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Wide Open Grace (Mark 9: 38-50)
(A sermon preached October 1, 2006 at University UMC by Kennetha Bigham-Tsai)
Let me begin by acknowledging the
difficulty of our text for today. One of the things the lectionary forces me to
do is to preach texts that are difficult—texts that make me uncomfortable. For
this is indeed a strange and sometimes confusing text. It is a text which speaks
of demons and of exorcism, of being salted with fire, and of hell. This text
even suggests that one cut off a hand or a foot or tear out an eye to prevent
stumbling.
Now, certainly, one thing that we can
draw from a text like this is the fact that the Bible often speaks in metaphor
and in symbol. We are surely not to take literally statements such as the ones
about cutting off of appendages. However, if we examine this text in light of
its symbolism and use of metaphor, it surely has something to say to us today.
And, I believe it has something to say about the openness of God’s grace and
about Christian unity.
For here we have a story about an
exorcist who is casting out demons in Christ’s name, yet who is not following
the ways of the disciples. To cast out demons was a way that First Century
Christians understood many of the healing miracles of Jesus. Casting out demons
involved works of power—miracles—healings of the lame and the blind.
Now whether or not you believe
literally in the miracle accounts of the Bible, certainly we can point to
occurrences today that qualify as miraculous. When a life is changed through
prayer and the loving fellowship of others, a miracle has surely occurred. When
a long-problematic relationship is reconciled through prayer and forgiveness,
surely a miracle has occurred. When someone recovers from a debilitating illness
supported by the prayers of others, quite often we have encountered the
miraculous. And when the Church carries out its mission of reaching out to a
hurting world, the Church is surely the vehicle of modern-day miracles—miracles
which impact people’s lives in ways that we don’t always realize.
So this sense of driving out demons
in the name of Christ had to do perhaps with acts of miraculous healing in the
lives of people. And here is some unnamed exorcist, carrying out such miracles,
yet not following the ways of the disciples. Yet Jesus affirms what he is doing
and tells the disciples not to hinder him.
Here is Jesus in essence saying,
“It doesn’t matter if he does it differently than we do. It doesn’t matter if
his traditions are the same as ours. It only matters that he heal and help—that
this person join us in our mission to bring the love of God to the world.”
I am very aware of the differences
between Christian denominations. I grew up Baptist, and I attended Presbyterian
and Christian Reformed seminaries. I have been a member of United Methodist and
African Methodist Episcopal churches. I am aware of the differences and
similarities between all of these denominations. And, I understand something of
the Lutheran Church and of the Episcopal Church and of other largely Western
denominations.
But, it was not until I went to
Israel some years ago and visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Old
City of Jerusalem that I truly became aware of Eastern Christianity. I walked
into that church during my stay in Jerusalem, and I witnessed worship services
of the Greek Orthodox Church, the Syrian and Armenian Orthodox Churches, and of
the Coptic Church.
I have strong memories of all of
those different traditions holding worship services in the same building--of the
intonations of priests chanting in a multitude of languages--of the smell of
burning incense, something that I was so unaccustomed to associating with
worship. And I have memories of the unique experience of watching a devout
woman, whose tradition I did not know and whose way of worshipping was so
different from mine. I watched this woman as she slowly and painfully made her
way upon her knees up the stone steps of that edifice, across its stone floor
and to the altar.
I have strong and vibrant memories of
that trip because it was the first time that I was truly exposed to world
Christianity and to its Eastern expression. And one key difference was
highlighted for me in questions I was asked by Christians in Jerusalem. For
instance, I was asked why Christians of the West were so focused on Jesus. “How
about the whole Trinity,” one person asked me, “And specifically, how about the
Holy Spirit?”
What I learned later was that that
question highlighted a key difference between Western and Eastern Christianity.
Since the early Church councils, Eastern Christianity has distinguished itself
in its view of the Trinity and specifically in its focus on the Holy Spirit. And
when I later began to study John Wesley, I was intrigued to discover that he was
influenced not only by Augustine, one of the great Fathers of the Western
Church, but also by the Eastern Church Fathers. It was from these Eastern Church
Fathers—from Eastern Christianity--that Wesley got his focus on the Holy Spirit
and on grace.
Wesley believed in grace and lifted
up for us the concept and priority of the Holy Spirit’s work in the world as a
vehicle for grace. He had an idea about a certain type of grace that he called
prevenient grace--grace that reached out to all people. Such grace was the
action of God’s Spirit wooing all people to faith. This for Wesley was a type of
wide open grace.
And so when this passage in Mark
shows us a Christ who affirms someone whose faith practices are clearly
different than the disciples, this passage acknowledges that all kinds of people
can be vehicles of God’s grace in the lives of others despite their particular
traditions and ways of doing things.
This idea of the open availability of
God’s grace is at the heart of the ecumenical movement. And, The United
Methodist Church, a church that was formed by the marriage of two denominations
(The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church), is a Church
with a commitment to ecumenism. It doesn’t matter if you do things exactly the
way we do or that you believe exactly how we believe. No matter our differences,
we can, by God’s grace, worship together, be in dialogue with one another, and
join hands in ministry--in casting out the metaphorical demons of our world.
Such joining of hands with others is
especially highlighted on a day like this—World Communion Sunday. Today
especially we remember that we join hands with Christians around the world in
celebration of our unity and of God’s grace extended to all of us, despite our
differences in practice and belief. On this day, this World Communion Sunday, we
join hands with Lutherans, and with Catholics, with Baptists, and with Coptics.
We join hands today with Syrian Orthodox believers, with Presbyterians and
Episcopalians, with members of African Methodist Episcopal churches, and with
Russian Orthodox Christians.
