Sunday, February 25, 2024

Sermon: Get Behind Me, Satan!

Lectionoary: Lent 2A
Text: Mark 8:27-9:1

https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56514
Get Thee Behind Me, Satan! (Tissot)

Introduction – the Allure of Power

When we think of power and the powerful, what are the things that come to mind? Billionaires and their influence over the economy? Leaders of nations? The strength of military might? Autocrats and dictators who hold life and death in their hands? Politicians who hold purse strings? Corporate CEOs? Sports figures, entertainers, etc. that command huge followings and associated paydays? Pastors with mega and giga churches? Leaders of influential religious organizations? Love them or hate them, we cannot deny that these things are a large presence in our world and our lives.

The allure of power is strong. Whether in 1st century Palestine, or in 21st century America, the temptation to seize upon power or at least to be aligned with the powerful is nearly impossible to escape. Power – through position, wealth and both – is offered and withheld to influence and control outcomes beneficial to the powerful. The less powerful cling to the coattails of those with more power to attempt to ride up the ladder and share the crumbs that fall.

Are any of us completely immune to the attractions of power and what it offers? In the Christian calendar, the seasons of both Advent and Lent are times when the subject matter should lead us away from the pursuit of power. Or at least from the popular, temporal concepts of power.

Even in a common Christian phrase, paraphrased “Jesus will return in glory and power”, the common imaginations of power make its way. When we hear that, the imagination runs to a conquering general or king, slaying his enemies as he leads his victorious army.

That Jesus will return in glory and power could imply that during his time on earth as a human, Jesus didn’t have power…, or at least the kind of power that we think ultimately matters.

How we define power and how we view the power wielded by Jesus matters to what it means to be a disciple of Jesus and follow him. To get this wrong is to be on the receiving end of Jesus’ rebuke, “Get behind me, Satan”.

Recap – Gospel Reading

What did you hear when you heard today’s gospel reading? Jesus asked his disciples who others said he was, and then after receiving responses, asked the disciples who they thought he was. Peter responded (speaking for all of them) that Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One. And then Jesus tells them to not say this to anyone. Immediately afterwards Jesus begins speaking plainly that the Christ must be rejected by those in power and authority, suffer, be killed, and then rise again.

It is at this point that Peter tries to correct Jesus and where Jesus rebukes Peter, saying, “Get behind me, Satan. You are not thinking God’s thoughts but human thoughts.”

Jesus then gathers the crowd together and speaks about what it means to follow him. It involves denying themselves, taking up the cross, and the following Jesus. These are common phrases that we have heard and so maybe do not resonate very strongly with us. But for those who were hearing it for the first time, it meant identifying with the cruelest, most excruciating, and most humiliating form of torture and execution. Jesus further tells the crowd that those who follow him must be willing to lose their lives, and I don’t think he meant it metaphorically. I believe Jesus meant this quite literally.

Context One – Narrative Setting

There are a couple of contexts that we need to consider. The first is the context of the setting in which this narrative takes place. Jesus and his disciples were in the region of Caesarea Phillipi. We probably gloss over this as just an interesting mention of geography. But this is a key detail vital to interpreting this narrative, a narrative that is a turning point in Mark’s gospel account.

Up to this point, Jesus had been performing miracles and winning arguments with the learned scholars and authorities. He was amazing the people. He was defeating demons and demonstrating victory over religious and political powers. Jesus’ power and influence was rising in the popular minds.

It is then that Mark’s account mentions Caesarea Phillipi. David Jacobsen, in his commentary on Mark writes about the significance of the setting:

We begin by noting the setting in 8:27-30… First, we note that the location of the action is Caesarea Phillipi. The name indicates the city was named after Caesar. However, since another Caesarea nearby shared that name, it is distinguished with the second name Phillipi, referring to Phillip, one of Herod’s nearby ruling sons. Digging deeper, one notices that this region has a symbolic significance for our revelatory interlude at the mountain of transfiguration. The region, as Adela Yarebro Collins points out, was connected not only with Mount Hermon[1], but it was also an important location associated first with ruler cults stretching back to the Ptolemies and as recent as a new Herodian temple “in honor of Augustus.” In short, this revelatory discussion is happening in a region of imperial religious significance. It is no mere bit of local color or backdrop but is central to understanding the give and take that results in Peter’s confession. Second, the narrator goes out of his way to describe Jesus’ initiatory question in the dialogue as happening “on the way” in v. 28. “On the way is” is discipleship language. We are thus engaging the back and forth of question and response, rebuke and rebuke, in the material that follows not as an intellectual exercise, nor even as one about Christological speculation, but as one connected deeply to discipleship and the nature of the gospel itself. (Jacobsen, 2014)

Considering that information, what I see is the Markan gospel informing his readers that yes, Jesus has been demonstrating his power, and one might be tempted to seize upon it to gain religious, political, and military benefits. But that is not the power of Jesus.

A few weeks ago I noted in the sermon that the Markan account of the wilderness test does not include details nor the “Get behind me, Satan” words that are recorded in Matthew, or the “Don’t test the Lord” found in Luke. But we find “Get behind me, Satan” in Mark at this midpoint of his gospel. A plausible interpretation is that this is the point in Mark’s gospel where Jesus is strongly tested to take the easier path, the path of using his miraculous powers and ability to outwit the learned minds to lead the nation, build an empire, and rule the world.

It is at this point where Christians, Christian organizations and churches throughout history have been tempted and often failed. The offer of power often seems innocuous and even beneficial. Who wouldn’t think that a little bit of gaining influence from the power-that-be wouldn’t be beneficial to the proclamation and spread of the gospel? But from gaining a little bit of help from the governing powers, it soon leads to the thought that if a little power is good, more power would be better. Wouldn’t a Christian nation that follows Christian principles be a great idea? And from there the national agenda becomes “what God wants.” (And by the way, who gets to define what is “Christian” and what isn’t?)

