\nI do mean is that I’m ready to accept some of the gifts of this era:
\nof a pause on reality as we knew it, and a major transition point
\nfrom what was to what will be. \u00a0In particular, I think it is a good
\ntime for the church to consider its most basic nature. \u00a0 <\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/64.media.tumblr.com\/0828e9851207a229f52b37207e7769dc\/60b5ebcfeb72a29c-0f\/s540x810\/59cbec337b0d703cd503d2632df6d196b6f15a0a.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/p>\n
Why
\ndo we exist?<\/p>\n
Should
\nwe continue to do so?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I
\nhope you’ll grant me a little bit of patience now that you know where
\nI’m headed, because the scriptures today are incredibly useful to
\nanswering those questions, but to hear them well requires putting
\nthem in context.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Until \n<\/p>\n \nI believe that is much of the <\/p>\n \nThis question of authority is \n<\/p>\n \nThe priests, like the kings, \n<\/p>\n \nThe passage wants to limit \n<\/p>\n \nI think the role of the prophet \n<\/p>\n In <\/p>\n To <\/p>\n I <\/p>\n It <\/p>\n That <\/p>\n We <\/p>\n I <\/p>\n These <\/p>\n Jesus <\/p>\n The <\/p>\n THIS <\/p>\n Why <\/p>\n May <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1<\/a> 2<\/a> Ched 3<\/a> 4<\/a> Myers,
\ngospel lesson centers on the question of authority, specifically why
\nJesus acted like he had any! \u00a0Wise scholars point out \u201cAuthority is
\nthe ability, actual or assumed, to control the behavior of others.\u201d1<\/sup><\/a>
\n Jesus, by birth, wasn’t supposed to have authority, yet he presents
\nhimself as having it, and using it. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nthis point in the Gospel, Jesus has been out in the wilderness, and
\non the lakeshore. \u00a0His entrance into the synagogue on the Sabbath was
\nan entrance into the space where the Scribes had authority, and his
\nwords and actions SHAKE THINGS UP. \u00a0This is the start of Jesus
\nmessing with the status quo, and challenging what is assumed to be
\ntrue.2<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n
\nrole of Christianity today, but I’ll get back to that.<\/p>\n
\nalso central to the Hebrew Bible reading today. \u00a0It comes in the
\nmidst of a passage about the appropriate ways the roles of king,
\njudge, and priest should be fulfilled. \u00a0Our passage is about the way
\nthe role of prophet should be fulfilled. \u00a0It is interesting because
\nthe author of Deuteronomy is pretty clearly uncomfortable with the
\nrole of prophet, and yet doesn’t think he can get away with
\npretending prophets away. \u00a0It is likely that Deuteronomy reflects the
\nperspective of the priestly voice, and the priests and the prophets
\nhad an uneasy relationship.<\/p>\n
\ninherited their power and role, which functioned to distance them
\nfrom everyone else. \u00a0They got their authority at birth. \u00a0Prophets, on
\nthe other hand, emerged out of no where and were seen to have the
\nauthority of speaking for God (at least by their followers.) \u00a0They
\noften served to call others in authority to account, particularly for
\nthe care of the vulnerable, and to warn that an unjust society would
\nnot be sustainable.<\/p>\n
\nprophets. They have to be insiders, which is HILARIOUS, because I
\njust dare anyone to attempt to impose such a limit on the Divine.
\nThey’re threatened a bit too, in hopes of reigning them in.<\/p>\n
\nis interesting for THIS church, because historically the role of this
\nchurch in the Church-At-Large and in Society has been the role of
\nprophet. \u00a0This is a church where justice-seekers gather, trying to
\nbuild the kindom of God, and willing to name things AS THEY ARE in
\norder to do so. \u00a0Or, to be a little less diplomatic about it, we’re
\nreally good at being a thorn in the side when one is needed. \u00a0We
\ndon’t go away, we don’t stop agitating, we aren’t willing to throw
\nanyone under the bus, and we are OK with people being annoyed with
\nus. \u00a0We believe that calling for justice is the work of God, and
\nwe’re going to do it.<\/p>\n
\ncontrast, the role of priest is largely one of ritual, and is a role
\nthat is dependent on the good-graces of others. \u00a0A priest is limited
\nin function because a priest has no means of survival other than the
\ngood will of the people or more often of those in power.<\/p>\n
\nbe simplistic about it, the priestly role is about creating the
\nreligious myths that uphold the status quo. \u00a0The prophetic role is
\nabout calling out the injustices of the status quo and motivating
\nchange to a better system.<\/p>\n
\nsee those two roles intertwined in the Bible, struggling against each
\nother, and I see them in religious history as well. \u00a0So it is no
\nshock that some of each is in every religious community, but more so
\nthan most, this church is defined by its role as prophet. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nmay make sense then, that I also see Jesus as functioning in the
\nprophetic role. \u00a0I am, after all, the pastor of a prophetic church.
