“Where Is Jesus Going?” 

Text: Luke 9:51-62

Preached by Rev. James Murray at Dominion-Chalmers United Church, June 27 2010.

“Happy is the soul, which hears the Lord speaking within her,
and from His mouth receives the word of comfort.
Happy are the  ears, which receive the strains of the divine whisper,
and takes no notice of the whisperings of the world . 
Happy are the eyes, which are shut to outward things, but are attentive to things interior.
Happy are they, who penetrate into internal things, and endeavour to prepare themselves more and more by daily exercises for attaining heavenly secrets.”

Those words were written five hundred years ago by the mystic Thomas a Kempis in his spiritual classic which is called “The Imitation of Christ”. In its day it was a popular pattern of how we should follow Jesus.

Jesus’ invitation to follow him is at the core of what we are to about as Christians. We are to model our lives on him. His is our pattern, our guide, our road map. In each generation we are invited to figure out what it means to follow Jesus.  But where is Jesus going today? How does he expect us to follow him? 

Even in the scriptures we see that people struggled to comprehend what Jesus is asking of us.  We hear one potential disciple saying to Jesus "I will follow you wherever you go." Yet it quickly becomes obvious he thinks Jesus is going to some destination where he will reside. Jesus corrects this person by saying that to follow me means to be on the road with no permanent home. So how does he expect us to follow him? 

Jesus asks someone else to follow him. But this person's father has just died. One of the highest family duties you can have is to see to the proper burial of your father. In that culture it had to be done within the day. Then there was the obligatory period of mourning which would last a whole year. To this person Jesus says proclaiming the Kingdom of God is an even higher obligation.

When the Samaritan village refuses to welcome him, the disciples are quite angry. They ask if they can call down thunderbolts to smite the bad Samaritans. Jesus refuses to buy into their righteous anger. Instead, Jesus quotes the immortal words of Burt Bacharach and Hal David and says “Walk on by.” Following Jesus is not about having power over others. To follow Jesus is to lead by example, using the persuasive power of love. To follow Jesus is to walk the path of compassion.

Later this week we will be celebrating Canada Day. As Canada becomes more culturally diverse and more secular, there are many who are calling for Canada to be a Christian nation once more. I must confess I have a problem with this as being the best way for us to follow Jesus. My concerns grow out of our history.

When the British established the colony of Lower Canada in 1791, it did not have an established state religion, since the majority of Francophones were Catholic, and the English minority were Anglicans. By not having an established religion, it kept the peace in Quebec. It also allowed the Jewish community in Quebec to gain full rights as citizens. Here in the Colony of Upper Canada however, the Anglican Church became the official established state religion. Only the Anglicans were allowed to hold lands for churches and burying-grounds. Only the Anglican ministers were authorized to solemnize marriages. Even though there were more Methodist and Presbyterian ministers in Upper Canada than there were Anglicans, only the Anglicans were recognized. There are many instances where these powers were used to have Methodist preachers arrested, and in on case, deported.  It took the Rebellions of 1837 to grant full religious freedom to all churches. When the Dominion of Canada was formed in 1867, the founders did not want to repeat the mistake of having one established religion. They carefully decided that all should be free to worship. 

The Canadian Constitution reflects this belief by affirming that 

“Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:

    (a) freedom of conscience and religion;

    (b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression

    (c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and

    (d) freedom of association.

Since having faith is a matter of choice, I do not feel Christians are called to rule over Canada. That would violate other people’s rights to have their own beliefs.  We have experienced what it is like to have our faith not be allowed, to be persecuted and discriminated against. We do not want others to sufferfor their faith what we have suffered for our faith.

I do however believe that we as Christians are called to live as people who believe God has dominion in Canada. As Christians we are called to follow Jesus, and live according to his vision of what God’s Kingdom should be about. And we don’t need to control the government in order to achieve that.  The government can never control or limit what is in our hearts.

