When the people say, "No!"

 Mark 6:1-13 is the Gospel text for next Sunday, July 4.

Jesus went home.  It wasn't the same.  He wasn't the same.  He was different.  His compassion, empathy and mission changed Him.  He was becoming while going to the Cross.  He taught with authority and wisdom, and that surprised the people from His hometown.  They likened His healings to mere deeds of power, but perhaps did not see the Agape Love mission behind them.  They couldn't get past that this was Joseph and Mary's boy, a mere carpenter.  They "ooo'd and ahhh'd" over Him at first, but that is a fine line before crossing into, "Who does He think He is?"

And Jesus COULD DO NO DEEDS OF POWER THERE.  He did heal some sick folk, so THEY might see it differently.

The people there could not believe in Jesus' mission.  Without the faith of the people, the mission could not be fulfilled.  Read that again.  Now, read it again.

In my 20 years of parish ministry, I had one, brief and shining period of about 2 1/2 years in Cleveland, in which my vision for ministry was working.  The community came together and with the church for a while, until the established members of the church from years before said, "no more."  No convincing mattered.  No pointing out of what wonderful things were happening changed their perspectives.  They did not want to walk in Jesus' Agape Love, Grace Way.  

During those twenty years, I also served a small, independent parish in my hometown.  My mother, some old acquaintances and one best friend from my school years attended.  It was near the end of my parish ministry, before I went into hospice care.  For two years I struggled to get folk to embrace the Agape Love message of Jesus, but the "give me that old time religion" folk prevailed.  They, too, just wanted me to take care of them, comfort them and make them feel good about themselves.  It was not about them being a part of the mission of the Gospel.  My mom was a joy, as always.  I remember her teasing me during a Bible Study when she was challenged by the Gospel, that she was "still my mother" and that she had "changed my diapers."  My old best friend was different.  When I offered that God loves LGBTQ folk too, he cited his dad, a member of the Knights of Columbus in opposition, telling me that I did not know anything.  After nine years of school and sixteen years of ministry, he still tried to pull childhood rank on me.  The prophet is not without honor, except in his own hometown.

I thank God often for those 2 1/2 years in Cleveland, where the mutual belief in Jesus and Jesus' mission turned into an active, loving ministry.  They were short lived, but will always be dear to me.

When Jesus sent His disciples out, they were instructed to rely on mutual dependence and commitment with the people they went to serve.  They were to rely on the people for their sustenance alone, to depend on the community for enough on which to live.  They were instructed to live among the people and give all they had for their benefit, when the people received them as partners in life and ministry.

When they were not received well, they were instructed to wipe the dust off their feet - to take nothing of that place or people with them, but move on to other places where people would share a mutual belief in Jesus and Jesus' Way of Agape Love.

With the exception of two and half years out of twenty, I must say that this was my experience.  The people allowed a mission of outreach, compassion and empathy, even inclusion for a short time, but eventually said, "NO!"  They just wanted me to "take care of them," as if that was the entire mission of the Gospel.  But in one brief shining period within my parish ministry, the people said "Yes" to Jesus' Way, and much was done to build up lives in community.  It was beautiful, truly beautiful.  I am and will always be grateful for that time and those folks who shared a common belief in the mission of the Gospel in Agape Love and Grace!

I am heartened to see and hear of many people now coming together in mutual belief in Jesus and Jesus' Way, who are making a difference in the world around them.  They are changing the world, which is the power of Agape Love and Grace - a power that only comes to fruition when the people say, "Yes!"

And THAT is the Good News!

Pastor Jamie

The most vulnerable under empire and healing in Jesus

 Mark 5:21-43 is the lectionary text for Sunday, June 27.

The Gospel writer wrote in a subtext, I believe, addressing the nation, the people of God and their suffering under empire.

