Year B
Numbers 11:4-6,10-16,24-29
Psalm 19:7-14
James 5:13-20
Mark 9:38-50<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May the words of my mouth O God\u2026\u00a0 speak your truth\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I was in the Air Force\u2026 I served as a medical laboratory technician\u2026 the training program for that job code was among the Air Force’s longest\u2026 three months studying chemistry\u2026 serology\u2026 bacteriology\u2026 parasitology\u2026 and blood banking\u2026 in the classroom\u2026 and learning how to draw blood\u2026 by practicing on each other\u2026 and sometimes even on ourselves\u2026 and after all that was done\u2026 there were nine more months of on-the-job training at Wright Patterson AFB in Dayton, OH\u2026 rotating through all the same departments\u2026 getting hands-on experience\u2026 and then\u2026 when I graduated\u2026 I was assigned to an AFB in Rome, NY\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And the people with whom I served\u2026 experienced me as different\u2026 I was introspective\u2026 reserved… contemplative\u2026 I didn’t participate in their almost weekly Monday morning ritual of seeing who drank the most six-packs on Saturday night\u2026 and these things made me Other\u2026 but although I was good at what I did\u2026 and<\/p>\n\n\n\n
performed my lab work with precision\u2026 although I made significant contributions\u2026 although the work I did was in the name of healing others\u2026 I was not part of the in-crowd\u2026 I wasn’t following them\u2026 I didn’t measure up to the standards of inclusion\u2026 that they valued\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shortly after today’s Gospel passage\u2026 James and John\u2026 say to Jesus\u2026 Teacher\u2026 we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you\u2026 <\/em>and Jesus replies\u2026 What is it you want me to do\u2026 <\/em>and they answer\u2026 Grant us to sit\u2026 one at your right hand and one at your left\u2026 in your glory\u2026 <\/em>we want to bask in your glory\u2026 and by extension\u2026 own some of it ourselves\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n Theologian John Shea writes\u2026 this desire to be great\u2026 comes with the territory of being alive\u2026 every living thing wants to persist and expand in being\u2026 in plants and animals this drive remains on the biological level\u2026 but in humans\u2026 it becomes more complex and wide ranging\u2026 not only do we want to survive biologically\u2026 but we want to be important and esteemed\u2026 the center of attention and adulation\u2026 and we weigh most everything in terms of whether it promotes or diminishes us\u2026 and Shea calls this\u2026 the Greatness Project\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n And by extension\u2026 we want our church to be best\u2026 our denomination to be best\u2026 our religion to be best\u2026 we want our political party to be best\u2026 but do we speak evil of those who are not in our tribe\u2026 regardless of the Gospel work they are doing\u2026 in spite of our desire to lift up… and promote\u2026 the best life-giving\u2026 and life-saving qualities of the Gospel\u2026 do we sometimes do speak evil of those who don’t agree with us\u2026 do we put figurative stumbling blocks in front them\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n The earliest use of the phrase\u2026 stumbling block<\/em>\u2026 is found in Lev. 19:14\u2026 and it’s the prohibition of putting a large rock in front of a blind person\u2026 it describes a cause of guilt\u2026 and in the Septuagint\u2026 when the Hebrew word is translated into Koine Greek\u2026 it means\u2026 a snare for the enemy<\/em>\u2026 understood literally\u2026 it’s a trap\u2026 understood figuratively\u2026 it’s anything that leads to sin\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then Jesus shares this didactic hyperbole\u2026 exaggerated claims intended to make a point\u2026 about hands\u2026 and feet\u2026 and eyes\u2026 we may not do\u2026 what Leviticus says not to do\u2026 but like other things that Jesus teaches\u2026 he says this to help us look at ourselves\u2026 and understanding it this way\u2026 we must ask\u2026 what do we do that causes others to stumble\u2026 do we set any kind of traps for them\u2026 do we stand in the way of anyone’s spiritual growth\u2026 and more importantly\u2026 how do we ourselves stumble\u2026 do our hands do God’s work or our own\u2026 do our feet walk in God’s ways or our own\u2026 and do we see what’s really going on around us\u2026 or do we only see the things that work to our own advantage\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n For today’s Gospel writer\u2026 for Mark\u2026 discipleship is hard\u2026 it takes a lot longer than Air Force training\u2026 and that’s why he records Jesus’ dislike of bad religion\u2026 of predatory behavior\u2026 of any behavior that ensnares someone\u2026 so he makes these points about our need to grow up\u2026 and not be like children who trip up the disabled\u2026 or purposely scare someone\u2026 and think it funny\u2026 we all have lots of lessons to learn\u2026 