ROME IMPROVEMENT 1/31/2021

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SURVEYING THE SITE:  Mark 1:21-28

How to read the book of Mark? It makes a difference.

If you read this week’s Gospel text as the beginning of Mark, then the events of this text appear magical. But, if you read this event as a result of the trial, crucifixion, and resurrection told in chapters 11-16, then the Easter proclamation of resurrection, that good news, begins with the knowledge that Jesus is the son of God, not because Mark declares it, but because Jesus is raised up from the dead and has gone ahead of us to Galilee where we now find him.

This is the beginning, not of Mark, but the good news, that is, Jesus of Nazareth, is the son of God who has risen from the dead and now walks among us. Through this lens, the events of the text are less surprising. The disciples may not recognize Jesus as the risen Christ, the people in the synagogue may not recognize Jesus as the risen Christ, but the unclean spirit recognizes Jesus’ resurrected authority: “You are the holy one of God.”

If, in Scripture, there is ever an understanding of the bodily resurrected Christ, this is it. Here, Jesus is so incarnationally embodied that the disciples do not recognize him as the resurrected one of God, nor do they recognize the authority the resurrected Christ is going to have on their lives. The disciples, and we, see the truly human Jesus, without confessing the truly divine, resurrected Christ before us, but the unclean spirit, s/he/it confesses the divine, resurrected Christ. The one who has been part of the creating itself is the one who stands before her/him/it. The command to come out of the host s/he/it has encountered is not a command that can be ignored, but it is not a command the spirit complies with willingly. S/he/it convulses the man and comes out with a loud voice. We are not told whether it is one of pain, anger, or complaint, only that the unclean spirit is exorcised.

READING THE BLUEPRINT

From the halls where John is arrested to the shores of Galilee, we now move with the newly called disciples, into the city of Capernaum, to a synagogue. It is the Sabbath; Jesus begins to teach. Immediately, a man in an unclean spirit appears. Note, Jesus’ teaching seems to make the man in an unclean spirit appear. The teaching that Jesus is teaching with his own authority, not like the scribes who depend on others for authority.

The man does not recognize who Jesus is; it is the unclean spirit that does. “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.”

Jesus censures the unclean spirit and literally says, “Put a muzzle on it! Come out! Out of him!”

Convulsing the man and making a loud voice, the unclean spirit is exorcised from the man. The disciples ask among themselves concerning the authority Jesus has that demands the attention of the unclean spirit. They then ask, “Is this a new teaching?”

Following this event, Jesus’ fame spreads throughout all the region of Galilee.

ROUGHING IN THE HOUSE

This week’s text is often read as “a man with an unclean spirit,” but the literal translation is, “a man in an unclean spirit.” It is as though he were imprisoned by the spirit rather than actively involved in the uncleanliness.

The man does not seem to know that he is in an unclean state. After all, this is the synagogue, a holy place, a place reserved for the study of God’s word and worship. Yet, Jesus’ teaching reveals the uncleanliness. When the unclean spirit recognizes Jesus, he squawks something like, “Things were going so well until you showed up. Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are. You are the holy one of God. You are the one who rises from the dead. You are the one who brings salvation without war and oppression. You are the one who can change the world and take the power of life and death away from the government. Without the fear of death, what power does evil have over people?”

Jesus rebukes the unclean spirit, just as Jesus will later rebuke Peter when he tries to dissuade Jesus from saying that he must die on the cross and rise from the dead. Jesus says, “Come out of him! Your power-days to entrap, to make captive, to oppress are over.”

Some identify the unclean spirit with the Roman occupation of the time and the capitulation of the religious leaders to the Roman government allowing sacrifices to be made in the temple for the emperor. The political power of Rome had infused itself in the religious practices of worship, making worship an extension of Roman authority.

Convulsing the man, and making a big noise about it, the unclean spirit relinquishes its hold. Even the power of Rome is not enough to challenge the power of Christ. In the presence of Christ, unclean spirits give way to holy spirits.

PUTTING UP THE WALLS

We often think of this man in an unclean spirit as being terribly afflicted. Clearly, he truly needs cleansing. We easily disassociate ourselves from him and think of him with disgust, or maybe just pity.

