Sermon
July
11, 2021
Mark
6:1429
I want to begin by saying how
wonderful it was to see you all at the Fourth of July picnic last Sunday. It
was truly a time of joyful re-gathering after more than a year-long separation.
An isolating time during which we were connected only by YouTube and Facebook.
Thank you to the many people who made the picnic possible and thank you all for
coming to this important re-building of our community event. I trust it will be
the first of many opportunities to gather, catch-up, tell stories, and break
bread together throughout the coming year. If you have ideas of what you might
like to have us schedule, please see me – anytime. We want to hear from you.
Now on to today’s Good News…
Stanley Hauerwas, an American
theologian and ethicist, speaks and writes extensively about what it means to
be a Christian in the post-modern world. A post-modern world for Hauerwas, and
many others, is one in which Christianity is no longer THE religion.
Christianity is no longer the religion of the state; the religion that drives
the values and decisions of society. It is but one of several world religions
that co-exist in an increasingly secular world impacted by ever-expanding
globalization and the assimilation of myriad cultures.
To quote Hauerwas, “From my
perspective, 'postmodernism' merely names an interesting set of developments in
the social order that is based on the presumption that God does not matter.”
Hauerwas makes the point that in
order to preserve Christianity – in order to sustain the church as we know it -
it will be increasingly important to identify ourselves as Christians through
ways of being that inspire others to say, "They seem so joyful and at
peace with one another, I wonder what makes them tick?" To quote Hauerwas
once again, "We must remember that these days not everyone knows what
Christianity is – we need to inform them…The heart of the gospel is that you
don't know Jesus without the witness of the church. It, [the gospel] is always
mediated.”
In other words, in order for the
world to know Jesus, to know Christianity, we – you and I – have the mandate to
accomplish that task, and importantly, we have the power to do so.
Hauerwas is a complex but invaluable
voice. We should pay attention to his commitment to Jesus – to Christianity. It
is no secret the percentage of people in the United States who self- identify
as Christians has declined dramatically. Protestants and Catholics comprise the
greater share of that declining number. A 2018 Pew Research Center survey found
that only 1% of Americans were Episcopalians and that nine out of ten
self-identified as white.
In order for us to be known, we
must have a voice that transcends many competing voices. In many instances
voices that are loud, angry, challenging, and not infrequently intimidating.
Voices that are not the voice of Jesus.
It was Hauerwas' voice I heard last
week as I read today's rather gory account of the beheading of John the
Baptist. Interestingly a gospel passage in which Jesus is absent. Rather the
story centers around a key figure in the unfolding story of Jesus' birth,
baptism, and ministry – John the Baptist.
You will remember that John was
the son of Elizabeth, Mary's relative, who was also pregnant. The angel Gabriel
instructed Mary to visit Elizabeth. "Mary went with haste to a Judean
town in the hill country…and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's
greeting, the child leaped in her womb." (Lk 1:40-42) Even when in
Elizabeth's womb, John was touched by the Holy Spirit. Years later he would
emerge from the desert announcing Jesus' arrival as the Lord. "…John
the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, 'Repent for the
kingdom of heaven has come near.'" (Mt: 3:2-3)
Before Jesus began his ministry, John
was already baptizing, but with water. "I baptize you with water for
repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not
worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
(Mt 3:11-12)
In today's passage from Mark, we
find John the Baptist imprisoned by the Romans. John in his ministry of repentance
had been an insistent and public voice that denounced Herod Antipas’ marriage
to Herodias, Herod’s brother's wife. (If you recall, marrying your brother's
wife was an illegal act according to Jewish Law.)
John's condemnation of the
marriage infuriated Herodias, and after her young daughter Salome had charmed
Herod with her dancing at a large gathering of his court and his friends,
Herodias urged Salome to demand John the Baptist’s head on a platter –
immediately. The bewitched Herod, who had promised Salome anything she wanted, complied
with her request and John the Baptist’s head was produced – immediately.
This story of John the Baptist’s
capture and ignominious death foreshadows Jesus' arrest in the garden, his
questioning by the Roman authorities, and his crucifixion. It is also a story
that alerts us, graphically, to the reality that speaking up, or speaking out,
can be dangerous. And that, of course, brings us back to Stanley Hauerwas, and
others who insist that this is a time in which we as Christians must speak up
and speak out. We must be witnesses of Jesus’ good news.
The past 18 months have taken a
toll, a big toll on everyone and everything. The extent of that toll is still
emerging. It may be years before we really understand the impact of the Covid
19 pandemic.
Countless men, women, and children
have experienced severe economic challenges. There has been a continuing
confusion and resulting suspicion and mistrust of scientific information
regarding masks, vaccines, and all other aspects of life with Covid 19, and
there has been sadly an outgrowth of people with long-term after-effects of the
virus.
I just learned from a friend who
had Covid early on, that as a result of oxygen deprivation he had a stroke,
with resulting brain damage. His ability to drive and do other activities of
daily living essential to his work is now severely compromised. My friend is by
one of the 33.6 million people in the U.S. who lived through Covid-19 infection,
while another 604,000 people lost their lives to the virus.
Daily, articles that discuss the
emerging long-term effects of Covid appear throughout the various media
platforms. New strains of the virus have appeared. Many states remain
vulnerable to infection due to low vaccination participation. The nagging
question of mask or no mask, even for those vaccinated, continually lingers in
the scientific conversations, leaving us in a continuing state confusion,
suspicion, and anxiety. Meanwhile, many businesses have failed, and millions of
people are still dependent on a soon expiring rent payment moratorium.
We live in a world overflowing
with anxiety, anger, unknowing, and a whole host of other emotions. A world
that desperately needs God’s love; and, thanks be to God, we have the power to
bring that love to our little corner of the world.
Lessons learned from John’s
beheading and Jesus’ crucifixion are clear. Speaking up, speaking out – being
witnesses to the gospel can be a dangerous business. It can have serious
consequences. But, if we are to pay attention to Jesus’ commandment to “go
forth and make disciples of all nations,” and Hauerwas’ observation, The
heart of the gospel is that you don't know Jesus without the witness of the
church”, we must be willing to be a member of what Presiding Bishop Michael
J. Curry has identified as the Jesus Movement. We must commit to following Jesus into a loving,
liberating and life-giving communion with God, with God’s creation, with each
other and with the world.
Our church is faced with many financial
and societal challenges that threaten its longevity. The general public is
increasingly secular and largely unwilling, or uninterested, in considering God
as a force in their lives. Speaking up as Christians in this environment can be
harrowing.
However, and perhaps most importantly,
our church, along with many other institutions, stands on the threshold of a
world emerging from the incredibly far-reaching destruction of Covid 19. By our
own admission we are “in the dark”, stunned, confused, frightened, and anxious.
Can we as a church overcome these difficult
feelings and cross the threshold into a world re-building itself? Can we become
John’s voice in the wilderness and Jesus’ voice from the cross? Can we muster
the courage and the commitment, despite the many challenges that face us, to be
present in the world as the voice of Jesus; a voice that points us to an
alternative way – a way in which God directs us on the path of love, peace, and
justice?
We need not solve the problems of
the world, but we can most certainly bring Jesus into the lives of those whom
we encounter. That is no small gift to our neighbor and that is our great
power.
