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The world in which we live is in need of peace; the world in which we live is in need of healing. Peace, as it is used in Scripture, means a complete inner harmony and well-being as well as an external one with creation and all who are in it. When we think of domestic violence, emotional, physical and sexual abuse, anxiety, anger, guilt, war, terrorism, poverty, ill health, injustice and homelessness we should be able to quickly agree that healing and peace should be a top priority for all of humanity.
At the heart of the calling of any congregation are two things—proper worship of God and bringing healing to broken individuals living in a broken world. Individuals need healing; relationships need healing; memories need healing; institutions, including the Church, need healing and nations need healing.
There are many reasons for the brokenness of our world and of our lives. We fail to see the wisdom of loving and caring for one another. Too often pride, fear, ignorance, prejudice, envy and the need to be in control get in the way of our loving. Too often we must have our own way or we must be the one that is right to the point our relationship with the other is of little or no importance. Too often we are able to reduce the other to an object who has no rights. This is certainly not how God wants us to live.
We see an example of the problem in the four verses in Mark 9 that we share today. John, one of the inner circle of disciples, and one who is often associated with being loving has attempted to stop the activity of a non-disciple who is casting out demons in Jesus' name. His explanation for doing this is, "He was not following us." This translates to, "He is not one of us; he doesn't belong; he doesn't think like us; he hasn't made the same commitment we have made." What we need to remember here is shortly before this the disciples themselves had been asked to cast out a demon and could not do it. Now a total stranger had the ability. Do you think jealousy may have been at play here?
Note also John tells Jesus, "This one was not following us." He does not say, this one was not following You, meaning Jesus. James and John you might recall had asked to be given the favored seats in Jesus' Kingdom. They were not real big on servanthood; they wanted the power. Do you think the stranger's ability to do what they could not ate at their pride? Or maybe it was their fear. Maybe they weren't good enough. It is amazing how fear of personal inadequacy will cause us inner turmoil, sometimes boiling over, causing us to attack another.
Centuries earlier a similar incident took place among God's people. Moses appointed 70 elders whom God gave the gift of prophecy. Eldad and Medad were not of the 70 but they also had the gift of prophecy. Joshua asked Moses to make Eldad and Medad stop. Moses asked Joshua, "Are you jealous for my sake?" (Sermonwriter.com, Donovan, Oct. 1, 2006, p.3) Jesus' response to John's concern is simply, "Those who are not against us are for us." (Mark 9:40)
It is truly amazing how much is said in that simple statement. Either we are for others or we are against them. Neutrality doesn't come into play. We are always choosing or being forced to choose sides. When we choose one way we make allies but at the same time we make enemies. Jesus is always asking us, "Whose side are you on?" What's so amazing and difficult to understand is how so many can claim to be on the side of Jesus while disliking and not trusting so many others who also claim to follow Jesus?
This story from the September 14, 2006 issue of Sermonwriter.com illustrates:
Two strangers meet and start comparing notes. One of them asked, "Are you Protestant or Catholic?"
The other replied, "Protestant."
"Me, too!," said the first. "What denomination?"
"Baptist." "Me, too!" They kept comparing notes and agreeing.
Finally, they came to this exchange. The first person asked: "Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879 or Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?"
The other person replied, "Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912."
The first person got a scowl on his face and said, "Die, heretic!" (adapted from Martin Marty)
We have done the same thing over one word in a creed, whether or not one color of God's people is better than others, whether or not men are better than women, over when life actually begins and for the last 40 years over whether or not God only creates heterosexual people.
Today our denomination, as well as others, is deeply divided. In spite of five years of work by a diverse task force, which resulted in a plea to respect our differences, the division is growing deeper. Congregations are leaving and fighting legal battles over property rights. Others are withholding all denominational funding causing our mission program to crumble. Still others are organizing new groups of like-minded people excluding all who do not accept their way of thinking. And this is just the church. I haven't even mentioned nations and individuals.
Is there a need for healing? Is there a need for peace? I hope the answer is obvious. But can we believe there can be healing and peace? I pray we can. Where does it begin? It begins with Jesus Christ and with me. It begins with Jesus Christ and with you. I can only change one person with Jesus' help and that person is me. Whether or not you believe it, you can only change one person and that person is you.
What are each of us willing to do to bring healing and peace? The author of James suggests in Chapter 5, verse 16, "Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed."
I am not convinced the confession that is advocated is about telling someone how you have broken the Ten Commandments. I think what is being sought is for us to share our weaknesses, fears, hurts and needs. If healing is to come, these are the things individuals, couples, families, groups, institutions and nations need to share in the hope and with the expectation that there will be a positive response from the proper ones listening.
It is only when our hurts, fears and needs and the places where we are vulnerable have been properly addressed that we have any hope for healing, for reconciliation, for understanding and relationship.
Healing and the peace it brings are grounded in Jesus but for them to occur I have to begin with myself being both the one confessing and the one hearing and responding to the confession of others. Some may think this too simple even though difficult to do.
My response to that is, "What else has worked? |