I believe Jesus is saying to us today.
Make sure that following me is what guides all that you do.
Don't put me aside to go bury your father.
Make following me be your guide as you bury your father.
Don't put me aside as you say good-bye to your family.
Make following me be your guide as you say good-bye.
Don’t put me aside when you talk of politics, economics, justice, health care, education, or defence.
Put me at the heart of how you build your nation.
I’m not like a bird who needs a nest- I don’t need a physical place to call my home.
If you follow me, I will make my home in your heart.
And when I dwell in your heart, together we will change the whole world.”

When the disciples returned from their mission, there was a great celebration. There was much rejoicing, but not because of their own personal success. They rejoiced because the people had experienced God first hand. They celebrated the joy these people felt.  Jesus told them not to celebrate their own victory. Rather the disciples were to rejoice that they themselves had been drawn closer to God. Such feelings of compassion are feelings of togetherness. This is not us triumphantly expanding our church for our own benefit. This is us going out into God’s world to help God’s people, and rejoicing at their having come closer to God. 

Acts of compassion create community which is worth celebrating. This is why it is important for us to be here today. We gather together so we might hear the stories of Jesus one more time. So we can understand them perhaps for the first time. So these words might  touch our hearts. When we gather to hear these stories, our purpose is not for us to decide which of these stories conforms to our understanding of history, truth or fact. When we gather to hear these stories, the purpose is for us to experience the spirit of the living God in our lives.  We come here so we too might draw closer to God. We gather to experience the healing, help and hope which comes from God. We gather to learn how to live out this great Love we have received. 

For as we truly follow the way of Christ, we are transformed, day by day, season by season, year by year.  As we are transformed, we share this love in our acts of compassion. Like those who first touched our lives, we too learn how and where we can sow the Spirit.

And so it is, in our moment of transformation, we become the light of Christ which shines for all the world to see.

Sermon for July 11, 2010

Preached by Rev. James Murray at Dominion-Chalmers United Church.

The story of the good Samaritan has been told thousands of times. When we listen one more time to this familiar story, the challenge is to hear the message it has for us. For this story is not about someone else. This is a story about us and God. 

When I consider all the characters in this story, I always struggle to remember that no one has done anything wrong. All the people who passed on by are not bad people. They were good people who lived within the expectations and laws of their day.  They did the right thing, but they still managed to leave a man bleeding in a ditch.

It is easy for us to point our fingers at those who passed by and pass judgement on them.  We can blame those in authority, saying they didn’t do their jobs. We can blame the system that doesn’t compel people to get involved. It is easy for us to judge others and blame them for this terrible situation. But that makes this story about someone else. This is a story about us and God.

The parables of Jesus are extreme exaggerated examples of what the Kingdom of God is like. The parables of Jesus are meant to turn our conventional expectations upside down.  They are open-ended stories which leave us to ponder just what is God up to in the world.   

If we read this story one way, we are left with the impression that the Kingdom of God is all about a spirit of judgement. But does the gospel call us to blame others for all the suffering in the world? Or is the Kingdom of God about a spirit of grace, as we learn to heal one another’s wounds?

As Christians we need to remind ourselves that Jesus did not say “The Christian church is here, join it.” When he healed people, Jesus did say “The Kingdom of God has come close to you. Join it.” God is not ultimately concerned about the well being of this church or whether that church meets its projected growth target for this year. God is concerned with all of creation. God seeks the well being of all humanity, whether they belong to our church or not.

It requires an open heart to realize that God’s grace permeates all of reality. Grace is not the exclusive possession of the Christian tradition.  Remember that Jesus uses a Samaritan as the agent of God’s grace in this story. The Samaritans and Jews had been bitter enemies for over 800 years, and to the Jews, there was no such thing as a ‘good’ Samaritan. 

The revelation we have received through Jesus Christ opens us up to the grace which is everywhere at all times.   We do not have a monopoly on being good. We do not own God’s grace. We are just a group who are dedicated to being open to the presence of God’s grace which is always with us. We are not the guardians of God’s mercy. We are just the group of sinners who meet on the corner of Cooper and O’Connor who recognize our need for God’s forgiveness so we can learn how to live.

