Gospel text: Mark 10: 34-45
Spirit of the Living God Fall Fresh On Me! Congregation Repeats!
“Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”
I love the simple honesty of James and John! I know that I like what I want
too. In that way we are all like
James and John. We probably don’t
quite reveal our intentions with such clarity as James and John. When we pray
with our lists of requests and favors of God, don’t we sort of say, “teacher,
we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you”. On the other hand, how often do we pray, “Give me only your
love and your grace, that is all I need”?
It is apparent that James and John did not understand what
they were asking for. They wanted to be equal to Jesus in position and power
AND share his glory. Bold, bold
men do not know what they are asking!
Actually they don’t know what they are asking for!
Without saying so, Jesus prepares his apostles and disciples
for his passion and death. Jesus
knows that James and John know not what they are asking of him.
A Joe Confession! I dislike movies that move back and forth
in time without giving me the viewer any preparation. Life is complex enough with its own multiple plots.
Typically when Stefani and I are watching a complex movie, about 20 minutes
into the movie, I hear Stefani saying to me, “Joe, did you catch that?” Catch what? Oh, OK, no I did not get that. By the time I get it, I have
lost the last ten minutes and now I am doubly lost!
I find that many of the Gospel stories are like complex
movies because we have to constantly remind ourselves that what the disciples
don’t get, they have not yet experienced.
Jesus knows what is coming because the Father has told him and he is
trying to prepare the naïve disciples for what is to come. We read the Gospel
stories knowing the sequence of the biblical story. As you see there are three
story lines here – James and John, Jesus and us. Although we know the story we share the disciples’ naiveté,
but for different reasons adding to the interpretative complexity.
We are more accountable than James and John for we should
know better. To be servants in Jesus’ name means we follow Jesus in his hidden
life, public ministry, passion, death and resurrection. Jesus’ hidden life story is told
through the nativity and his travels with the Holy Family. Jesus’ public
ministry begins with the teaching in the temple and then includes all of his
parables and healings. These are the stories that James and John have had
access to at this point in today’s Gospel. We on the other hand know the rest of the story. Jesus’ passion and death begins with
the Passover meal and concludes with Jesus’ crucifixion and being laid in the
tomb. We are not certain when or under what circumstances Jesus resurrected,
but the story told is that the women did not find him in the tomb and later he
is revealed to his disciples in a variety of contexts.
Jesus tells us that, “whoever wishes to be great in the
kingdom of God must be servant and whoever wishes to be first among you must be
servant of all.” Given what we
know and the disciples did not know yet, the call we receive today is even more
demanding than the call to the disciples.
I don’t think there are many of us asking Jesus to sit at his right hand. We do say in our own ways, “Teacher, we
want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”
What are Jesus’ expectations for us as his companions?
It is timely for us to reflect on this question as we
prepare for our first healing celebration as a congregation. Last Sunday I preached that the glory
of God is the human person fully alive. When we seek healing there is usually a
part of us that is wounded, hurt, not quite right, out of synch or you put your
words in there to express your own feelings or sense of your inner being.
Jesus’ expectations for us are well outlined for us in the
baptismal covenant. Please take
your prayer book and turn to page 304.
The faith basis of our companionship with Christ is outlined
in the Apostle’s Creed. The Apostle’s
Creed is followed by a few important questions.
Will we continue in the apostle’s teaching and fellowship,
in the breaking of the bread, and in the prayers? Before you respond, I want to underscore and amplify “the
apostle’s teaching”.
We believe in the holy catholic church. By this we mean that we believe that we
are a part of a larger Body of Christ than any one church. The Nicene Creed instructs us that we
are members of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church. Even more so
through the communion of saints we are members of the Body of Christ. Later in
the prayers of Baptism, the universal church is referred to as “the household
of God”.
We believe in the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of
the body, and the life everlasting. These faith statements are important for
all Christians. These faith
statements have different meanings for us at different times in our life. At this point in St. Francis Church’s
history as a congregation these faith statements must be a part of our conscious
and intentional prayer.
You might consider saying in your daily prayer every day, I
believe in the resurrection of the body.
No matter the future of St. Francis Church as one of The Episcopal
Churches of this diocese, the body that is the people will be resurrected. There is no question that this Body of
Christ will be resurrected. We do
not yet know in what form resurrection will take.
Remember the creed is not talking about those churches that
stay open or those that close. The creed leads us to something much
deeper. In this deeper experience
we share with Mary, the women at the tomb and the disciples at Emmaus the firm
belief in the power of our immortality with Christ through resurrection. These
faith statements are not lofty theological ideas or pious spiritual
thoughts. These faith statements
have fleshy results in our being fully alive as persons and as a body of people
as St. Francis Church.
Now say with me – I believe in the resurrection of the
body!
Will you continue in the apostle’s teaching, and fellowship,
in the breaking of the bread, and in the prayers?
Will you persevere in resisting evil and whenever, you fall
into sin, repent and return to the Lord?
Even beyond resisting evil, let us as a congregation say, “we
will persevere”.
Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God
in Christ? I will with God’s help.
Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your
neighbor as yourself? I will with
God’s help.
Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and
respect the dignity of every person?
I will with God’s help.
Did you sense in yourself any resistance as you responded to
each of these questions? It is
normal to experience some or even a lot of resistance. James and John were displeased with
Jesus’ expectations of them. While
we know the story that James and John did not, we sometimes share in their lack
of readiness with our own resistance to follow Jesus on Jesus’ terms. If you felt this way, you could
come forward today for prayers of healing to open you up to new life.
There are lots of reasons why you might come forward
today. As I said last week all you
need to do is name your desire for healing or just come forward in
silence. I will listen for your
need and or your desire for healing.
Then I will invite you to smell the oil. The oil has a beautiful scent that is a part of the healing
you will experience. I tell those
parishioners I visit in their homes that after I leave them I want them to
remember the scent of the oil as the scent of the healing Christ who persists
in their midst. Then I will anoint
your forehead with the sign of the cross.
If you ask I will anoint your hands as I anointed Louise Biddle’s hands
a few days before she died.
In coming forward you would seek to renew yourself not only
as we have already done by word through the renewal of our baptismal promises
but also with the seal of the Holy Spirit through consecrated oil.
As I bless you I will pray with you that the Holy Spirit
uphold you in the service of Christ.
I will pray that through this healing ministry that you experience less
resistance to persevere in your faith and that with all your mind, body, heart
and soul together we may continue to believe in the power of the resurrection
of this body and of the sanctifying power of the Holy Eucharist that transforms
our lives.
God bless you!
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