If Jesus were to come amongst us today, I suspect there will be a quite a lot of, “Get behind me, Satan,” coming from his mouth.

Context Two – Literary Setting

The second context to consider in reading this text is that setting in which the gospel account was weaved and edited together and the audience to whom it was written. The account was probably written not too long after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE. Although there are no records of systematic persecution of Christians during the first century, there were sporadic, regional persecutions. The Great Fire of Rome in 64 CE was blamed on Christians.

Christians were still a small sect that was ostensibly Jewish, but the separation had begun. Perhaps some of the Jewish communities and synagogues had already begun to reject the followers of Jesus and deny the religious protections that they had been under as Jews.

In times of suffering, distress, and uncertainty, apocalyptic literature flourishes. We see this in our own history. During uncertain times, arts and entertainment tend to get darker as they utilize the apocalyptic genre to try to explain what happened, what is going on, and to offer a dark hope for the future.

It was no different in ancient times. Daniel is an apocalyptic book written sometime during the second century BCE, where the Jews attempt to explain what has happened with the rise of Antiochus IV Epiphanes of the Seleucid Empire and his desecration of the Temple.

The book of Revelation is a Christian apocalyptic literature that attempts to explain what has happened from the destruction of the Temple and the seemingly unstoppable power of the Roman Empire against God.

Here are a few features that are common through apocalyptic literature. The first is that they tend to be morally dualistic. A Yale lecture on apocalyptic literature states, “They tend to divide humankind into two mutually exclusive groups; the righteous which is always a tiny minority, and the wicked, which is always the vast majority. There’s going to be some final public judgment and the righteous will be saved and the wicked will be destroyed.” (Yale University, n.d.)

Another feature is that they tend to predict catastrophes, suffering, and persecution. “These are signs of the coming of the end, that final point in the march of history that’s being laid out. You have motifs from ancient myths very often used to describe these catastrophes.” (Yale University, n.d.)

A third feature is that they offer a “behind the scenes” look at what is going on in the supernatural realm, the divine realm, hidden to normal vision.

The last feature I will note here is that,

… Apocalyptic literature can be described as a literature of hope and despair. It’s a literature of despair or pessimism because its basic premise is that this world holds out no promise for the righteous. It’s a literature of hope or optimism because it affirms that God will intervene. He will intervene in human history, he’ll set everything right, he’ll interrupt the natural order, he’s going to destroy this broken world as we know it, and he’ll do so in order to rescue the righteous and humiliate the wicked, and if you’ve already died don’t worry there will be a resurrection, it will all be made right. (Yale University, n.d.)

Hearing an Apocalypse

Although the gospel of Mark is not strictly in the apocalyptic genre, scholars identify apocalyptic themes running through all of it, including the passage we read as our text today. The stark dualism between following Jesus and not following him is presented in the image of carrying a cross. Suffering and death are offered as the norm for following Jesus. In Jesus’ rebuke to Peter, we get the idea that something else is going on “behind the scenes” that is diametrically opposed to what is seen in the world. And finally, Jesus predicts the rescue of his followers who remain faithful to him when he returns.

Writing to a powerless, ostracized, and possibly persecuted people, I see Mark telling his audience to resist the temptation to pursue gaining worldly power to try to improve their conditions.

Jesus said, “36 Why would people gain the whole world but lose their lives? 37 What will people give in exchange for their lives? 38 Whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this unfaithful and sinful generation, the Human One will be ashamed of that person when he comes in the Father’s glory with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:36-38 CEB) In my experience, this statement has often been applied to evangelism and witnessing. But looking at the overall context of this passage, I think a more appropriate application is found in rejecting the temptation to seek to harness powers of this world, even if it might seem to be beneficial in spreading the gospel or improving the general conditions of Christian existence in this world. That said, I don’t think there is a problem with working with modern means of governance to improve the lots of all people. But I do think that privileging Christians over others would still prompt a “Get behind me, Satan,” from Jesus.

The final sentence of today’s reading where Jesus says, “I assure you that some standing here won’t die before they see God’s kingdom arrive in power,” (Mark 9:1 CEB) has been interpreted many ways. A common one is that it refers to some of his disciples who experience the Transfiguration, the narrative which immediately follows. But many scholars accept this as an unfulfilled prediction, that perhaps Jesus got it wrong (or Mark’s editing got it wrong), or that it remains for when Jesus returns.

Conclusion – Redefining “Power”

And it is here that we see the word “power” identified with God and God’s kingdom. In isolation it is easy to interpret this as the kind of strength and might associated with rulers and armies of this world. But Jesus’ power was in his suffering, in his humiliation, in his death, and in his love for the world. The power of Jesus is to use his story to persuade listeners to follow and imitate him. History is witness to the reality that Jesus’ persuasive power is stronger than the might of armies. The persuasive power of suffering and sacrificing love changed civilization.

During this season of Lent, let us remember the power of Christ’s love for the world, that we would not just be Christians, but disciples and followers of Jesus, carrying the cross and enduring suffering, humiliation, and even loss so that we too, can become agents of divine persuasive love in the world.[2]


References

Bartlett, D. L., & Taylor, B. B. (2008). Feasting on the Word: Year B, Volume 2 (Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary). Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

Jacobsen, D. S. (2014). Fortress Biblical Preaching Commentaries: Mark. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press.

Jarvis, C. A., & Johnson, E. E. (2014). Feasting on the Gospels: Mark (A Feasting on the Word Commentary). Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

McLaren, B. (2024, February 22). Life As a Spiritual Journey: Following Jesus is A Journey. Retrieved from Center for Action and Contemplation: https://cac.org/daily-meditations/following-jesus-is-a-journey/

Whitaker, R. J. (2023). Revelation for Normal People: A Guide to the Strangest and Most Dangerous Book in the Bible. Harleysville, PA: The Bible for Normal People.