Samir Selmanovic is a Muslim who converted to Christianity and is now a pastor in the United States.  Selmanovic says “In the eyes of an increasing number of people, both Christian and not, Christianity has developed an inordinate sense of self importance.” As a result we have lost some of the potent beauty of a religion that ‘is able to place the good of the world ahead of its own survival.” We have become so concerned with our own power and need for institutional survival that we have forgotten the fact that our God became incarnated as a human being, who became a lowly servant, and who died for something more important than his own life. Selmanovic says “the future of Christianity depends upon its ability to serve something larger than itself.”

The grace God gives us is sufficient to heal our troubles. The grace God gives us is sufficient to heal the world. We need to recall the words of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel who said ‘the greatest human need is to be needed.’ God needs us to participate with him in healing the world.

Building God’s Kingdom is not accomplished just by our giving handouts and signing checks, even though those are good deeds. Healing and Faith are a two way street. If we expect others to learn from us and be changed, then we must first allow for the real possibility that we have something to learn from them. They can heal us, just as much as we can help heal them. We have to be open to how God is already working in the people we meet. It is not just the man in the ditch who is blessed and healed in Jesus’ story. The Samaritan is also blessed.  And both of their lives are changed forever by the encounter.

I want to leave you with three questions:

Do your want to learn to be like a God who heals like that? 
Will you be open to the spirit of grace which is all around you in every moment?
Will you commit yourself to follow the way of Christ in all you say and do?

Source: Samir Selmanovic, “The sweet problem of inclusiveness
from “An Emergent Manifesto of Hope”, edited by Doug Pagitt & Tony Jones,
Baker Books 2007.

Mary and Martha’s gift

Text: Luke 10:42-48. July 18 2010.
Preached by Rev. James Murray at Dominion-Chalmers United Church.

 
My what a wonderful summer it has been already. I don’t know how I am going to fit in all the important things there are to do this season. So far there have been gatherings for several birthday celebrations, a wedding and a wedding anniversary. There is still a family reunion to attend, plus several gatherings with friends and some family barbecues to attend. Summer is a time for relationships. With all this activity comes the challenge of keeping everyone happy. When a family member or friend feels left out, or their feelings are hurt, these gatherings can be quite difficult. Relationships are always a challenge. And a relationship is not like a problem which you can solve once and forget about it. Relationships require constant attention. Relationships need to be built up, healed and renewed every day.

 Since relationships are such a challenge, it is no wonder that we often go looking for rules of common behaviour to help us negotiate the maze of expectations put before us. We live in a society which values individualism and freedom, which makes the need for the rules of etiquette all the more necessary. Etiquette helps us to control a situation so nobody’s toes are stepped on. Etiquette sets out common standards of acceptable behaviour. Etiquette helps prevent bad things from happening when we get together. While etiquette can help us avoid a disaster, it is not capable of guaranteeing us a perfect gathering.

 If we are to have healthy relationships, we need much more than just a simple set of common rules to guide our behaviour. We need something more to guide us. And that something more is our character.

 You see, our character is not shaped by the social rules or etiquette. Our character is not determined by the laws of the land. Most of our public morality is really just a list of duties and prohibitions designed to keep certain things from happening.  This is why so many people find conforming to society’s rules so unfulfilling. You don’t find happiness by not doing things. You find happiness in life by doing the right things.

The Canadian philosopher Mark Kingwell wrote a book about our search for happiness today.  Kingwell’s book is called “Better Living- in pursuit of happiness from Plato to Prozac”.  Kingwell offers this as the only real definition of how to find happiness. Kingwell says “When a person participates in the life of a social group, forming and maintaining ties, doing work which supports rather than destroys what is shared, the result is the only genuine form of happiness.”

Such a sense of happiness can be found if your character is guided by the right virtues. A virtue is a quality of character which creates excellence. A virtue is a quality which helps the individual and the common good of all to flourish together.