about our need to let go of what’s getting in the way of us ushering in God’s plan for creation\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n In all three synoptic Gospels\u2026 John the Baptist says\u2026 I baptize you with water<\/em>\u2026 and in Matthew and Luke\u2026 John adds that the One who is coming after him\u2026 will baptize with fire\u2026 and today\u2026 Jesus says\u2026 that everyone will be salted with fire<\/em>… that\u2026 salt is good\u2026 but if salt has lost its saltiness\u2026 how can you restore it<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Table salts\u2026 with additives\u2026 will lose their flavor and texture over time\u2026 many contain iodine to enhance their flavor and health properties\u2026 and anti-caking agents that prevent it from clumping\u2026 and it’s these additives which degrade over time\u2026 and why table salts are good for about five years\u2026 but unadulterated natural salts do not spoil\u2026 it’s the additives\u2026 what we might call salt’s impurities\u2026 which cause it to spoil\u2026 so in Jesus’ time\u2026 if salt lost its saltiness\u2026 it’s because it wasn’t pure\u2026 and being salted with fire means that the Holy Spirit will burn away the impurities within us which cause us to stumble\u2026 like our participation in the Greatness Project\u2026 and leave us with a desire for more and more of God’s purity\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Rev. Mike Kinnamon claims that\u2026 the word denomination<\/u> is a wonderful adjective\u2026 but it can be an idolatrous noun<\/em>\u2026 so he urges people to say things like\u2026 I’m an Episcopal Christian<\/em>\u2026 or I’m a Lutheran Christian\u2026 the late Rev. Walter Bouman\u2026 who helped write the Called to Common Mission covenant\u2026 said\u2026 the agreement between the Episcopal Church and the ELCA is a witness that God is making One\u2026 what had previously been divided\u2026 and failure to be in full communion with each other is sinful before God\u2026 because it means that denominations are simply brand names competing for a share of the Christian market<\/em>\u2026 and Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said that\u2026 for us Christians\u2026 Jesus is our doorway to God\u2026 but for us to think that God couldn’t possibly act in some other way… is for us humans to put God in a very small box<\/em>\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n But we still struggle with different groups and communities\u2026 and our investment in them\u2026 and the identity we take from them\u2026 and we sometimes demonize communities which are not our own\u2026 not because of what they do or don’t do\u2026 but simply because they are not following us\u2026 but I believe that God’s work\u2026 Tikkun Olam<\/em>\u2026 repairing the world\u2026 transcends labels\u2026 that’s why those who are defined by many different labels\u2026 are still quite capable of contributing to God’s Greatness Project\u2026 it’s why Jesus said\u2026 that no one who does a deed of power in the nameless name of the Great I AM\u2026 will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me\u2026 and so I return to the words of Moses at the end of today’s reading from Numbers\u2026 Would that all the Lord\u2019s people were prophets\u2026 and that the Lord would put his spirit on them\u2026 <\/em>that the Holy Spirit would rest heavy on us\u2026 and we would provide healing and reconciliation… in all places\u2026 and for all people\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Year B Numbers 11:4-6,10-16,24-29 Psalm 19:7-14 James 5:13-20 Mark 9:38-50 May the words of my mouth O God\u2026\u00a0 speak your truth\u2026 When I was in the Air Force\u2026 I served as a medical laboratory technician\u2026 the training program for that job code was among the Air Force’s longest\u2026 three months studying chemistry\u2026 serology\u2026 bacteriology\u2026 parasitology\u2026 and blood banking\u2026 in the classroom\u2026 and learning how to draw blood\u2026 by practicing on each other\u2026 and sometimes even on ourselves\u2026 and after all that was done\u2026 there were nine more months of on-the-job training at Wright Patterson AFB in Dayton, OH\u2026 rotating through all the same departments\u2026 getting hands-on experience\u2026 and then\u2026 when I graduated\u2026 I was assigned to an AFB in Rome, NY\u2026 And the people with whom I served\u2026 experienced me as different\u2026 I was introspective\u2026 reserved… contemplative\u2026 I didn’t participate in their almost weekly Monday morning ritual of seeing who drank the most six-packs on Saturday night\u2026 and these things made me Other\u2026 but although I was good at what I did\u2026 and performed my lab work with precision\u2026 although I made significant contributions\u2026 although the work I did was in the name of healing others\u2026 I was not part of the in-crowd\u2026 I wasn’t following them\u2026 I didn’t measure up to the standards of inclusion\u2026 that they valued\u2026 Shortly after today’s Gospel passage\u2026 James and John\u2026 say to Jesus\u2026 Teacher\u2026 we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you\u2026 