Men Who Fear Demons See Demons Everywhere

The title of this blog post comes from the character Brom, the mentor (the Obi-Wan!) from the popular book, Eragaon.  I chose it because it was selected as a quote "For Further Reflection" in a UCC.org contemplation over the focus scripture for Sunday.

And I can immediately see why.  It immediately reminds me of the religious authorities who have been observing Jesus doing what Jesus does:  healing folk and kicking demon butt.  (No wonder I always enjoy playing the cleric.)  And they come to the conclusion that the power that Jesus has over demons must be...

...demonic.

"Men who fear demons see demons everywhere."

I try very hard not be judgmental.  After all, Jesus rightfully points out that the act of judging invites being judged yourself.  But wow, Jesus sounds pretty judgmental himself in this story, doesn't he?

This is maybe one of the most human moments in the story of Jesus.  And in all honesty, I find a lot of comfort in that.  Jesus has been walking long miles and working long, exhausting days.  His fame has spread.  He is beset on every side by people needing his help and he is too good to say "Not right now, come back tomorrow when we're open."  He's too good to say "I'm sorry, it's the Sabbath.  I'm sorry, you're unclean.  I'm sorry, I shouldn't."  And so he is also beset by rulers and authorities who are afraid of the chaos that follows Jesus wherever he goes.

The poor man doesn't even have time to sit down and eat.  Have you ever had a day like that?  I know I have.  Are you at the top of your game on those days?  Or do you get a little...  cranky?  I know I do.  The fact that Jesus was human as well as divine--the very idea that maybe on a day like that he might have gotten a little cranky, too.  Well, maybe I can forgive myself for that failing every once in a while.

There's so much going on in this passage.  It's so chaotic that it's hard to parse out.  Jesus is cranky, yes, but he's still making a point that we need to hear, if we can just listen.

So what does Jesus say?  My power is not demonic.  It just doesn't even begin to make sense that the good things I do come from an evil place.  Everyone will be forgiven the blasphemies they utter--except for those spoken agains the Holy Spirit.  Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.

What do all these things have to do with each other?  Is there a common theme in all this chaos?  I think maybe yes.  I think it's all a question of drawing lines, and drawing them in the right places.

The truth is that we were all made in the image of God, inherently good, but capable of going astray.  One of the ways I witness this truth in humanity is that nobody sets out to be evil.  The most believable villains in storytelling are the ones who honestly believe that they're doing the right thing.  It's all a matter of drawing lines and drawing them in the right places.

As a geek, this process of drawing lines makes me think of the Harry Potter series.  So much of that story was about trying to figure out when to follow the rules and when not to, what makes an act good and what makes it evil, what makes a person a hero or a villain, who you should associate with and why...

These are the same issues that the religious authorities I mentioned early were struggling with.  And the answer they seemed to come to is that you always follow the rules.  A good act is a lawful act.  A good person is one who always follows the rules.  A villain is a rule-breaker.

Lawful Evil

The opposite of Law is Chaos.  Chaos is the enemy.  Dungeons & Dragons actually has a great concept that'll help here.  They used to describe a character based on two axis.  One from Law to Chaos and one from Good to Evil.  What I'm trying to point out is that the struggle against chaos and the struggle against evil are not the same thing.  You can get so focused on suppressing chaos that you lose track of being good.  There's such a thing as Lawful Evil.  And it looks like Deloris Umbridge.

Or maybe Caiaphas.

Jesus is redrawing the line, drawing attention to the other axis, uplifting doing good as more important than suppressing chaos.  When he says that blaspheme against the Holy Spirit is the only unforgivable blaspheme, it's like saying that the only unforgivable sin is the rejection of forgiveness.  It feels really obvious when you put it that way, and I think that's what Jesus was trying to accomplish.  These good things I'm doing can't be evil because they're clearly good.  And the only true evil is intentionally confusing the two.

And of course the question, "Who is my family?" will always make me think of Harry.  We don't know what became of Joseph by this point in Jesus's life.  Only his mother and his siblings are mentioned here.  We also don't get to know if they ever actually get in to see Jesus.  I suspect the answer is "yes."  Jesus clearly loved and respected his family.  Mary is the recipient of one of the Seven Words from the Cross.  And his brother James would continue Jesus's work on behalf of the poor with such devotion that he became known as James the Just.  So when Jesus says, "Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother," is not a rejection of his family, but rather a broadening of it.

The family you build.