It was a 12 year old girl who was sick unto death, having suffered under the oppressive poverty, malnutrition and abuse of empire's occupation of their land.  She was already of little value in her society, except to marry and bear children.  Her dying before her time to marry would be the taking away of any value she might have.  Her future was in peril, and her father, a local synagogue leader, had little power compared to the corrupt Temple Cult leaders who were in collusion with Rome.  She would surely die, as would the nation, and her/their life fullness would never be realized because of their plight under empire.  The nation was in peril, and any who would defend her against empire seemed powerless.

The woman who suffered hemorrhages for 12 years was also vulnerable.  She had depleted any resources she might have had toward restoring her health and yet she got worse.  She was destined for death.  Just as the 12 tribes, the nation, the people of God had suffered for many years under Rome's oppression, so she suffered not only this grave illness, but the poverty that came with it and the condition of being considered UNCLEAN, marginalized by those of her own people and community.  Empire had divided people and created a value system that blamed the victims for a plight designed by empire to benefit the powerful and wealthy at the expense of the poor.  The nation was desperate after such a long time, to have completeness, wholeness and well-being restored to her.

They reached out to Jesus.  Jairus risked what standing he may have had to do so.  The woman in need risked this desperate act not working.  They were both restored.

What is most endearing to me about this passage is that Jesus restores wholeness, completeness and well-being to lowly females.  He calls one "daughter" and the other "little lamb."  It is with such tenderness and Grace that Jesus walks, teaches, heals and changes the world in these Gospels.  The world is not that way.  Jesus did not charge Jairus for the healing, or ask for proof of insurance.  Jesus healed her.  Jesus disregarded any personal gain for doing it, but rather did so out of compassion, depleting His own power for the sake of someone else who needed it.

Jesus praised the woman in need for her faith, and commanded those around the little girl, "Do not fear, only believe."  Believing in Jesus' Way is critical.  If we believe in Jesus' way of Agape Love and Grace for how we are to live in the world, we will work to transform the world in Agape Love and Grace.  With Jesus as our example, we will allow what power we have to be used to bring others to restoration, and we will strive to fend off the ill effects of empire in the world, even as we work to change the values by which people in the world live.   

While the leadership of old, white men in power and with wealth (empire)  is working real hard to try to control women's bodies and close down women's health clinics in the process, Jesus would use His power to heal this woman who sought help for her severe "women's problem."  All of her resources exhausted by the for-profit medical system, she turned to Jesus who did not charge her, but healed her.  Jesus did not judge her.  Jesus healed her.   It was the loving thing to do - the Agape Loving thing to do, as Jesus did not gain from her healing.  It is what Jesus calls US to do out of compassion, with any power and resources we have.

Do you believe?

Want to follow Jesus?

Follow Jesus, fearlessly.

Not just when it benefits you in your concern for personal salvation, personal prosperity, personal blessings and favor and such.  Follow Jesus in doing all you can for OTHERS, even stranger and enemy, and especially the most vulnerable.  Cover their care.  Cover them in compassion.  Make them whole and complete again.  Ensure their well-being.

THAT is faithfulness to Jesus.

All the rest is just words.

Pastor Jamie

the boat in the disorder

 Mark 4:35-41 is the Gospel lectionary text for Sunday, June 20.

The boat is always the church.  Always.  The disciples, those who have been faithfully following Jesus, even though they do not, as of yet, fully know who Jesus is, are in it with the Lord.  

The storm is the chaos, disorder and unrest/lack of peace caused by the divisive, destructive, discriminatory, oppressive and insidious practices of empire - in that iteration, Rome.  The values of greed, lust for Power over others and desire for Status above others create and exploit differences and divisions, which causes unrest, destruction, despair, fear and uncertainty as they threaten life in this part of God's Kingdom, here and now.

The political leader in Jesus' day focused on keeping what wealth, power and status he could as a vassal of the emperor.  The religious leaders did the same, and twisted God's Word to support their corruptions while claiming faithfulness to God.  The people bought in or caved in to the realities of empire and its system of unequal, inequitable values.  They lived under empire, dong what they could just to survive.  

