Year B
Jonah 3:1-5, 10
Psalm 62:6-14
1 Corinthians 7:29-31
Mark 1:14-20<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May the words of my mouth\u2026 O God\u2026 speak your Truth\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was the last straw\u2026 it was the straw that broke the camel’s back\u2026 I mean\u2026 there’s only so much you can stand\u2026 so much weight of wrong…<\/em> you can carry\u2026 so much that’s at odds with your values\u2026 with your core beliefs\u2026 before you have to say something\u2026 before you have to do\u2026 something\u2026 and even then\u2026 especially then\u2026 you’re not about to waste time\u2026 not about to move slowly\u2026 not about to ask permission\u2026 the time for talking is over\u2026 it’s time to act\u2026 and to act immediately\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Two weeks ago\u2026 we heard the first eleven verses of Mark’s Gospel\u2026 about John’s call to repentance\u2026 about Jesus’ baptism\u2026 and the voice from Heaven said\u2026 You are my Son\u2026 the Beloved Truth Teller\u2026 in You I am well-pleased<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n In our reading from the Book of Jonah\u2026 Jonah is charged with calling Nineveh to truth telling\u2026 to repentance\u2026 and as you may remember\u2026 in the preceding chapters\u2026 Jonah tried to escape God’s call\u2026 tried to sail to Tarshish\u2026 to the end of the known world\u2026 but he was thrown overboard because he was the cause of turbulent seas which threatened to break the ship up\u2026 and he was swallowed by a whale\u2026 he was consumed by something which kept him from seeing what was going on around him\u2026 and what was going on around him\u2026 was the promise of God’s unmerited forgiveness\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n We don’t know exactly what the Ninevites were called to repent from\u2026 but when the news of Jonah’s warning reached the king\u2026 he issued a proclamation which said [in vv. 7b-9]: by the decree of the king and his nobles\u2026 no human being or animal\u2026 no herd or flock shall taste anything\u2026 they shall not feed\u2026 nor shall they drink water\u2026 human beings and animals shall be covered with sackcloth\u2026 and they shall cry mightily to God\u2026 all shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands\u2026 who knows\u2026 <\/em>he said\u2026 God may relent and change his mind\u2026 he may turn from his fierce anger\u2026 so that we do not perish<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n The story says it would have taken three days to walk across Nineveh\u2026 and Jonah walked for only one day\u2026 he didn’t cross the whole city\u2026 and we don’t know how loudly he was able to shout this warning\u2026 so I wonder if this story says less about Jonah’s success in reaching every ear\u2026 and less about whether the king’s proclamation reached every eye\u2026 or whether it says more about the breadth and depth of God’s forgiveness\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n But repentance isn’t just saying\u2026 I’m sorry God\u2026 please forgive me<\/em>\u2026 and repentance isn’t only truth telling\u2026 repentance involves a new heart\u2026 and a new mind\u2026 and new hearts and new minds don’t speak the same old words\u2026 don’t believe the same old beliefs\u2026 don’t perform the same old actions\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n Bp. Brian Maas\u2026 from the Nebraska Synod of the ELCA writes\u2026 once Jesus starts preaching\u2026 the action verbs start rolling\u2026 because the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come near\u2026 it\u2019s time to repent and to believe\u2026 not only that\u2026 it\u2019s time to follow\u2026 Mark doesn\u2019t say that the first four disciples have heard Jesus\u2019 preaching\u2026 but they certainly repent\u2026 practice metanoia\u2026 change their minds\u2026 and choose a new direction for their lives<\/em>\u2026 the bishop continues\u2026 faithful living has consequences too\u2026 arrest\u2026 repudiation\u2026 condemnation\u2026 even death\u2026 including the death of biases and prejudices\u2026 privilege\u2026 and the insistence on one\u2019s way\u2026 one\u2019s ego\u2026 and one\u2019s facades<\/em>\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jonah was swallowed by a whale\u2026 he was consumed by something which kept him from seeing what was going on around him\u2026 and so I wonder\u2026 what consumes us\u2026 what keeps us from seeing what is going on around us\u2026 what allows us to see only what we want to see\u2026 and hear only what we want to hear\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians exhort us to be in the world\u2026 but not of it\u2026 to honor our relationships\u2026 and our feelings\u2026 and to deal with the world\u2026 but without attachment\u2026 without believing that the things we see\u2026 and the things we do\u2026 are all there is\u2026 it finds some expression\u2026 for example\u2026 in our belief that the Body and Blood of Christ are “truly and substantially present in\u2026 with\u2026 and under the forms” of consecrated bread and wine\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you were\u2026 I believe\u2026 fortunate enough… to hear Amanda Gorman recite her poem “The Hill We Climb” at Wednesday’s Inauguration\u2026 you heard her say that what just is\u2026 isn’t always just-ice\u2026 that our nation isn’t broken\u2026 but just unfinished\u2026 that we are striving to