Yale University. (n.d.). Lecture 23 - Visions of the End: Daniel and Apocalpytic Literature. (Open Yale Courses) Retrieved February 21, 2024, from RLST 145: Introduction to the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible): https://oyc.yale.edu/religious-studies/rlst-145/lecture-23



[1] Highest peak in ancient Israel, considered a holy mountain by many peoples, and location of many Roman shrines on its slopes.

[2] “The word Christian is more familiar to us today than the word disciple. These days, Christian often seems to apply more to the kinds of people who would push Jesus off a cliff than it does to his true followers. Perhaps the time has come to rediscover the power and challenge of that earlier, more primary word disciple [which] occurs over 250 times in the New Testament, in contrast to the word Christian, which occurs only three times. Maybe those statistics are trying to tell us something.” (McLaren, 2024)

 

Sunday, February 18, 2024

Sermon: Inevitable Wilderness

Kramskoĭ, Ivan Nikolaevich, 1837-1887. Christ in the Wilderness, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=54297
Christ in the Wilderness
Lectionary: Lent 1(B) 
Text: Genesis 9:8-17; Psalm 25:1-10; 1 Peter 3:18-22; Mark 1:9-15

Introduction

Who hasn’t gone on a vacation to an exotic or exciting location and wanted to stay there for the rest of their lives? Or perhaps you’ve had a fantastic experience – maybe a social gathering, a spectacular concert, a most exquisite meal – that you didn’t want to leave? Or maybe it was a time when you were given an honor of some kind and you felt that you had significance and made a difference to those around you and the world?

There are moments in our lives that stand out and leave an impression – moments that remain in our memories, times and places that we savor and relive, events and actions that might even define who we are.

Last Sunday was Transfiguration Sunday, where we heard about when God reminded Jesus and the three disciples with him who Jesus was. To help reinforce the importance of that moment, Moses and Elijah accompanied the theophany – reminding those present of their founding narrative and their history as a people, nation, and their belonging to God. It was a high moment, and for the three disciples, based on their reactions, it must have been the most amazing moment they had ever experienced. They wanted to remain there, to continue experiencing that moment, to never leave it.

There are a couple of reasons why we cannot remain in an elevated state for an extended period. The first is that our brains simply don’t work that way. Our brains prefer to be in a state where it isn’t overtaxed by the flooding of neurotransmitters. If we remain in a state of stimulation, eventually that becomes the new normal, our brains regulate the production of chemicals, and what was new and exciting turns to feeling normal and ordinary. We then crave something bigger and more exciting than before. While you might be able to do this a few times, eventually there is a limit.

A second reason is that much of the people of this world live most of their lives in mundane normalcy at best. The ability to choose to go and experience something extraordinary is, in most cases, something afforded because of leisure time and disposable wealth. For many, it may be a once-in-a-lifetime event for which they save their entire lives to make that journey. And there are many others who will never have that opportunity. Plenty more live in privation and suffering their entire lives.

When Jesus and the three disciples accompanying descend from the mountain, they are immediately thrust into the difficulties and sufferings of the human experience. They encounter a father whose son has some sort of problem that prevents him from speaking and causes him to throw himself into harmful environments.

As much as the disciples may have wanted to remain apart from the ordinariness and difficulties of life, Jesus does not share their desires. His place was with those who were suffering and lead his disciples back into the places where people were hurting.

Driven to the Wilderness

With that prologue, we return to the gospel text for today. It begins with Jesus’ baptism and God’s anointing of Jesus and the accompanying declaration affirming Jesus’ relationship to God and God’s love for Jesus. It is a kind of mountaintop experience.

But that is immediately (Mark’s word) followed by the very same Spirit of anointing driving Jesus into the wilderness. Unlike in the gospel account of John, there is no period of time where Jesus remains in the mountaintop. Jesus spends forty days in the wilderness and during that time he is tested and tried. Matthew and Luke’s accounts offer some examples of the tests that Jesus faced, but Mark’s account is brief.

Where Mark records that Jesus was among the wild animals, interpreters take a few different positions. A common one is that he faced natural threats of the wilderness. But an intriguing speculative interpretation is that he was not threatened by them, but instead that they gave him warmth and protection, perhaps as an early sign of recreation that he was ushering in.[1]

Another difference between Mark and the accounts of Matthew/Luke is that in Mark’s account, the plainest interpretation is that the angels took care of Jesus all during the forty days; while in Matthew/Luke, the angels appear only after the trials are won.

It is only after Jesus spends time in the wilderness, and facing trials and tests there, that he re-enters his community to offer good news.

Examples of Wilderness Experiences

Today’s Old Testament reading from Genesis and the New Testament reading from 1 Peter imply an interpretive connection with the Flood story. Setting aside some of the problematic questions raised by that story, the interpretive connection made is to the waters, prefiguring baptism, and God’s act of salvation through the waters. Although the readings do not note it, the literary record of the duration of the active flooding was forty days.

Another connection to the Israel story that can be found is with the forty years that Israel wandered in the wilderness. After the mountaintop experience of Sinai, where God spoke and established God’s relationship with Israel, Israel spends the next forty years wandering in the wilderness. Setting aside the reason this happened, the thematic elements of trials and testing remain. At the end of the forty years Israel enters Canaan, the promised land where they are finally able to experience good news (although the reality of what they faced in Canaan could be said to have been quite different). The forty years might also be interpreted as preparation time needed for the Israelites to conquer Canaan.