 In the Christian tradition, there are four Cardinal virtues, which are prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance. . These four virtues actually predate Christianity, and come from Plato, so they are very ancient. The problem is, no one in our world talks much about them any more, at least not in those terms. So let me try and describe these four ancient qualities and show how they still have relevance for our world today.

To act without prudence is to act foolishly or thoughtlessly. So perhaps the best way to describe prudence in a modern sense is to say it is a sense of wisdom. Wisdom is to have an understanding about the world. Prudence is to have a conscience, the ability to discern what is good and right. You must have prudence in order to be capable of moral growth and developing your character.

So if prudence discerns what is good, then justice puts the good into action. A sense of justice requires that we grant to other people the same considerations we give ourselves. It is to respect what is rightfully theirs, which gives birth to a sense of compassion. God’s sense of justice extends this privilege even to the alien and the stranger. To deny what is their due is to deny the same of ourselves.  The most primary form of injustice is greed. With greed, I put my interests ahead of everyone else, and I put my good ahead of the common good.  Only a sense of justice can restore the balance.

Because there is injustice in this world, we need the third virtue of fortitude. Fortitude is courage. Fortitude is hopeful endurance. It is to stay true to your beliefs even when there is no chance of success.

The fourth virtue is temperance. It is a mistake to reduce this to moderation, or the abstinence called for by the Women’s Christian Temperance Union.  A sword must be hardened or tempered before it is fit to be used in battle. An athlete must be disciplined in their training if they are to achieve their goal. Temperance is a healthy self-discipline. Now the enemy of temperance is lust. Lust is an out of control desire. If our desires are out of control, we can never experience satisfaction or serenity. Only with a healthy self-discipline can we learn to say “This is enough.” and be able to walk away satisfied.

If we are willing to seek a wise conscience, a respectful sense of justice, an enduring sense of hope, and a healthy self-discipline, then we will have the qualities of character which will help us to live meaningful and fulfilling lives which we share with others. We may even find that we are happy in the process.

Martha and her sister Mary give us an example the power such virtues can have in people’s lives. Jesus had the ability to truly see the other person as being his equal. He was able to look past the labels society put on such people, and look instead at the quality of their character. For Jesus, to offer hospitality is to freely offer someone God's justice. In hospitality we welcome a person into our home, and treat them as if they were a member of our own family. Hospitality turns justice into a gracious gift.

Martha offers Jesus her gift of hospitality even though she wasn't socially 'right'.  It would have been a social scandal for an unmarried woman to welcome any man into her home.  Jesus sees the justice in her heart, and accepts the gift and enters her socially unacceptable home. He blesses her and breaks bread with her.

Now Mary is even more inappropriate than her older sibling. Mary accepts the teachings of Jesus, to the point that she is sitting in the seat of honour at the feet of Jesus.

To sit at the feet of Jesus is to put herself ahead of all the men and other disciples present.  They have both broken all the rules of etiquette for the sake of Jesus. Martha is quite bold by sharing her home. Mary is gutsy beyond belief.  Jesus recognizes that both of their gifts are good. Both women are challenging the norms of their day. Both women are extending the definition of justice. By doing so, they open the door to the countless women workers, leaders and preachers who will eventually follow them into full participation in the Kingdom of God. 

Saint Paul says “Through Christ, God is pleased to reconcile all of life to himself.” (Colossians 1:20) God is seeking a meaningful relationship with each of us. God wants to be a part of our lives. God wants to be there when we hurt, when we feel lonely or forgotten. God wants to be there when we feel like we are trapped, or are lost. And God also wants to be there when we celebrate the weddings, birthdays and family reunions which make this time of year so special. Or God is a reconciler who values all the relationships this life has to offer.

In the end, Jesus doesn’t judge Martha as being unworthy. He is just telling her not to worry about what the neighbours think. They are so far over the line there is no going back now.  They’ve both done something wonderfully virtuous, which has revealed the quality of their character, and their love of God.  They have entered into a relationship with Jesus that has changed who they are forever.