It's like Harry obsessing over discovering who Lily and James Potter were even as he formed his own family, Ron and Hermione, Ginny, the Weasley family, Sirius Black, Dumbledore...   There's the family you're born with and the family you build.

I think maybe we can all identify with that, right?

But what Jesus is doing here--and Jesus is want to do--is a little more extreme.  And it is something every church should be challenged by as it draws its lines.  The lines that dictate who is "in" and who is "out" of the house, so to speak.  Because if we're honest with ourselves, in many cases, "church family" ends up being code for "impossible for new people to belong."

But what Jesus says it that everyone who does the will of God is family.  Everyone.

How do we know if our neighbor is doing the will of God?

Come on now.  I think if you search your heart, you can tell.  You know instinctually when the Spirit of Truth and Light and Forgiveness is at work in a person.  You can tell when the Spirit that scatters rows of ducks and turns your expectations upside-down is at work.

Because good things happen.

Be good to each other,

Rev. Josh

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Lectionary texts


Genesis 3:8-15

They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" He said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate." Then the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent tricked me, and I ate." The Lord God said to the serpent,

"Because you have done this,
   cursed are you among all animals
   and among all wild creatures;
upon your belly you shall go,
   and dust you shall eat
   all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
   and between your offspring and hers;
he will strike your head,
   and you will strike his heel."

Psalm 130

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
   O God, hear my voice!

Let your ears be attentive
   to the voice of my supplications!

If you, O God, should mark iniquities,
   who could stand?

But there is forgiveness with you,
   so that you may be revered.

I wait for God, my soul waits,
   and in God's word I hope;

my soul waits for God
   more than those who watch for the morning,
   more than those who watch for the morning.

O Israel, hope in God!
   For with God there is steadfast love,

With God is great power to redeem.
   It is God who will redeem Israel
      from all its iniquities.

2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1

But just as we have the same spirit of faith that is in accordance with scripture — "I believed, and so I spoke" — we also believe, and so we speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus, and will bring us with you into his presence. Yes, everything is for your sake, so that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.

For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

Mark 3:20-35

And the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, "He has gone out of his mind." And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons." And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, "How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered.

"Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin" — for they had said, "He has an unclean spirit."

Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, "Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you." And he replied, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" And looking at those who sat around him, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother."

Passion

This Sunday is Palm Sunday, the Christian holiday where we celebrate the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.  This is his Big Heroic Moment.  This is the point in the story where the people recognize Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah.  And because they're expecting a King David, Master Chief-style military tough guy, that's what they see.  And they greet him with a ticker-tape parade.

The problem clergy have encountered with Palm Sunday over the years, though, is that fewer and fewer people come out to the Maundy Thursday and/or Good Friday services—the holy days that remember the betrayal and execution of the Messiah.

The people expected the Master Chief, but what they got was Jesus—a man who was as close a thing to a natural pacifist as a human can be.  It's important to remember his betrayal and execution, or Easter and the Resurrection have no meaning.  If you go directly from the ticker-tape parade atmosphere of Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday Jesus becomes the Master Chief.

And that would miss the point.

So Palm Sunday has gradually morphed into Passion Sunday, a kind of thumbnail mash-up of Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday rolled up into one.

And that always brings my mind to Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Evangelion is so much more than a simple giant mech anime.  It relentlessly explores everything it means to be human.  Every awkward, horrible, depressing, misanthropic, violent thing it means to be human.  With just a dash of hope thrown in every once in a while.  Every so often a moment when the tension breaks.

It draws imagery from multiple religious traditions, and as such it is not a direct allegory for the Gospel. But I cannot help equating Shinji with humanity:  the disciples who cannot understand, the young man in the linen cloth who runs away naked...  Judas...  even Pilate.

And even though he's a Christ figure in only the strictest literary sense, I can't help seeing Jesus in Kowaru.

This video is pretty long.  And it cuts off at a key moment.  But it is dubbed in English and gives you a good taste of the Lenten, sordid nature of man flavor that I'm talking about:



And this video is in Japanese.  And subtitled in Spanish.  But it shows the key moment:



Be good to each other,
Rev. Josh
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Mark 14:1-15:47

It was two days before the Passover and the festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him; for they said, "Not during the festival, or there may be a riot among the people."

While he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment of nard, and she broke open the jar and poured the ointment on his head. But some were there who said to one another in anger, "Why was the ointment wasted in this way? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor." And they scolded her. But Jesus said, "Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has performed a good service for me. For you always have the poor with you, and you can show kindness to them whenever you wish; but you will not always have me. She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for its burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her."

Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. When they heard it, they were greatly pleased, and promised to give him money. So he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.

On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, his disciples said to him, "Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?" So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, "Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher asks, Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?' He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there." So the disciples set out and went to the city, and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal.

When it was evening, he came with the twelve. And when they had taken their places and were eating, Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me." They began to be distressed and to say to him one after another, "Surely, not I?" He said to them, "It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the bowl with me. For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born."

While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, "Take; this is my body." Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. He said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."

When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. And Jesus said to them, "You will all become deserters; for it is written,

    'I will strike the shepherd,
    and the sheep will be scattered.'

But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee." Peter said to him, "Even though all become deserters, I will not." Jesus said to him, "Truly I tell you, this day, this very night, before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times." But he said vehemently, "Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you." And all of them said the same.

They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray." He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated. And said to them, "I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake." And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. He said, "Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want." He came and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep awake one hour? Keep awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. And once more he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to say to him. He came a third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Enough! The hour has come; the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand."

Immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; and with him there was a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard." So when he came, he went up to him at once and said, "Rabbi!" and kissed him. Then they laid hands on him and arrested him. But one of those who stood near drew his sword and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear. Then Jesus said to them, "Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit? Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. But let the scriptures be fulfilled." All of them deserted him and fled.

A certain young man was following him, wearing nothing but a linen cloth. They caught hold of him, but he left the linen cloth and ran off naked.

They took Jesus to the high priest; and all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes were assembled. Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the guards, warming himself at the fire. Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for testimony against Jesus to put him to death; but they found none. For many gave false testimony against him, and their testimony did not agree. Some stood up and gave false testimony against him, saying, "We heard him say, 'I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.'" But even on this point their testimony did not agree. Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, "Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?" But he was silent and did not answer. Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?" Jesus said, "I am; and

    'you will see the Son of Man
    seated at the right hand of the Power,'
    and 'coming with the clouds of heaven.'"

Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "Why do we still need witnesses? You have heard his blasphemy! What is your decision?" All of them condemned him as deserving death. Some began to spit on him, to blindfold him, and to strike him, saying to him, "Prophesy!" The guards also took him over and beat him.

While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest came by. When she saw Peter warming himself, she stared at him and said, "You also were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth." But he denied it, saying, "I do not know or understand what you are talking about." And he went out into the forecourt. Then the cock crowed. And the servant-girl, on seeing him, began again to say to the bystanders, "This man is one of them." But again he denied it. Then after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, "Certainly you are one of them; for you are a Galilean." But he began to curse, and he swore an oath, "I do not know this man you are talking about." At that moment the cock crowed for the second time. Then Peter remembered that Jesus had said to him, "Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times." And he broke down and wept.

As soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. Pilate asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" He answered him, "You say so." Then the chief priests accused him of many things. Pilate asked him again, "Have you no answer? See how many charges they bring against you." But Jesus made no further reply, so that Pilate was amazed.

Now at the festival he used to release a prisoner for them, anyone for whom they asked. Now a man called Barabbas was in prison with the rebels who had committed murder during the insurrection. So the crowd came and began to ask Pilate to do for them according to his custom. Then he answered them, "Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?" For he realized that it was out of jealousy that the chief priests had handed him over. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas for them instead. Pilate spoke to them again, "Then what do you wish me to do with the man you call the King of the Jews?" They shouted back, "Crucify him!" Pilate asked them, "Why, what evil has he done?" But they shouted all the more, "Crucify him!" So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.

Then the soldiers led him into the courtyard of the palace (that is, the governor's headquarters); and they called together the whole cohort. And they clothed him in a purple cloak; and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on him. And they began saluting him, "Hail, King of the Jews!" They struck his head with a reed, spat upon him, and knelt down in homage to him. After mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus. Then they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull). And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it. And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take.

It was nine o"clock in the morning when they crucified him. The inscription of the charge against him read, "The King of the Jews." And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, "Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!" In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, "He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe." Those who were crucified with him also taunted him.

When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. At three o'clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, "Listen, he is calling for Elijah." And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, "Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down." Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, "Truly this man was God's Son!"

There were also women looking on from a distance; among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. These used to follow him and provided for him when he was in Galilee; and there were many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem.

When evening had come, and since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate wondered if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead for some time. When he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the body to Joseph. Then Joseph bought a linen cloth, and taking down the body, wrapped it in the linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where the body was laid.