There is a connection, too, with Moses as an individual. After slaying an Egyptian and getting found out, he fled to Midian where he spent forty years tending sheep in the wilderness.[2] At the end of these forty years Moses meets God in a burning bush at a mountain called Horeb. Horeb and Sinai are understood by scholars to be the same geographical feature. The forty years in the wilderness is preparation time before God calls Moses to lead Israel.

Finally, we bring in also Elijah from the mount of transfiguration and a parallel that can be found in his story. After three years of drought, Elijah confronts Ahab and the prophets of Baal at Mt. Carmel. After a resounding victory and the massacre of the prophets of Baal, Jezebel is furious and seeks to kill Elijah. Elijah flees to Mt. Horeb (a parallel with Moses can be found here). He spends forty days there, refreshed by a supernatural messenger from God during that time. At the end of the forty days God speaks to Elijah and gives him new instructions and messages to bring to the people.[3]

Several observations can be made from what has been described thus far.

·        Forty is part of a literary archetype where the person or persons involved undergo some kind of ordeal and/or preparation which is necessary (in the archetype) for the character(s) to make progress in their journey.

·        The Bible is ambiguous about the source and cause of trials and suffering. Is suffering punishment? Are trials something God initiates? Does God simply allow suffering and trials to come upon people? Or are they just part of life which God neither wills or controls?

·        Much of life is lived away from mountaintop experiences, in the ordinary, that includes suffering and trials.

Ancient Historical and Literary Contexts

As is often the case, bringing in historical literary and cultural contexts prove useful in getting better sense of the whys and whats of these stories.

The first point that is relevant to our discussion is that ancient people lived in social and political structures very different from what we know and consider to be the ideal. Those of us here live in a democracy and we assume a great degree of agency and independence for ourselves. Ancient people did not live in a democracy, and they did not have much agency over their lives.[4] They accepted that someone was over them, directing much of what they were allowed to do. They could be commanded to do something and they had no choice but to obey. They believed that gods were all powerful but not necessarily good. Gods could be capricious. If the gods wanted someone to go through periods of trials and sufferings, so be it. It was the gods will.[5] Even when it was accepted that God was loving, it was also fully expected that part of this “love” included God punishing people and making them suffer for their disobedience.[6]

Ancient people also believed everything had to have some kind of intentional cause, and those things that couldn’t be explained, they believed gods were the cause. Most of us don’t believe that way anymore and realize that many things simply happen because of randomness that is a part of our universe and existence.[7]

The stories in our Bible fit with the norms and expectations of the ancient societies which birthed them. But do they codify universal and timeless principles? Answers vary and are based on one’s or a group’s view of God, which frequently come from a reading of scripture. And here it often ends up as a case of circular reasoning.

In Our Time and Place

What then, might be some ways of interpreting and understanding these ancient texts in a 21st century context during the season of Lent?

I believe that the framework of the literary archetype we encountered today, commonly identified as The Hero’s Journey, is a useful framework which can be used to explain major life seasons. I don’t believe that we are required to experience this journey, or that God causes or brings stages into each person’s life. However, I do think that they are inevitable consequences of having been born into this universe.

I do believe that what the biblical stories offer us is a glimpse into how humans, when they are willing, can use difficult times that inevitably come about as a tool to learn and grow, to become more empathetic and compassionate, to identify with those who are going through difficulties, and to discover God’s faithfulness and care especially during those times.

Times of difficulties, trials, and suffering inevitably will come to us. Our natural inclination might be to try to avoid them or to pretend they aren’t happening. Or perhaps they go on for a long time and we would rather give up.

What today’s gospel reading reveals is that the gospel, the good news, comes from having experienced both the highs and lows of life. The highs offer a vision of what could be. The lows reveal the depths of the brokenness of life. The gospel of Jesus Christ offers the way out of the lows of life into the lifelong journey toward the kingdom of God.

Lent is a reminder that this journey is not a steady rise nor a journey where troubles cease. But it is a journey with Christ. It is a path that Christ traveled and through it overcame the ultimate obstacle: death. In that sense then, it is a path that anyone who wishes to overcome death must also travel.

The good news of the kingdom is not that joining with Christ will remove problems from our lives. The good news is that Christ suffered and joins in our sufferings. The good news is that Christ overcame and so can we.

Sunday, January 14, 2024

"Can Anything from ___ be Good?"

Lectionary: Epiphany 2(B)

Text: John 1:35-51 (extended reading)


Introduction

Last Sunday we celebrated the Baptism of Jesus. Today’s gospel reading follows that. In the Synoptic gospels, Jesus faces the wilderness temptation immediately afterward. But gospel account of John is quite different from the other three in that the baptism of Jesus is only tangentially alluded to[1], the temptation account doesn’t exist, and Jesus seems to hang around the Jordan River with John the Baptist for at least a day or so.

The narrative around the initial gathering of Jesus’ disciples is also different between the Synoptics and the gospel account in John. In the Synoptics, Jesus seems to show up to where the disciples are and calls them to leave behind their former lives and occupations and follow him. In John’s gospel, it starts out with disciples of John, who have already committed to following a master, who then seek out Jesus.

Witnesses

Let’s pick up the gospel text by starting just before where the reading started and continuing into the first few verses that we already heard,

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one about whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is really greater than me because he existed before me.’ 31 Even I didn’t recognize him, but I came baptizing with water so that he might be made known to Israel.” 32 John testified, “I saw the Spirit coming down from heaven like a dove, and it rested on him. 33 Even I didn’t recognize him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit coming down and resting is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen and testified that this one is God’s Son.”

35 The next day John was standing again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus walking along he said, “Look! The Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard what he said, and they followed Jesus. (John 1:29-37 CEB)

From this text the implication is that only John saw the Spirit come down and rest on Jesus and who heard a voice explaining the vision. The two disciples of John who follow Jesus have only the words of John to go on. Jesus has not yet said anything, preached anything, performed any signs or wonders, and hadn’t had any notable interactions with anyone. There is no tangible evidence that Jesus is anything more than an ordinary human being. The only thing that the two disciples of John have is their trust in the words of their current master commending Jesus as the one who is greater, and by implication, possibly the Messiah that they are looking for.