\nIn this Gospel lesson, Jesus is using his authority. \u00a0So, he is using
\n\u201cthe ability, actual or assumed, to control the behavior of
\nothers.\u201d3<\/sup><\/a>
\n This seems to lead to the question: \u00a0what was Jesus changing the
\nbehaviors from and what was Jesus changing the behaviors to? \u00a0Scholar
\nChed Myers says, \u201cMark’s Gospel was originally written to help
\nimperial subjects learn the hard truth about their words and
\nthemselves. \u00a0\u2026. His is a story by, about, and for those committed
\nto God’s work of justice, compassion, and liberation for the world.\u201d4<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n
\nis, Jesus was about opening the eyes of the people to see how they
\nwere being oppressed, and to work together to break the chains of
\noppression, so that they could build a society and a world without
\noppression. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nare quite clearly not Jesus’s audience, nor Mark’s. \u00a0While our
\ncommunity has a wide range of socio-economic statuses, we are a part
\nof The United States which is far more similar to Rome in the time of
\nJesus than it is to Nazareth. \u00a0So what does the authority of Jesus
\ncall us to today?<\/p>\n
\nbelieve Jesus calls us out of systems of oppression, and their myths.
\n Those myths include: \u00a0some people matter more than others, some
\npeople deserve more than others, there isn’t enough to go around \u2013
\nso every person or group should fight for their own good, life is
\nabout getting \u201cahead,\u201d the status quo is mostly good, \u201cbe nice\u201d
\nand don’t upset people, some people are just going to have to be left
\nbehind and nothing can be done about it. \u00a0There are a lot of myths
\nunder this that support it, ones that maintain sexism, racism,
\nheteronormativity, the exclusion of people with disabilities, and
\nother forms of HIERARCHY of humans. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nmyths can be hard to let go of. \u00a0They’re pervasive, they’re
\ninsidious, and they’re even found in most faith communities, because
\nfaith communities are comprised of people who also exist in society.<\/p>\n
\ncalls us to justice, compassion, and liberation for the world. \u00a0Jesus
\ncalls us to kindom building, to being the beloved community, to
\nsanctification. \u00a0(Sanctification is the process of letting go of
\neverything that isn’t love so that love can motivate all of our words
\nand actions.) \u00a0God’s love extends to each and every living person,
\nand each and every living being. \u00a0The change God seeks is from the
\nstatus quo to a world of equity, equality, compassion, and love.
\nTHIS is the role of Christianity in the world.<\/p>\n
\nwork of the church is to value what God values, to model a community
\nthat lives by those values, to support each other in the
\ntransformation towards sanctification, and to believe that the work
\nof the kindom is the work of our lives. \u00a0This is why we do things
\ntogether \u2013 so we can learn from each other, so we can love on each
\nother, so we can learn compassion from the inside and then share it
\nin the world. \u00a0As we let go of the myths of systems of oppression,
\nwe’re freed to see more and more clearly what justice looks like and
\nto live it more deeply. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nis why we are people who take on the prophetic role. \u00a0We have been
\nblessed to be able to see what oppression looks like AND to see what
\nlife can be with God’s equality and equity at the center. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\ndo we exist? \u00a0To live the values of the kindom, to show them to each
\nother and the world, to be hope for what can come. \u00a0Should we
\ncontinue to do so? \u00a0Yes, I rather think we should.<\/p>\n
\nGod help us along our way! \u00a0Amen\n<\/p>\n
\n\tBruce J. Malina and Richard L. Rohrbaugh Social Science
\n\tCommentary on the Synoptic Gospels
\n\t(Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003) \u201cTextual Notes: Mark
\n\t1:231-34\u201d p. 150.<\/p>\n
\n\tMyers, Binding the Strong Man
\n\t(Orbis Books: Maryknoll, NY, 1988, 2008), 141-143.<\/p>\n
\n\tMalina and Rohrbaugh p. 150.<\/p>\n
\n\t11.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"