We get caught up in the cosmic battle between good and evil. We hear the words of the unclean spirit recognizing Jesus as the holy one of God, and we cheer as the unclean spirit leaves the man. Yet, we do not see ourselves, like this man, caught in the unclean spirit.

When we bring the rusting corruptions of the world into our worship spaces: our prejudices, politics, work, self-satisfaction, piety, and need to always be right, we do not see that we might need to have the unclean spirits of our world removed from us. We do not hear the authoritative teaching of Jesus instructing us in ways to lay aside our self-interest for the sake of our neighbor. When we pray for those who are not like us, who do not think like us, whose customs are foreign to us, whose orientations are not ours, we usually forget that we too are ones who need healing prayers.

The worship place is not only a place for giving prayer, praise, and thanksgiving for what God has done for us. It is also the place where we thank God for what God is about to do. It is that place where we commit ourselves to putting aside our judgments in order to discern God’s words for us. This is the space where we seek God’s teaching that can empower us to re-enter the world as peacemakers rather than combatants.

The worship space, our attending conversations, and communal study are for the purpose of listening to God, in our midst, and to the concerns of our neighbors, in order to bring God’s justice for everybody. When we deprive ourselves of that communal conversation, we submit to the unclean spirits and give them authority over us, imprisoning us in isolation.

HANGING THE TRIM

“We confess that we are sinful and unclean and cannot free ourselves. … For the sake of your son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we might delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name. Amen.”

Casting About

We were casting our nets that day when he passed by and said, “Follow me.” Just like that. “Follow me.” There was no, “Hello, how’s it going?”, or “How’s business?”, or “Is the fishing good?”; just, “Follow me.” My brother looked at me and said, “Why not. The fishing’s lousy. We’re not making money here, and, if we aren’t going to make money, we might as well not make money doing something that may be interesting.” So, we pulled in the net—it was empty. We stretched it on the rack to dry, and then we followed.

********

It was one of those days when the sun was shining; the breeze was pleasant; the sound of the waves was comforting; and the net we were mending was getting stiff as we worked. “Wet the net,” my father scolded. “It gets too stiff if you don’t dampen it a little ever once in a while.”

“Dad, I know,” I replied resentfully. “How many years have I been doing this now? Fourteen years, if you will recall. You started me when I was four, saying, ‘You have good fingers. Come down to the boat, and help your old man.’” I reached into the water alongside the boat and splashed some water on the area I was mending.

“Not so much!” Zebedee cried. “We can’t roll the nets when they are wet; they’ll mold. With the rates we pay the emperor for our licenses, we can’t afford molding nets. The fish can smell that, and they won’t go near the nets then. Jimmy, you’ve got to be more careful.”

“I’ve got it under control, Dad,” I said with rising ire. “I have at least fifteen more minutes of work here. With the sun and the breeze, the net will be fine. Watch John or one of the others who depend on you.”

“Follow me,” he said. And all of a sudden, I thought, “The heck with the emperor and his licenses! The heck with the work, and the nagging, and the back-breaking lifting. The heck with the stink, and the cuts, and the knots that slip, and the burn of the sun, and the callouses and the gnarled fingers before my time, and the infections, and the torn nails.” “John, what do you say? He’s talking to both of us.”

He looked at us again and said, “These others have come. Follow me, and the work of netting fish will become the work of netting people. Follow me.”

Just then, a pigeon, or maybe a seagull, flew over and marked me. The splatter sprayed the net, and I looked up to see the offender. Shaking my fist at heaven, I said, “That’s it! Dad, I’m done. You’ve got these others. Let them depend on you. You’ve got the boat. You’ve got the licenses and the emperor’s favor. It’s all in your name. What have I got? What you are willing to give, and it’s not enough. I’m not a boy anymore to be chastened when you are frustrated with business. I’m out of here. John, let’s go.”

Zebedee looked at his boys as they left. “Such a temper that one has—like a tempest in a chowder pot—lots of steam and a voice like thunder. If he weren’t my boy, I’d fire him, but what can I do? Zebedee pauses. “He’ll be back when he calms down. In the meantime, boys, let’s finish the nets and go home.”