A Web of Trust

The next verses read,

38 When Jesus turned and saw them following, he asked, “What are you looking for?” They said, “Rabbi (which is translated Teacher), where are you staying?” 39 He replied, “Come and see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. (John 1:38-39 CEB)

These few verses capture the essence of many thematic materials elaborated upon in the remainder of the gospel. The first of these is the motif of seeking. Throughout the gospel, the question of seeking for Jesus repeatedly appears. The second is the motif of staying. It is also translated into English as “to abide” and “to remain”. Its first occurrence is found in the description of the Holy Spirit resting on Jesus (v. 32). Its most well-known use is probably the parable of the vine and the branches in chapter 15. The third motif is found in Jesus’ response to these potential disciples, “Come and see.” We will see Philip use this exact same phrase, and just a few stories later the Samaritan woman says the same phrase to bring the rest of the town to Jesus.

From here one of the two, identified as Andrew, goes to find his brother Simon Peter. He tells Peter, “We have found the Messiah,” and brings Peter to Jesus. Once again I want to note that there is no record Jesus saying or doing anything noteworthy during the time spent with Andrew and the other disciple. From that I think we are to understand that the mere presence of being in (or staying in) Jesus’ presence was something unusual and different, and that was enough to convince the two that Jesus was the Messiah.

Then Jesus goes to Galilee and the now three disciples follow. The group encounters Philip, who is already acquainted with Andrew and Peter. When Jesus calls to Philip to “Follow me”, there is already a web of trust and familiarity that exists.

Can Anything Good…?

Philip immediately goes to find Nathanael. The text does not describe any time passing of travel, so it is likely the case that the two are in the same town and know one another well. Philip does not describe Jesus as the Messiah, but as one whom “Moses wrote about in the Law and the Prophets”. And then Philip adds that this person is “Jesus, Joseph’s son, from Nazareth.”

It is at this point that one of the well-known words in the gospel are spoken by Nathanael, “Can anything from Nazareth be good?” or perhaps more familiar to many is how you might have heard from the King James Version, “Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?”

Various interpretations have been put forward to explain Nathanael’s response. Among them include suggestions that Nazareth was somehow more decadent and secular than desirable, or perhaps it was more evil and sinful than similar towns in the area. Or perhaps Nathanael was expressing bigotry toward Nazareth that was common in the area.

The best and most probable explanation to my mind can be inferred from the text. Recall that Philip said, “[We have found the one whom] Moses wrote about in the Law and the Prophets: Jesus, Joseph’s son, from Nazareth.” It doesn’t require much to realize that what Philip said simply doesn’t add up. Nowhere did Moses (or any Hebrew writer) write about “Jesus, Joseph’s son.” Nor is Nazareth ever mentioned in the Hebrew scripture. Shouldn’t someone as important as the Messiah come from some place more well known and at least is mentioned in scripture?

Nathanael is expressing an honest skepticism and asking a genuine question about Philip’s statement. Philip does not try to defend his statement or argue with Nathanael. He imitates Jesus and says to Nathanael, “Come and see.” Nathanael trusts Philip sufficiently enough that he follows to examine for himself Philip’s claims.

Honesty

As Jesus sees Nathanael approach, before Nathanael can say anything, Jesus speaks and says, “Here is a genuine Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” What did Jesus mean by this? Of the various explanations offered, there are two that I find most convincing. The first is that Nathanael is honest about his misgivings and doubt, and that he freely expresses his skepticism and questions, but at the same time he is open and willing to pursue new information and evidence that could change his mind.

The second explanation comes in light of Jesus’ final spoken sentence in today’s narrative. It is where Jesus says, “I assure you that you will see heaven open and God’s angels going up to heaven and down to earth on the Human One.” This is an allusion to the dream Jacob had of a ladder extending between earth and heaven, upon which angels were traveling up and down. This was the night after which Jacob fled his home because he had deceived his father to obtain the birthright blessing and was attempting to escape his brother’s wrath.

Jacob would be renamed “Israel” some years later during his return journey and he would become the father of all Israelites. So, Jesus’ statement to Nathanael, “Here is a genuine Israelite in whom there is no deceit,” touches on two key moments in Jacob’s story. In this interpretation, Nathanael may be seen as the prototype for a new kind of Israelite that Jesus is forming.

Witnessing in the Modern World

When Christians talk about effective witnessing and evangelism, what is often discussed are methods, techniques, information and content, and programs. What this opening portion of John’s gospel shows includes pretty much nothing that would be recognizable in modern evangelism.

What I see as the common thread through the first four disciples is trust. There is a thread and a web of trust. Not trust in information, but a trust in relationships. The first two trusted John the Baptizer. Peter trusted Andrew. Philip knew Peter and Andrew. Nathanael trusted Philip enough to at least give Philip’s strange statement a benefit of the doubt and check Jesus out for himself.

What is being increasingly lost in modern society is trust.[2] People do not trust institutions. That includes government and churches and nearly everything else in-between.

The first disciples came to Jesus and decided to join and follow him, not because of great programming, a convincing message, or any message. There was something about Jesus’ mere presence, of being with him, that was different. There was something trustworthy about Jesus.

Conclusion

When so much of society can rightfully ask, “Can anything from Christianity be good?”, perhaps our response shouldn’t be to try to defend Christianity through appeals to the many good things that have been accomplished historically, or to become defensive and say, “Not all Christians”, or to try to attempt to communicate doctrines more powerfully and effectively. Rather, maybe our response should be, “Come and see.” Come and see where trust and trustworthiness are values that are lived out, where honest skepticism and questions are welcomed, where care and concern is offered freely, not as a hook to conversion and membership.