I Want To Believe

We all have a little Fox Mulder in us.

Things are not what they seem.  I'm not usually prone to uttering strange, David Lynch-style, inscrutable phrases—even if there is something up with the owls.  But if there's one thing I'm reasonably sure of, it's that I'm not reasonably sure of much.

I'm trying to lead you to less of a David Lynch place than I am a George Orwell, 1984, 2 + 2 = 5, doublethink kind of place.

We all have a tendency to believe what is easiest, or what is popular, or what fits best with our expectations.  Orwell asks the question, "If everyone believes it, does that make it true?"  And it is so, so easy for you to sit there and read this and say with conviction "Of course it doesn't!"  And yet, how many of us have been swayed by the classic McDonald's advertising, "BILLIONS AND BILLIONS SERVED," which of course implies that those billions and billions can't be wrong?

Can they?

I find that most people read the story of the Transfiguration of Jesus with the same sense of superiority. How can the disciples—Peter, especially—be so utterly dense?  The Transfiguration is literally a mountaintop experience.  It is literally an epiphany.  A Voice From On High literally identifies Jesus as the Son of God and commands the disciples to listen to him, for crying out loud!

And yet, they are still afraid, they don't know what to say, and Peter manages to insert foot and chew... "This is great!  Uh...  I know!  We'll pitch tents and stay here..."  Even though Jesus has just told them that he "...must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again."

Then again, Peter's immediate response to that idea was to rebuke Jesus.  After all, Peter had only just then proclaimed that Jesus was the Messiah.  Which was a politically charged claim, to say the least.  The Messiah was supposed to ride in like King David killing his tens of thousands of enemies and take the throne back from Rome!

The Messiah?  Die?  Inconceivable!

Peter is scared and he doesn't know what to say.  And if we're honest with ourselves, that's a perfectly reasonable response.

I don't think that what I'm about to say is a spoiler, but I'll alert you anyway:  I'm about to pick up a theme from the Divergent series.

Perhaps it's appropriate to turn to the character of Beatrice "Tris" Prior, the main character in the Divergent Trilogy, to help us get our brains—and our hearts—around what we're talking about here.  You see, there's a moment where someone Tris loves very much makes it crystal clear that she is about to sacrifice herself in order to save Tris.

Tris is scared and she doesn't know how to react.

And it might be fair to say that everything she does after that point is shaped by Tris's need to make meaning out of that act.

Including her need to understand when you should allow someone to sacrifice themselves for you—or, conversely, when sacrificing yourself is something more nobel than suicide.  And the answer she settles on is, "...if it's the ultimate way for them to show they love you."

It takes Tris a very long time and a lot of water under the bridge to get there.  And the same goes for Peter, too.

But that's what the death of Jesus is—the ultimate way for him to show us that he loves us.  And his Resurrection, among other things, is God telling us just how powerful and important that love is.

Be  good to each other,

RevJosh

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The scripture lessons for February 15th—The Last Sunday After Epiphany—are:


2 Kings 2:1-12

Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel." But Elisha said, "As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel. The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, "Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?" And he said, "Yes, I know; keep silent." Elijah said to him, "Elisha, stay here; for the Lord has sent me to Jericho." But he said, "As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So they came to Jericho. The company of prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him, "Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?" And he answered, "Yes, I know; be silent." Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan." But he said, "As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So the two of them went on. Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground.

When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you." Elisha said, "Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit." He responded, "You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not." As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha kept watching and crying out, "Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

Psalm 50:1-6

The mighty one, God the Sovereign,
  speaks and summons the earth:
from the rising of the sun to its setting.

Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty
  God shines forth.

Our God comes and does not keep silence,
   before God is a devouring fire,
and a mighty tempest all around.

God calls to the heavens above
   and to the earth,
that God may judge God's people:
"Gather to me my faithful ones,
  who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!"

The heavens declare God's righteousness,
  for God indeed is judge.

2 Corinthians 4:3-6

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake. For it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Mark 9:2-9

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, "This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!" Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them anymore, but only Jesus.

As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

Ahh, a bear in his natural habitat - a Studebaker.

Usually the hero journey is described in terms of the hero encountering and then overcoming (or not) a series of challenges.  It's no accident that so many rpgs use language like "encounters" and "challenges" for the battles and puzzles their players experience.