And as the chaos built up around them, those who strove to faithfully follow Jesus cried out to Him, because it seemed He was asleep.  Jesus rebuked the forces of empire and their values, and created Kingdom order from the chaos of empire.  The Kingdom had come and God's Will was being made known in this part of the Kingdom.  Jesus was here to set things right between God and God's children.

Jesus' admonishment of those who strove to be faithful to Him was, "Why are you afraid?  Have you still no faith?"  Their reaction was telling.  They did, and didn't.  They had faith enough to believe in the last wonder Jesus performed, but no certainty of who Jesus truly was as of yet or what He would do in THIS moment.  

Have you looked outside?  Have you watched or listened to or read the news?  Do you see the storm?  

Do you recognize that empire has again forced its values on the known world?  Do you see how the Greed, lust for Power and desire for Status have divided and again threaten to destroy humanity?  If you are among the political leaders, you are probably focused on playing the game and not questioning its validity.  If you are among the religious leaders, you most likely try to justify empire values with your false theologies of prosperity, church growth, personal salvation, holiness and purity, instead of Agape Love for God and Neighbor.  If you are among the masses, you are just trying to get what you can under an unjust and inequitable system so that you and yours can survive, or you have bought into it and are exploiting as many as possible to get yours in the game.  If you are a follower of Jesus, you may be afraid of what you see and not sure that this will end well, feeling that perhaps Jesus is sleeping through it, or you believe that in the end, it will be set right according to God's Kingdom.

What are your values?

Do you value the things that divide, marginalize, disenfranchise and destroy others' lives?

Do you value the Kingdom values that build up, lift up and sustain life in equity and justice?

Are you among those who help create the chaos and feed the hot air of the storm?

Are you among those who strive to the interject Kingdom values of Agape Love and Grace, the Good News of Jesus, into life in this part of God's Kingdom, here and now?

Where are YOU in the storm?  What role are YOU playing in it?

Whatever the case, the truth is that WE ARE IN THE STORM.

Which force in the storm will YOU represent?

Pastor Jamie

The Little Things

 Mark 4:26-34 is the Gospel text for Sunday, June 13.

It's all about life in the Kingdom - this part of the Kingdom, here and now.  Folk with heaven on their minds, focused only on their personal faith and salvation miss the message of the Gospel of Agape Love and Grace, in that faithfulness to God, according to Jesus, is DOING LOVE - Agape is not a feeling, but active commitment on behalf of the other, even stranger or enemy and especially the most vulnerable among us, here and now.

The Kingdom is like scattering the seed of Agape Love on the foundation of folks' lives.  It is inevitable that it will grow, in time and in its course.  When that comes to fruition, others benefit from it.  It is not about the plant itself alone, but about all the others that benefit from its fruit in the world.

It takes time, effort, patience and persistence to plant the seed of Agape and nurture its growth in peoples' lives.  It can be laborious and messy.  It can be frustrating.  It is always the right thing to do.

No amount of that Agape Love planted in the world is too small to make a difference.  Regardless of the size of the seed of Agape planted, it will inevitably grow to be something much greater, even that which sustains other life in the world around it.

It may seem like that is not enough, but it is what God requires, desires and commands.  It is no small thing because, when the Holy Spirit of God, relentless and always drawing us to the Agape and Grace of Christ Jesus, gets ahold of it, the result is anything but insignificant.

If we spread this Agape Love in the world around us, this part of God's Kingdom, here and now, it will grow and affect, even sustain lives around us.  That is the world that we help God re-create, the world in which we live.  It transforms lives and the world to be more loving and gracious.  That is sustainable.  That is wise.  That is faithful.  That is what God wants.

Be the someone who participates in the Kingdom of God, here and now.

Be the flesh made Word.

Be the Agape Love and Grace of God in the lives of others in the world around you.

And watch the growth, the fulfillment, the Kingdom come to fruition.

Thy Kingdom come.  Thy Will be done on Earth, as in Heaven.

Pastor Jamie