and Jesus replies\u2026 What is it you want me to do\u2026 and they answer\u2026 Grant us to sit\u2026 one at your right hand and one at your left\u2026 in your glory\u2026 we want to bask in your glory\u2026 and by extension\u2026 own some of it ourselves\u2026 Theologian John Shea writes\u2026 this desire to be great\u2026 comes with the territory of being alive\u2026 every living thing wants to persist and expand in being\u2026 in plants and animals this drive remains on the biological level\u2026 but in humans\u2026 it becomes more complex and wide ranging\u2026 not only do we want to survive biologically\u2026 but we want to be important and esteemed\u2026 the center of attention and adulation\u2026 and we weigh most everything in terms of whether it promotes or diminishes us\u2026 and Shea calls this\u2026 the Greatness Project\u2026 And by extension\u2026 we want our church to be best\u2026 our denomination to be best\u2026 our religion to be best\u2026 we want our political party to be best\u2026 but do we speak evil of those who are not in our tribe\u2026 regardless of the Gospel work they are doing\u2026 in spite of our desire to lift up… and promote\u2026 the best life-giving\u2026 and life-saving qualities of the Gospel\u2026 do we sometimes do speak evil of those who don’t agree with us\u2026 do we put figurative stumbling blocks in front them\u2026 The earliest use of the phrase\u2026 stumbling block\u2026 is found in Lev. 19:14\u2026 and it’s the prohibition of putting a large rock in front of a blind person\u2026 it describes a cause of guilt\u2026 and in the Septuagint\u2026 when the Hebrew word is translated into Koine Greek\u2026 it means\u2026 a snare for the enemy\u2026 understood literally\u2026 it’s a trap\u2026 understood figuratively\u2026 it’s anything that leads to sin\u2026 And then Jesus shares this didactic hyperbole\u2026 exaggerated claims intended to make a point\u2026 about hands\u2026 and feet\u2026 and eyes\u2026 we may not do\u2026 what Leviticus says not to do\u2026 but like other things that Jesus teaches\u2026 he says this to help us look at ourselves\u2026 and understanding it this way\u2026 we must ask\u2026 what do we do that causes others to stumble\u2026 do we set any kind of traps for them\u2026 do we stand in the way of anyone’s spiritual growth\u2026 and more importantly\u2026 how do we ourselves stumble\u2026 do our hands do God’s work or our own\u2026 do our feet walk in God’s ways or our own\u2026 and do we see what’s really going on around us\u2026 or do we only see the things that work to our own advantage\u2026 For today’s Gospel writer\u2026 for Mark\u2026 discipleship is hard\u2026 it takes a lot longer than Air Force training\u2026 and that’s why he records Jesus’ dislike of bad religion\u2026 of predatory behavior\u2026 of any behavior that ensnares someone\u2026 so he makes these points about our need to grow up\u2026 and not be like children who trip up the disabled\u2026 or purposely scare someone\u2026 and think it funny\u2026 we all have lots of lessons to learn\u2026 about our need to let go of what’s getting in the way of us ushering in God’s plan for creation\u2026 In all three synoptic Gospels\u2026 John the Baptist says\u2026 I baptize you with water\u2026 and in Matthew and Luke\u2026 John adds that the One who is coming after him\u2026 will baptize with fire\u2026 and today\u2026 Jesus says\u2026 that everyone will be salted with fire… that\u2026 salt is good\u2026 but if salt has lost its saltiness\u2026 how can you restore it\u2026 Table salts\u2026 with additives\u2026 will lose their flavor and texture over time\u2026 many contain iodine to enhance their flavor and health properties\u2026 and anti-caking agents that prevent it from clumping\u2026 and it’s these additives which degrade over time\u2026 and why table salts are good for about five years\u2026 but unadulterated natural salts do not spoil\u2026 it’s the additives\u2026 what we might call salt’s impurities\u2026 which cause it to spoil\u2026 so in Jesus’ time\u2026 if salt lost its saltiness\u2026 it’s because it wasn’t pure\u2026 and being salted with fire means that the Holy Spirit will burn away the impurities within us which cause us to stumble\u2026 like our participation in the Greatness Project\u2026 and leave us with a desire for more and more of God’s purity\u2026 The Rev. Mike Kinnamon claims that\u2026 the word denomination is a wonderful adjective\u2026 but it can be an idolatrous noun\u2026 so he urges people to say things like\u2026 I’m an Episcopal Christian\u2026 or I’m a Lutheran Christian\u2026 the late Rev. Walter Bouman\u2026 who helped write the Called to Common Mission covenant\u2026 said\u2026 the […]<\/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-1372","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\/1372","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=1372"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1372\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1373,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1372\/revisions\/1373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}