We join hands with others around the
world whose traditions and ways of working and being the Church are so very
different from our own. We join hands with them on this day to be reminded that
the Holy Spirit moves through and among all of us and that we are, through the
Holy Spirit and by the grace of God, one in Christ.
Indeed, it is a sign of God’s grace
that God has touched people of faith all over the world, despite differences in
culture, practice and belief. It is a sign of God’s grace that we can join in
communion today with people all over the world, and that we can join in ministry
with those who do it differently than we do. This sense of grace and openness to
difference is at the heart of ecumenism and was at the heart of John Wesley’s
theology and the tradition which he founded. This sense of grace and openness to
others is at the heart of who we are.
Now, I cannot miss saying something
else about my worship experiences in Jerusalem. For when I made that trip, I
also worshipped in the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem and in a little synagogue of
Ethiopian Jews. I worshipped at the Western Wall and placed written prayers in
its crevices. And I visited mosques and joined in celebrations of Ramadan. I
took part in an interfaith experience which taught me the importance of
interfaith dialogue and interaction—dialogue and interaction of which I know
that this church has been a part. Indeed today our youth are visiting the Mosque
which is our neighbor just down the street.
Friends we can be in dialogue with
people of other faiths without denying or diluting our own faith convictions.
Indeed, I found interesting, in this respect, the statements in verses 49 and 50
of our text—those odd statements about salt. Such statements can be interpreted
as statements about loyalty to the covenant with God in Christ. For indeed, in
much of the Old Testament, salt was a sign of covenant—a sign of a relationship
marked by promise and loyalty to that promise, (Num 18:19, 2 Chronicles 13: 5,
Lev. 2:13). So Jesus in effect tells his disciples to be loyal to the covenant
of salt that they have made with God and with each other—to be true to their own
faith and practice. And then he says to be at peace with one another.
This covenant of loyalty calls us as
well to be true to who we are as Christians and as United Methodists but to also
be at peace with each other and with those who practice different traditions.
And in the context of a shrinking world where we are in much more frequent
contact with people of other faiths and other denominations and in which
religious conflict is often at the root of violence, we must work to be at peace
with others and involved in interfaith and ecumenical dialogue.
I shared earlier with you my memories
of that visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. It is interesting that two
Muslim families have, since the 12th Century, been the keepers of the
keys to the door to that venerable church. Those two families were appointed to
that role in the 12th century to quell disagreements between
different Christian sects over who would hold the keys.
Listen to what one of the descendants of one of
those families said to an Associated Press reporter about his role in being a
keeper of the keys. "As a Muslim, I'm proud to do
it,” he said. “It's good for our
religion to respect others, and for them to respect us. Here in
Jerusalem, that's something for all of us to
learn."
I echo this
man’s sentiment. It is good for us everywhere to respect and be in dialogue with
people of other faiths. It is good to be at peace with one another.
In the United Methodist tradition we
practice what we call an open table. That means that the Lord’s Table is
open to all despite denomination, belief, theology, or tradition. The Lord’s
Table is open to all despite age, or developmental stage, or ability. The Lord’s
Table is open to all whether or not you understand and comprehend what is going
on in the sacrament or whether or not you have made certain faith statements.
And even though we have received new members today, the Lord’s Table is open to
all despite your membership or lack thereof in this church or despite your
identification of yourself as United Methodist. Indeed, even if you don’t
identify with Christian theology and belief, the Lord’s Table is open to you as
well.
Why? Because in our tradition we
believe in grace open to all. We believe that God’s grace reaches out through
the Holy Spirit to all people and that if you are drawn to this table it is
because of the work of God’s grace through the Holy Spirit, not because you are
the right age, have done all the right things, or have a certain theology and
belief. It is simply because God’s grace is at work in your hearts through the
Holy Spirit.
And I must also say that even if you
identify with another tradition that leads you to choose not to partake of this
table for whatever reason--that you are still accepted here—that your choice is
accepted here. That is because as Christian people we are extenders of God’s
grace, and we extend the grace of acceptance of individual choice to all. So
come or not as God leads and as your hearts lead and choose to respond. We will
not hinder you. We will not place before you a stumbling block. We instead will
welcome you and embrace you in the love and name of Christ.
And let me not end until I say a word
about our little ones. Today, in celebration and recognition of World Communion
Sunday, our children will join us at the table. They have been taught about the
meaning of communion in their Sunday school classes. Yet their understanding and
their being taught is not why they are invited to the table. They are invited
because the mysterious work of God’s grace through the Holy Spirit is at work in
their lives as well. They are invited as a recognition that God can work in the
human heart in ways that are beyond intellectual understanding or maturity of
faith. They are invited because they are part of the covenant which God entered
with God’s people through the Christ event and through the promise that “I will
never leave you nor forsake you. I will send you a comforter which is the Holy
Spirit. I will be with you from birth to death, from your tentative first steps
to when your bones become brittle and worn. I will be with you for all time,
(cf. Mt 28:20, Heb 13:5b).”
And so we are reminded on this World
Communion Sunday that God is with all of us as we join each other and people of
faith around the world in celebration of God’s common work of grace in all of
our lives—in celebration of God’s loving grace extended to all of us despite our
differences.
So, come to this table which is a
symbol of the open door of God’s grace. Come to this table which is a symbol of
God’s grace and love open to all people and of our love extended to all. Come to
this table which is a symbol of our call and of the call of all peoples to be at
peace with one another. Come to this table of wide open grace. The Spirit of God
has already prepared your hearts. Amen.
“Church
of the Holy Sepulcher a beehive of activity,” by Laura King, Associated
Press, April 9, 1998, at Seattlepi.nwsource.com.
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