness.
On the other hand from this intimate story focused on this scene centered around Jesus, we read the passage from Hebrews which is way out there–out in the far reaches of theological imagery and extravagance. One commentator writes that “The four opening verses of Hebrews amply deserve their reputation as the most polished piece of rhetoric [or argument] in the New Testament.” (Beverly Galenta, Texts for Preaching, year B, p. 537) Who knew? Listen again to those 4 verses–
Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days God has spoken to us by a Son, whom God appointed heir of all things, through whom God also created the worlds. He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
“The writer pulls out all the stops to perform an overture that will capture the audience’s attention.” (Ibid.)
Like the writer of the gospel of John, the writer of Hebrews sees in Jesus the power and radiance that created the universe. This is not intended to be a scientific statement, of course, but rather a rich and extravagant metaphor. We see and experience all the fullness of God in the Person of Jesus, this writer says. Wonderful. Amazing.
But then, perhaps even more wonderful and amazing is what he goes on to say. “It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all of one Father. For this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters...”
In other words, we share not only in Christ’s humanity–he was one of us--, but also in his glory. So, “There are no ordinary people,” as C.S. Lewis writes, no one, no people who do not have within them the same potential for glory–the rich glory of God, not the shallow, fleeting glory of celebrities. Jesus is a unique revelation of the fullness of God, but that does not exclude others. John Mbiti, an African theologian writing about the encounter of Christian Faith and African Religion back in the early 1980's, asked, “Was [God] not there in other times and in such places as Mount Fuji and Mount Kenya, as well as Mount Sinai? The decisive word here [Mbiti wrote] is ‘only.’ The more I peeped into African religious insights about God, the more I felt utterly unable to use the word ‘only’ in this case. In its place there emerged the word ‘also.’” (Christian Century, 8/27-9/3/1980)
So, where does this get us? What’s the “so what?” here? This Jesus, whose peasant hands and lap held children deemed unimportant and powerless, this Jesus, who challenged and indeed upended the usual notions of power and privilege of his day and of ours, this Jesus in whom we see the full reflection and radiance of God, is mysteriously, mystically, genetically related to us. “He is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters.” We follow Him by walking the path of powerlessness as the world defines it, not by lying down and allowing the Powers and Principalities of the world to roll over us, but by claiming and opening up to the Power that created and sustains the universe as the true source of our life. We follow him by pursuing justice in whatever path or issue makes us feel most alive.
But not only that. We reaffirm our relation to him, we keep connected to that source of power and life, not only by actively “going out” but by intentionally but no less actively going deep within. This meal that we share this morning embodies that connection. It reinforces our relationship. In ways powerful and mystical, His body and blood do become our body and blood. And in so doing, we are joined in that “great fellowship of love throughout the whole wide earth,” as our final hymn says.
A week ago Friday night, at Southern Vermont College, a man who is called a modern-day mystic named Andrew Harvey spoke about the great and terrible combination of crises confronting our world today, which we must not deny or underestimate. I don’t need to name them for you–you hear it every time you turn on the radio or television or internet. But instead of seeing this unprecedented crisis as simply evidence of the approaching end of life on this planet as we know it, Harvey sees it as the necessary catalyst to wake us up to our addiction to our false self, as he puts it, to shake us out of our complacency with the way things are. In fact, Harvey sees this tremendous coming together of crises as the birth canal for the new Human Being to emerge. Jesus is the template for that new Human Being, just as the writer of Hebrews says.
The birthing force for this new Human Being, says Harvey, is the coming together of the passion of the activist for justice with the passion of the mystic for the Divine–“sacred activism,” he calls it. Both streams are necessary. Without being grounded in the Divine, in God, even the most passionate and energetic activists will burn out or be seduced by other powers. Without a passion for and action for justice, mystics or spiritual seekers abandon the world which God loves so much. We need mission trips and CROP Walks and the Food & Fuel fund and Sunday suppers; and we need prayer and meditation and Bible study and Holy Communion.
Grace Merillo is a Colombian daughter of Christian missionaries whose question to God , she says, after graduating from college, was, How do I become “incarnate” in the reality of Colombia?
This question was partially answered in April 1999 when leftist guerrillas hijacked my plane in northern Colombia and kidnapped me with 31 others. We were held in the jungle, and were released after 68 days. The experience made me personally aware of the great gap existing between the wealthy and privileged city dwellers and the vast majority of poor, uneducated people in Colombia. While we were kidnapped, we hostages prayed together every day. Occasionally, all who were present held hands, including some of the armed guerrillas; we sang a version of the Lord's Prayer that says: "In the bread of unity, Christ, give us Peace." In that moment we experienced a powerful message of reconciliation around the Cross of Christ, which still stands out in my memory....
(Inward/Outward daily meditations from the Church of the Savior, 10/3/09)
Give us this day our daily bread; give us today the bread we need; “in the bread of unity, Christ, give us Peace.” May that be our prayer as we break bread together this day, joined with children of God throughout the world. Let all God’s children come. Let there be Peace.
Amen, and amen.
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