But it recently hit me that there's another way to see that journey, with it's string of challenge after challenge.  It's true of many stories, but it recently hit me particularly hard about The Lord of the Rings--there's simply no rest.  Every time Frodo reaches a place of sanctuary, a place where he can take a breath and take stock--something propels him forward again.  Sometimes it's an attack that breaks the sanctuary of a place, sometimes it's the knowledge that he's the only one who can bear the ring and destroy it's evil, but something always keeps him moving.



The Gospel writer of Mark paints a picture of Jesus's ministry that's like that.  Every time Jesus finishes preaching and seeks out some time away, he ends up healing someone.  And his fame increases.  And with fame, the crowds arrive.  Only they aren't there to hear the message.  They're there for the miracles.  And so Jesus keeps moving from place to place.  Preaching.  Healing.  Helping and subsequently escaping the crowds.

No rest.



There is another way to look at this dynamic, though.  Katherine Matthews Huey recently wrote a reflection over this aspect of Jesus's ministry in which she repeated the phrase "moving right along."

Which of course made me think of The Muppet Movie.



Maybe there's a positive side to being constantly on the move like that.  After all, Kermit wouldn't have met all the many, many good friends he'd gathered around him by the end of the story if he's stayed in the swamp or had a smooth journey from there to Hollywood.

I wonder how many friends Jesus had by the time he made it to the end of his story?

Be good to each other,
RevJosh
020315

The scripture lessons for February 8th—The 5th Sunday After Epiphany—are:


Isaiah 40:21-31

Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to live in; who brings princes to naught, and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing. Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows upon them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. To whom then will you compare me, or who is my equal? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who created these? He who brings out their host and numbers them, calling them all by name; because he is great in strength, mighty in power, not one is missing.

Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God"? Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

Psalm 147:1-11, 20c

Praise God! How good it is
  to sing praises to our God;
for God is gracious,
  and a song of praise is fitting.

God builds up Jerusalem;
  God gathers the outcasts of Israel.

God heals the brokenhearted,
  and binds up their wounds.

God determines the number of the stars;
  God gives to all of them their names.

Great is our God, and abundant in power;
  whose understanding is beyond measure.

God lifts up the downtrodden;
  God casts the wicked to the ground.

Sing to God with thanksgiving;
  make melody to our God on the lyre.

God covers the heavens with clouds,
  prepares rain for the earth,
makes grass grow on the hills.

God gives to the animals their food,
  and to the young ravens when they cry.

God has no delight in the strength of the horse,
  nor pleasure in the speed of a runner;

but God takes pleasure in those who fear God,
  in those who hope in God's steadfast love.

Praise be to God!

1 Corinthians 9:16-23

If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel! For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission. What then is my reward? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel.

For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ's law) so that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.

Mark 1: 29-39

As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, "Everyone is searching for you." He answered, "Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do." And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.

Since I Look Like A Demon...

The Gospel lesson for this Sunday is one of those passages that it simultaneously very simple and very, very complicated.  Basically, it goes something like this:  One Sabbath, near the beginning of Jesus’s ministry, Jesus went into a synagogue and began to preach.  And everyone was amazed at the authority with which Jesus preached.  Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?  Have you come to destroy us?  I know who you are, the Holy One of God."  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!"  And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him.  This only served to make the people even more amazed at Jesus’s authority--he can even command spirits!--and the news of what he had done spread all over the countryside like gossip through a middle school cafeteria.

It terms of the plot, it’s pretty simple, right?  But there’s one element that complicates matters for the post-modern reader.

And that one element is…  Demons.

Already it is happening—with the invocation of that single word, each and every one of you has experienced a different set of images, thoughts, and emotions.  Some of you are probably remembering the disturbing imagery of any number of popular movies and even television, from The Exorcist and The Amityville Horror to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Exorcism of Emily Rose.  Perhaps some of you disapprove of such dark musings, believing that such entertainment indirectly or unintentionally worships Satan.  And I imagine that some of you do not believe in Satan, or demons, at least not literally—humanity is capable of enough evil on its own and the real demonic forces are societal and personal and very human.

On the other hand, I once heard someone say that only rich white folk can afford to not believe in the devil.

There’s always another hand with which to say, “On the other hand…” isn’t there?

I have heard stories of addiction referred to as a battle with personal demons.  I have heard stories of struggle with mental illness in which the concept of demons seemed to be very literal.  Others see this Gospel lesson as demonizing what is simply an illness.