When people see us and experience our presence, may they experience Jesus Christ among us and who is the ladder that connects humanity to divinity.

Bibliography

Bartlett, D. L., & Taylor, B. B. (2008). Feasting on the Word: Year B, Volume 1 (Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary). Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

Britton-Purdy, J. (2024, January 8). We’ve Been Thinking About America’s Trust Collapse All Wrong. Retrieved from The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/01/trust-democracy-liberal-government/677035/

Dunn, J. D., & Rogerson, J. W. (2003). Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

Jarvis, C. A., & Johnson, E. E. (2015). Feasting on the Gospels: John, Volume 1. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

Lewis, K. M. (2014). Fortress Biblical Preaching Commentaries: John. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press.

 



[1] In fact, if John’s account was the only gospel account, it could easily be read that Jesus never underwent baptism. If Jesus was baptized in John’s account, the timeline is rather fuzzy about when it took place.

[2] (Britton-Purdy, 2024)

Sunday, January 07, 2024

Sermon: From Scratch

Introduction

“From Scratch.”

When you hear the phrase what does it connote to you? How do you use the phrase?

“Built from scratch.” “Baked from scratch.” “Made from scratch.”

Merriam-Webster offers the following explanations[1]:

To create something from scratch is to make it without any ingredients or materials prepared ahead of time. The scratch in from scratch originally referred to the starting line of a race "scratched" into the ground, from which all runners would be starting without a head start…

In cooking, to make something from scratch means to use only the most basic ingredients, with nothing premade…

Building a structure from scratch means using no prefabricated parts…

To build a business or livelihood from scratch means to start with nothing provided in advance…

In these there is a strong sense of creating something significant out of nothing, or almost nothing. And that is how the biblical Creation account of Genesis chapter 1 has traditionally been viewed.

Genesis 1 Creation Account

We are probably quite familiar with the King James translation of the first two verses of Genesis.

1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. (Genesis 1:1-2 KJV)

From these verses it seems quite clear that there was nothing and then God created everything. But this may be yet another case of interpretation influencing translation.

The idea that God created everything from nothing is dated to just a couple of centuries prior to Jesus, during the time of the writings of the Maccabees. The Jewish Christians continued this thought and by the third and fourth centuries after Christ, it was held as orthodox theology.

But as you might have inferred, the text of Genesis predates Maccabees by another couple of centuries, at least, and is based on earlier creation mythologies, stories, and traditions. As recent scholars have studied and learned more about ancient creation stories, Bible translators have incorporated what could be considered a more accurate rendering of the one found in Genesis. The Common English Bible translators render the first two verses in this way:

1 When God began to create the heavens and the earth—2 the earth was without shape or form, it was dark over the deep sea, and God’s wind swept over the waters (Genesis 1:1-2 CEB)

This more accurately conforms to the Creation mythologies that are found throughout the Ancient Near East. Rather than a total void, there was already something, but what was there was seen as complete chaos. What God does through Creation is bring order out of chaos. That is the story of the Creation account in Genesis 1.

For the ancients, the sea was a place of chaos and where evil dwelt. The instances of Jesus taking control over the waters are significant because they are evidence of a power greater than the greatest chaos that humans know. They are evidence that Jesus is greater than the powers of this world.

This does not mean that God couldn’t have created matter out of nothing, but the Bible is silent on where and how matter and the universe originated. As far as the beginning of this world, something already existed, and God took those raw materials and placed them into proper order to bring about the world that humans know.

When you think about making something “from scratch,” that is what it means. Anything created depends on something that already exists. Even the most creative and original thought depends on and utilizes ideas that already exist. Something new is a result of a reordering of existing materials and ideas.

Baptism of Jesus

Let’s review today’s reading from Mark.

4 John the Baptist was in the wilderness calling for people to be baptized to show that they were changing their hearts and lives and wanted God to forgive their sins. 5 Everyone in Judea and all the people of Jerusalem went out to the Jordan River and were being baptized by John as they confessed their sins. 6 John wore clothes made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. He ate locusts and wild honey. 7 He announced, “One stronger than I am is coming after me. I’m not even worthy to bend over and loosen the strap of his sandals. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

9 About that time, Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and John baptized him in the Jordan River. 10 While he was coming up out of the water, Jesus saw heaven splitting open and the Spirit, like a dove, coming down on him. 11 And there was a voice from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I dearly love; in you I find happiness.” (Mark 1:4-11 CEB)

There is much that could be spoken about this selection, but I want to focus on the last few verses which describe Jesus’ baptism. While it may not be immediately obvious, there are images that parallel the Creation account of Genesis.

The first is that of wilderness and water. Both communicate ideas about disorder and chaos. They are where the world is wild and uncivilized, where dangers lurk, and threats abound. Yet that is where Jesus first appears in the Marcan gospel. Even more, the key aspect of this appearance of Jesus is that of coming up from out of the water. Just as the entire world and all of humanity finds emergence in the primordial waters, Jesus is depicted as appearing from out of the water.

The image of heaven splitting comes from a text in Isaiah 64. But it could also allude to the Creation account in Genesis where God separates light from darkness, waters from waters, dry land from the sea, and day from night. The allusion can also be to the momentous occasion at Sinai where God split open the heaven to come down to the mountain to speak with the people, which also occasioned the identification of Israel as God’s chosen. And the prophetic texts of the Hebrew scriptures speak of Israel as God’s son.

The image of the Spirit coming down is like the spirit, breath, or wind that is found at the beginning of the Creation account – an entity that is a participant in the initial creation of this world.