compose a country committed to all cultures\u2026 colors\u2026 characters\u2026 and conditions of man\u2026 and that we don’t think we can form a perfect union\u2026 just a more perfect one\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n So what do we leave behind as we move along The Way\u2026 Isaac Villegas\u2026 pastor of the Chapel Hill Mennonite Fellowship writes\u2026 in 1Corinthians 7\u2026 Paul describes a “passing away” of the current “form of this world.” The systems of power\u2026 the moral codes\u2026 the value structures\u2026 none of those deserve the deference of our political will or our economic lives\u2026 instead… Paul writes\u2026 deal with the world without making deals with the power brokers\u2026 because the form\u2026 the structure\u2026 and the core of this order is a sham\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n The United States is the city of Nineveh\u2026 and part of our corporate structure\u2026 is systemic racism and white supremacy\u2026 and Pastor Villegas quotes historian Saidiya Hartman who wrote\u2026 “Abolition is a synonym for the end of the world.” Abolition is a synonym for the end of the world\u2026 because when you abolish slavery\u2026 when you abolish biases and prejudices\u2026 as Bp. Maas said\u2026 when you abolish thinking that others are worth less than you\u2026 that they’re not even human… then an entire way of life passes away\u2026 with its particular industries\u2026 and economies\u2026 and social customs\u2026 and language\u2026 and knowing nods\u2026 and dress codes\u2026 and ideas about who ought to live on which side of the railroad tracks\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And the unknowns of the new world order can be so terrifying\u2026 that if you can just prevent or negate the ballots of people of color\u2026 then you can maintain the status quo<\/em>\u2026 and there are even some who are willing to kill in order to maintain it\u2026 the only hope is to embrace repentance as a structural overhaul\u2026 and the only question worth asking\u2026 is how will we love our neighbors\u2026 as the present order passes away\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n Simon and Andrew left their nets immediately\u2026 James and John responded to Jesus’ call immediately\u2026 there was no time to waste\u2026 now think about how long it took for the 15th Amendment\u2026 which allowed African – Americans to vote\u2026 to be passed\u2026 not until 1870\u2026 think about how long it took for the 19th Amendment\u2026 which gave women the right to vote\u2026 to be passed\u2026 not until 1919\u2026 think about being recognized by the country in which you live that you are co-equal with white men\u2026 I imagine one thing you’d think is\u2026 whatever has been is done\u2026 it’s time now for a new thing\u2026 for new work\u2026 for us to respond to God’s call\u2026 so let’s go\u2026 there’s no time to lose\u2026 it must be done immediately\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Richard Rohr wrote\u2026 the early church surely knew the liberating effect of the presence of the Holy Spirit\u2026 perhaps the apostle Paul\u2019s teachings had so much impact because he restored human dignity in another time of widespread oppression\u2026 slavery\u2026 and injustice… in the corrupt and corrupting Roman Empire\u2026 Paul shouts\u2026 “One and the same Spirit was given to us all to drink!” (1Corinthians 12:13). He utterly levels the playing field\u2026 You\u2026 all of you\u2026 are sons and daughters of God in Christ Jesus<\/em>\u2026 (Galatians 3:26)\u2026 in Paul\u2019s estimation… the old world was gone forever\u2026 and a new world was born… in which everyone is free\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n And I’m convinced that this new world already exists\u2026 but it’s just below the surface level of what we see\u2026 and what collectively we’ll allow\u2026 just as the Body and Blood of Christ exist just below the surface of the bread and the wine\u2026 and after 2,000 years\u2026 we are still living into a more perfect relationship\u2026 with God in Christ\u2026 and with each other\u2026 and it’s my prayer\u2026 and I hope yours too\u2026 that the majority of us can confront the present realities\u2026 the way that Jesus and the disciples did in Mark’s Gospel\u2026 and birth God’s new world\u2026 immediately\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Year B Jonah 3:1-5, 10 Psalm 62:6-14 1 Corinthians 7:29-31 Mark 1:14-20 May the words of my mouth\u2026 O God\u2026 speak your Truth\u2026 It was the last straw\u2026 it was the straw that broke the camel’s back\u2026 I mean\u2026 there’s only so much you can stand\u2026 so much weight of wrong… you can carry\u2026 so much that’s at odds with your values\u2026 with your core beliefs\u2026 before you have to say something\u2026 before you have to do\u2026 something\u2026 and even then\u2026 especially then\u2026 you’re not about to waste time\u2026 not about to move slowly\u2026 not about to ask permission\u2026 the time for talking is over\u2026 it’s time to act\u2026 and to act immediately\u2026 Two weeks ago\u2026 we heard the first eleven verses of Mark’s Gospel\u2026 about John’s call to repentance\u2026 about Jesus’ baptism\u2026 and the voice from Heaven said\u2026 You are my Son\u2026 the Beloved Truth Teller\u2026 in You I am well-pleased\u2026 In our reading from the Book of Jonah\u2026 Jonah is charged with calling Nineveh to truth telling\u2026 to repentance\u2026 and as you may remember\u2026 