Actually, the idea of demonizing--presenting something or someone as purely evil or diabolic--is something geeks could teach a thing or two about.

For example, this concept always reminds me of one of the X-Men.  His name is Kurt Wagner, but he is known as Nightcrawler.   Kurt is covered in dark, blue fur, he has glowing eyes, his hands and feet have too few digits, he has a barbed, prehensile tail, and he has the power to disappear in a puff of smoke that smells of brimstone.  He looks like a demon, and yet not only is he one of the good guys, but he is also a devout Roman Catholic who was in training for the priesthood.  Can you imagine being Kurt Wagner, a truly good person who is unable to go out in public because the people, in their fear, might seek to harm you?

I’m still not sure what to say about the impudent little demon from the Gospel lesson.  But I once had a really interesting conversation with a group of clergy about how they would preach over the passage.  One pastor immediately described this passage as presenting itself as silly to the modern reader and concluded that the only way to make any kind of connection for you would be for me to share at least one of my personal demons with you all.  The next pastor said that I should be very careful of that kind of sharing and that he himself would not share any of his personal demons from the pulpit.  A third pastor said that this would be a great chance to say a prophetic word and name the demons of the church.  And a fourth pastor said that we should be very careful about naming the church’s demons, as she had heard a horrible story about a pastor naming something that turned out not to be true at all.

All this talk of naming or not naming demons reminds me of Harry Potter.  The arch-villain of the story is an evil wizard of unimaginable power who calls himself Lord Voldemort.  Most of the wizarding community refuses to call him by name out of fear that doing so might somehow invoke his evil presence.  He is instead called You-Know-Who, He Who Must Not Be Named, and The Dark Lord.

If Arthur has Merlin, and Luke Skywalker has Obi-Wan Kenobi, then Harry Potter has Albus Dumbledore.  And at the end of the first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry almost slips and says the name “Voldemort” in the presence of Dumbledore.  When he catches himself and says “You-Know-Who,” instead Dumbledore says, "Call him Voldemort, Harry. Always use the proper name for things. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself."  Dumbledore’s advice is wise, for needlessly increasing your fear of something is to give it power that it would not normally have.

In fact, no matter how you define what a demon, or a demonic force, is, we can learn from Dumbledore’s advice here.  We have to be careful not to give the demonic power that it does not have on its own.  And so I want to let you in on a little secret.

Sunday’s Gospel lesson is not about the demon.

Even the demon acknowledges that it is not the star of the story.  This Gospel lesson is about Jesus.  Jesus is the one with the power in this story.  Jesus is the one with the authority.  When Jesus teaches, he teaches as one who has authority.  And whether you believe in a literal demon who speaks, saying, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?  Have you come to destroy us?  I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” or if you believe that the demon is a metaphor for the societal ills that Jesus continually preached against, or if your beliefs fall somewhere between the two—when Jesus interacts with the demon, Jesus is the one with the power.  Jesus is the one who speaks with authority.

It really is just that simple.

Be good to each other,
RevJosh
012715

The scripture lessons for January 25th—The 4th Sunday After Epiphany—are:


Deuteronomy 18:15-20

The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet. This is what you requested of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said: "If I hear the voice of the Lord my God any more, or ever again see this great fire, I will die." Then the Lord replied to me: "They are right in what they have said. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I command. Anyone who does not heed the words that the prophet shall speak in my name, I myself will hold accountable. But any prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, or who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded the prophet to speak — that prophet shall die."

Psalm 111

Praise God! I will give thanks to God
  with my whole heart,
in the company of the upright,
  in the congregation.

Great are the works of God,
  studied by all who delight in them.

Full of honor and majesty is God's work,
  and God's righteousness endures forever.

God has gained renown by wonderful deeds;
  God is gracious and merciful.

God provides food for those who fear God;
  God is ever mindful of God's covenant.

God has shown God's people
  the power of God's works,
in giving them the heritage
  of the nations.

The works of God's hands
  are faithful and just;
all God's precepts are trustworthy.

They are established forever and ever,
  to be performed with faithfulness
  and uprightness.

God sent redemption to God's people;
  God has commanded God's covenant forever.
Holy and awesome is God's name.

The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom;
  all those who practice it have a good understanding.
God's praise endures forever.

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that "all of us possess knowledge." Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge; but anyone who loves God is known by him.

Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that "no idol in the world really exists," and that "there is no God but one." Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth — as in fact there are many gods and many lords — yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge. Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. "Food will not bring us close to God." We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if others see you, who possess knowledge, eating in the temple of an idol, might they not, since their conscience is weak, be encouraged to the point of eating food sacrificed to idols? So by your knowledge those weak believers for whom Christ died are destroyed. But when you thus sin against members of your family, and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall.

Mark 1:21-28

They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God." But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!" And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, "What is this? A new teaching — with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him." At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

The Little Ones Were Crawling Into A Strange Glowing Ooze...

Yup, all from the same cosmic rays!

If you prefer your science fiction hard, look away now!  But I've always thought that the origin stories of comic book superheroes (and supervillains for that matter) are really interesting.  They might not be very scientific—heck, Stan Lee freely admits that he has no idea what a mutant or gamma radiation is but that he recognized that they sounded pretty cool—but I think it's fun to look at all the different ways super powers have been bestowed on characters over the years.  Because the last thing we need is more than one character having the same origin story, right?
Well...  I suppose there's the Fantastic Four, all gaining their powers from the same cosmic rays.

But that's not my favorite shared origin story!

My favorite shared origin story has to do with the Marvel character, Daredevil.  As a young man, Matt Murdock saw that a blind man crossing the street was about to be run down by a speeding truck.  He rushed into traffic and tackled the man as the truck swerved to avoid them both.  In the ensuing traffic accident a container of radioactive material is knocked loose from the truck, striking Murdock in the head, blinding him and heightening his remaining senses to superhuman levels.

Hey!  Where'd that cylinder go?

Ah, but what happened to the canister after it hit Murdock between the eyes?  Well...  it's not official because the heroes I'm about mention originated in an indie comic, not Marvel.  But...  if you look at the origin story of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, you'll see young man save a blind man from being run down in the street by a truck.  In the ensuing traffic accident a container of glowing green ooze (hey, that has to be radioactive, doesn't it?) strikes the young man in the head before bouncing off the pavement and striking a glass bowl with four turtles inside from the hands of a young boy.

Should someone call HAZMAT?  No?

Turtles, shards of glass—and a canister of glowing green ooze all end up in the sewer together.  The ooze causes the turtles to mutate, becoming humanoid, along with their rat ninjutsu-master.  So that one container of ooze is responsible for the origins of five (six if you include Splinter) heroes who can trace their origins back to that one container.

That's even more insidious than the cosmic rays that brought about the Fantastic Four!

There's something about the origin stories that remind me of the call narratives in the gospels—especially the more insidious origin stories, like the cosmic rays and the green ooze.  I think it has something to do with the way the disciples are suddenly, irrevocably changed.  I mean, think about it, Jesus is strolling along the shoreline and sees a couple of fishermen.  And he just kind of goes, "Hey you, yeah you, follow me!"

And they do.

They walk away from their jobs, their livelihoods, their families and follow Jesus.  And you have to wonder why, don't you?  In fact, many, many words have been written about the disciples and why they answered the call of Jesus and what that all means.  More and more I'm inclined to approach this story the same way that I approach Genesis.  The gospel writers aren't primarily telling a story about the disciples.  They're telling a story about God and God's relationship with humanity.  And so the sudden shift in the disciples shouldn't be any more surprising than Matt Murdock gaining super-senses or four turtles becoming crime-fighting ninja.

Because God's presence in our lives is even more insidious than green ooze!

Use your power for good,
Rev. Josh
012015




The scripture lessons for January 25th—The 3rd Sunday After Epiphany—are:

Jonah 3:1-5, 10

The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, "Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you." So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days' walk across. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's walk. And he cried out, "Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!"

And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth. When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.

Psalm 62:5-12

For God alone my soul waits in silence,
   for my hope is from God.

God alone is my rock
 and my salvation, my fortress;
I shall not be shaken.

On God rests my deliverance and my honor;
 my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.

Trust in God at all times, O people;
 pour out your heart before God;
 who is a refuge for us.

Those of low estate are but a breath,
 those of high estate are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
 they are together lighter than a breath.

Put no confidence in extortion,
 and set no vain hopes on robbery;
if riches increase, do not set your heart on them.

Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this:
 that power belongs to God,
and steadfast love belongs to you, O God.

For you repay to all
 according to their work.

1 Corinthians 7:29-31

I mean, brothers and sisters, the appointed time has grown short; from now on, let even those who have wives be as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no possessions, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.

Mark 1:14-20

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news." As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea — for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you fish for people." And immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.