Finally, there is the image of Jesus being proclaimed as God’s son. In our language and interpretation, we most likely see this as singular, i.e., the object of “You are my Son” is specifically and only Jesus. But I mentioned just a few moments ago that Israel (in the collective) was also referred to as God’s son. In Luke’s genealogy he ends the list with “Adam son of God.”[2] While Adam could refer to a single individual, Adam is also often used in the Bible as a representative for all of humanity.

What Might Baptism Mean?

We have all heard the result of baptism referred to as a “new creation” or a “new creature”. What does that mean in light of some of the ideas brought out today?

One point to be made is that baptism is not suddenly creating something that didn’t exist before. Nor does it result in a discontinuous existence that is unrelated to what has already existed. What it is, however, like the Genesis Creation account, a bringing and restoration of order into chaos. And that, I think, is good news. Our lived lives don’t suddenly change after baptism. What came before has value. Our life and experiences prior to baptism are being redeemed and brought into proper order.

We continue to experience the same problems that already exist and are part of our lives. But what we do acquire is the Holy Spirit that moves and empowers us to partner with God in bringing order into the chaos that is human experience. Just as the sea continued to exist after Creation and with it the chaos it represents, there are still storms that exist about us and buffet us. But we can have assurance that the Word and Breath of God continues to restore order where there is chaos. There is a promise that chaos will eventually disappear, but it only comes in the book of Revelation, after all creation is recreated.[3]

A second point made is that God entered the chaos of humanity and made the choice to identify with us. When Jesus underwent the ritual of baptism, it was not because he had any sins to be cleansed from (a point which troubles Matthew and Luke). Rather, it was a deliberate decision to identify and enter fully into human experience, with all of the results of sin cast upon it. The good news here is that God knows and feels our confusions and our hurts, and Jesus offers us life patterns that can help us walk through those times.

A third and final point made is that baptism is not only an individual action, but it is something that is communal. Baptism is not merely about an individual confession of sin and repentance, but an entry into a collective, new community which exists beyond the physical boundaries of space and time. A baptized individual enters the community that is represented by Jesus. The entire community is declared by God, “You are my son, whom I dearly love.” Jesus may have been the individual who heard those words, but he hears it as a representative of the entire community that he began to build and continues to strengthen with each person added to it.


Bibliography

Bartlett, D. L., & Taylor, B. B. (2008). Feasting on the Word: Year B, Volume 1 (Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary). Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

Dunn, J. D., & Rogerson, J. W. (2003). Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

Enns, P., & Byas, J. (2019). Genesis for Normal People. The Bible for Normal People.

Jacobsen, D. S. (2014). Fortress Biblical Preaching Commentaries: Mark. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press.

Jarvis, C. A., & Johnson, E. E. (2014). Feasting on the Gospels: Mark (A Feasting on the Word Commentary). Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

Merriam-Webster. (2024, January 5). Scratching the Surface of ‘From Scratch’. Retrieved from Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus: https://www.merriam-webster.com/

Sabin, M. N. (2002). Reopening the Word: Reading Mark as Theology in the Context of Early Judaism. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.



[1] (Merriam-Webster, 2024)

[2] Luke 3:38.

[3] Revelation 21:1.

Sunday, December 03, 2023

Sermon: Awake in Hope

Lectionary: Advent 1(B)

Texts

Introduction

Back in October and November, my social media feeds were inundated with advertising for all sorts of Advent calendars, for kids to adults, for humans and pets. Traditional chocolate ones, cookies, tea, coffee, wine, beer, liquor, cosmetics, socks, candles, dog treats, cat treats, and probably dozens and hundreds more that I haven’t seen. Now that we are in December, all those ads have stopped. Because clearly, if you haven’t gotten your Advent calendar already, it’s too late.

The Advent season is a time for waiting and preparing? But for what, or whom, really? The popular mind and the Advent calendar market at least gets the waiting and counting down part of Advent.

In the broader world, the timeframe occupied by Advent is a time of preparing for Christmas. And we do that through decorating, cleaning, shopping, cooking, baking, traveling, and so on to create a memorable and meaningful Christmas celebration. Is that the purpose of Advent – to prepare for the best celebratory event we can manage?

Perhaps Advent is a time to prepare and wait for Christ? But what exactly does that mean? Are we again preparing to celebrate the remembrance of the arrival of baby Jesus? The activities of Advent lead toward the remembrance and celebration of Christmas, so its primary focus might appear to be that.

The theme for today, the first Sunday of Advent, is hope. What are we hoping for? What fulfillment of hope are we waiting for?

And finally, there is the admonition to “keep awake” in our gospel reading. In what way do waiting and keeping awake help explain Advent and hope?

Prayers of Lament and Deliverance

The reading from Isaiah and the reading from Psalms both contain words that look back to God’s powerful acts in the past and a longing, and even demands, for God to re-enact similar great works to bring about salvation in the present time. Both are literarily categorized as laments, and their liturgical function was quite likely as prayers. The lament in Isaiah was written in the context of the Babylonian exile of the southern tribe of Judah after the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. The Psalm lament was most likely written in the context of the Assyrian conquest of the northern kingdom of Israel.

In light of destruction and devastation suffered by a community, these laments raise up cries for God to act like he did in their long-ago historical memories. Both question where God is and why he has allowed this destruction and suffering to come to his people. Although the Isaiah lament contains a brief mention of the people’s sin, both laments place most or all of the responsibility on God. Both end with call to God for him to act and restore and save his people. Although not explicitly stated in the texts, both laments end with an implied confidence and hope that God will act.

The gospel text in Mark was also formed and read within a community that was probably experiencing some degree of intermittent persecution and suffering from within their own Jewish community and outside from the Roman empire. They too, are longing for deliverance and salvation.

Our Context is Different

That is what makes this set of Advent readings difficult for us to understand. Even though we likely have difficulties and challenges, none of us are likely facing truly existential challenges. We have a life that is mostly comfortable, and challenges we face, we generally don’t have too much trouble handling.