in the preceding chapters\u2026 Jonah tried to escape God’s call\u2026 tried to sail to Tarshish\u2026 to the end of the known world\u2026 but he was thrown overboard because he was the cause of turbulent seas which threatened to break the ship up\u2026 and he was swallowed by a whale\u2026 he was consumed by something which kept him from seeing what was going on around him\u2026 and what was going on around him\u2026 was the promise of God’s unmerited forgiveness\u2026 We don’t know exactly what the Ninevites were called to repent from\u2026 but when the news of Jonah’s warning reached the king\u2026 he issued a proclamation which said [in vv. 7b-9]: by the decree of the king and his nobles\u2026 no human being or animal\u2026 no herd or flock shall taste anything\u2026 they shall not feed\u2026 nor shall they drink water\u2026 human beings and animals shall be covered with sackcloth\u2026 and they shall cry mightily to God\u2026 all shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands\u2026 who knows\u2026 he said\u2026 God may relent and change his mind\u2026 he may turn from his fierce anger\u2026 so that we do not perish\u2026 The story says it would have taken three days to walk across Nineveh\u2026 and Jonah walked for only one day\u2026 he didn’t cross the whole city\u2026 and we don’t know how loudly he was able to shout this warning\u2026 so I wonder if this story says less about Jonah’s success in reaching every ear\u2026 and less about whether the king’s proclamation reached every eye\u2026 or whether it says more about the breadth and depth of God’s forgiveness\u2026 But repentance isn’t just saying\u2026 I’m sorry God\u2026 please forgive me\u2026 and repentance isn’t only truth telling\u2026 repentance involves a new heart\u2026 and a new mind\u2026 and new hearts and new minds don’t speak the same old words\u2026 don’t believe the same old beliefs\u2026 don’t perform the same old actions\u2026 Bp. Brian Maas\u2026 from the Nebraska Synod of the ELCA writes\u2026 once Jesus starts preaching\u2026 the action verbs start rolling\u2026 because the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come near\u2026 it\u2019s time to repent and to believe\u2026 not only that\u2026 it\u2019s time to follow\u2026 Mark doesn\u2019t say that the first four disciples have heard Jesus\u2019 preaching\u2026 but they certainly repent\u2026 practice metanoia\u2026 change their minds\u2026 and choose a new direction for their lives\u2026 the bishop continues\u2026 faithful living has consequences too\u2026 arrest\u2026 repudiation\u2026 condemnation\u2026 even death\u2026 including the death of biases and prejudices\u2026 privilege\u2026 and the insistence on one\u2019s way\u2026 one\u2019s ego\u2026 and one\u2019s facades\u2026 Jonah was swallowed by a whale\u2026 he was consumed by something which kept him from seeing what was going on around him\u2026 and so I wonder\u2026 what consumes us\u2026 what keeps us from seeing what is going on around us\u2026 what allows us to see only what we want to see\u2026 and hear only what we want to hear\u2026 Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians exhort us to be in the world\u2026 but not of it\u2026 to honor our relationships\u2026 and our feelings\u2026 and to deal with the world\u2026 but without attachment\u2026 without believing that the things we see\u2026 and the things we do\u2026 are all there is\u2026 it finds some expression\u2026 for example\u2026 in our belief that the Body and Blood of Christ are “truly and substantially present in\u2026 with\u2026 and under the forms” of consecrated bread and wine\u2026 If you were\u2026 I believe\u2026 fortunate enough… to hear Amanda Gorman recite her poem “The Hill We Climb” at Wednesday’s Inauguration\u2026 you heard her say that what just is\u2026 isn’t always just-ice\u2026 that our nation isn’t broken\u2026 but just unfinished\u2026 that we are striving to compose a country committed to all cultures\u2026 colors\u2026 characters\u2026 and conditions of man\u2026 and that we don’t think we can form a perfect union\u2026 just a more perfect one\u2026 So what do we leave behind as we move along The Way\u2026 Isaac Villegas\u2026 pastor of the Chapel Hill Mennonite Fellowship writes\u2026 in 1Corinthians 7\u2026 Paul describes a “passing away” of the current “form of this world.” The systems of power\u2026 the moral codes\u2026 the value structures\u2026 none of those deserve the deference of our political will or our economic lives\u2026 instead… Paul writes\u2026 deal with the world without making deals with the power brokers\u2026 because the form\u2026 the structure\u2026 and the core of this order is a sham\u2026 The United States is the city of Nineveh\u2026 and part of our corporate structure\u2026 is systemic racism and white supremacy\u2026 and Pastor Villegas quotes historian Saidiya Hartman who wrote\u2026 “Abolition is a synonym for the end of the world.” Abolition is a synonym for the end of the world\u2026 because when you abolish slavery\u2026 when you abolish biases and prejudices\u2026 as Bp. Maas said\u2026 when you abolish thinking that others are worth less than you\u2026 that they’re not even human… then an entire way of life passes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1114"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1114\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1128,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1114\/revisions\/1128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}