I think that if we are truly honest, many of us really don’t need God’s intervention. We are content with how things are, and we don’t really need or want God to intervene and shake things up.

Yet in places around the world, people and communities are facing dire challenges to their very existence. Some are more well known and publicized than others. Ukraine, Israel, and Palestine are among a few that immediately come to mind. Much closer to home, we remember the very recent landslide and loss of life and property in Wrangell. Right here at home, even next door to where we are meeting today, Humanity in Progress exists only because there are those within our very community who find meeting their basic needs a challenge.

Deep within us, even though our immediate circumstances may be quite comfortable, we know that there is something wrong with this world. Even though there are enough resources to take care of everyone, the dominant powers are unable and unwilling to do what it takes to care for all. Many of us have bought into the philosophies and priorities of the dominant powers and, even if we don’t overtly recognize it, we subconsciously divide people into who we think are “more-deserving” and “less-deserving”.

Keeping Awake

Perhaps one part of incorporating “keep awake” into our lives this Advent is to become more intentional about how we view and judge the world around us. Throughout scripture God is described as not showing partiality and those who follow God are also to be impartial in their dealings with others.[1] Maybe we are the ones who need the “breaking through” of God into our lives to reveal our hypocrisies and correct our partialities.

Another element of “keeping awake” may be to reawaken us to the reality that disasters and suffering can easily befall any of us. What is our response when something terrible upends our lives? One line of thought, common in some circles, is to accept whatever happens stoically and even be thankful[2] because “all things work together for good for those who love God”.[3]

If you want to do that, great. That is your choice. But don’t if it is only because you were taught that is the “proper Christian response” to tragedy and suffering.

There are other responses that are acceptable and exemplified in scripture. Psalm 80, which we read, contains one such example.

Even though the Isaiah, Psalm, and Mark texts are in the context of community and existential challenges, our individual tragedies and misfortunes can feel existential. Just because the texts are communal doesn’t mean they cannot be read as expressing individual lament.

Praying a Lament

How might we pray a lament? Let’s read through Psalm 80 once again.

1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
you who lead Joseph like a flock!
You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth
2 before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh.
Stir up your might,
and come to save us!
3 Restore us, O God;
let your face shine, that we may be saved.

The prayer begins by reminding God of who God is, what God has promised, and demands that God act according to God’s character.

4 O LORD God of hosts,
how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?
5 You have fed them with the bread of tears
and given them tears to drink in full measure.
6 You make us the scorn of our neighbors;
our enemies laugh among themselves.
7 Restore us, O God of hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved.

The prayer moves to a complaint. The complaint is that God’s inaction is the cause of God’s people’s suffering and God’s reputation to be sullied in the eyes of others.

This next section includes a large portion that was skipped by the lectionary editors, but it adds important context to the psalm.

8 You brought a vine out of Egypt;
you drove out the nations and planted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it;
it took deep root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches;
11 it sent out its branches to the sea
and its shoots to the River.
12 Why then have you broken down its walls,
so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?
13 The boar from the forest ravages it,
and all that move in the field feed on it.
14 Turn again, O God of hosts;
look down from heaven and see;
have regard for this vine,
15 the stock that your right hand planted.
16 It has been burned with fire; it has been cut down;
may they perish at the rebuke of your countenance.

17 But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand,
the one whom you made strong for yourself.
18 Then we will never turn back from you;
give us life, and we will call on your name.
19 Restore us, O LORD God of hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved.[4]

Once again, the prayer reminds God of God’s early actions in caring for God’s people. And then it again accuses God of allowing destruction to come. It ends with a demand for God to act to restore and save.

The three parts of this lament each end with three refrains. They are similar but with small differences.

The first refrain is “Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.” The second refrain is similar, but changes the first line to “Restore us, O God of hosts.” The third refrain changes to “Restore us, O LORD God of hosts.” The development is from a generic “God” to “God of hosts” to the most personal “LORD God of hosts.” One might imagine the one praying moving from a lament that is within the boundaries of “proper theology”, to a developing anger that causes the prayer to start to break out from “theological boundaries”, to anguish and anger at seeming betrayal in which one’s personal and close friend has failed to act.

What this says to me is that when we are disappointed with God, it is acceptable to express our anger, rage, and disappointment. If as a community, there is something where we think God has failed to act appropriately, it is okay to step out of “proper theology” and express our feelings as a community toward God. God is not threatened by our feelings. If we sincerely believe God is as personal as our theology claims, if we sincerely believe God is as loving and caring as our theology claims, then we ought to be able to express our complaints and disappointments about God without fearing that somehow, we are violating proper boundaries.

Conclusion

If this season of Advent and reminders about waiting for God bring up memories and feelings of disappointment with God, this might be the time to allow them to be expressed. If you are facing challenges this Advent – it might be financial, it might be your health, it might be something family members are facing – it is okay to express your frustrations and anger, and demand that God act.

While we wait for Christ’s return, we are to keep awake. Depending on the season of our individual and communal lives, it might mean working to alleviate the sufferings around us. Or it might mean crying out to God to act. I believe that the key point is to remain engaged with God and God’s desires for the world. To fall asleep is to succumb to the ennui that we are powerless to make any difference, and that God too, is asleep and doesn’t care.

We are the embodiment of Christ in the world. As long as we are engaged both with the world and with God, we remain beacons of hope in the world. We keep hope awake that justice and righteousness will be restored.



[1] Among the texts: Deuteronomy 16:19, 2 Chronicles 19:7, Job 32:21, Matthew 22:16, Acts 10:35, Romans 2:11, James 2:1, 9 and 3:17.

[2] Ephesians 5:19-20.

[3] Romans 8:28.

[4] Psalm 80 (NRSVue).