ROME IMPROVEMENT 01/24/2021

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SURVEYING THE SITE—Mark 1: 14-20

In the Gospel of Mark, we are now forty days or more out from the day that Jesus was baptized. Jesus has been spending some time in the wilderness, and apparently John has been creating a fuss because we are told that this walk along the Galilean seashore occurs after John is arrested.

If this passage has a Herman’s Hermits’, “I’m Henry the 8^th,” feel to it, it’s because last week we encountered the call of Andrew and Peter in John’s context. The details are a little different, but the call or the command is the same: Jesus says, “Follow me.” And they follow.

READING THE BLUEPRINT

“They were casting nets into the sea because they were fishermen.” The word for fish in Greek is ichthus. “ch”, is the sound of the Greek letter chi, X. ICHTHUS is also an acronym for Jesus Christ, God’s Son and savior.

The seeking and catching of fish is the goal of casting nets.  This is the matter at hand, gaining Christ in their lives, and it is dominant in this ichthus story event.  Another way of looking at this story is to understand that Peter and Andrew are casting nets to gather the image of Christ in their midst. In the course of their work, Jesus comes and says to them “Follow me.” From casting for ichthus, they end by following the ICHTHUS they are seeking to catch.

As Jesus, Peter, and Andrew continue down the beach, they pass by James and John, the sons of Zebedee. We see that the casting of nets cannot contain the image and power of the great ICHTHUS for James and John are mending nets. And James and John, like Peter and Andrew, leave their casting about in order to follow Jesus.

ROUGHING IN THE HOUSE

From the ancient stories of mermaids and mermen trying to become human as an act of love for humans comes this story of casting for fish, ichthus, and discovering the fish, ICHTHUS, who walks upon the land out of love for and for the sake of humankind. This walk will be challenging and painful. It will be a walk that leads to death and new life.

In this new life, we are invited to join in the waters of Baptism where we will drown, be washed clean, be raised up in Christ, and be sent into the world. Tertullian, a Church Father, said, “In the waters of Baptism, we are little fish (ichthus) raised up into the great fish (ICHTHUS). As such, we are raised up from the waters of Baptism with our tails bifurcated so that we might walk among God’s people for the sake of our neighbors and the world. Having been raised up from these new-life waters might we sing a song of praise that begins “under the sea?”

Is it any wonder that we find the disciples who are fishers casting nets? Is it too amazing to discover that the energies of those who are trying to catch the great ICHTHUS, might be turned to catch lesser fish (ichthus) for the glory of God?

PUTTING UP THE WALLS

Within the narrative lies a story of imperial oppression. The city of Tiberius was established as an oversight center for levying taxes and issuing licenses regulating the fishing trade. Some authorities point out that the taxes and fees on the fishing industry, which had been self-supporting, had become so burdensome that gaining a livelihood from fishing was now difficult. Rome controlled the fishing industry by demanding licensing franchises so that the very possession of a boat was a privilege granted by Roman authority. The fish caught had to be turned over to processors and distributors who sent the fish and fish products to the borders of the empire while the people of Israel were left wanting.

Fishing itself had become a sign of Roman oppression, and those who participated in the fishing industry were regarded as participating in the oppression. As such, when Peter, Andrew, James, and John choose to follow Jesus, they are acting in defiance of Roman power.

HANGING THE TRIM

As the disciples, in their radical following of Jesus, the great IXTHUS, also turned away from their privilege and the power of Roman oppression, today we too are called to turn away from our privilege in order to lift up those who live lives of oppression. We are called to recognize our systemic racism, sexism, ableism, and elitism, and break down the institutional barriers that prevent equal access to the many benefits of our society and nation. Jesus continues to call us, saying, “Follow me.”

ROME IMPROVEMENT 01/17/2021

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SURVEYING THE SITE—John 1:43-51

Since this text begins, “The next day …”, it is important to remember what happened the day before. John the Baptist looked out over the crowd and said, “There goes the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” This sets a few things in motion. John, who has more than several followers himself, loses a couple who begin to trail after Jesus. One of these disciples is Andrew. Jesus sees the two stalking him and asks them, “What are you looking for?” The two disciples say, “We just want to know where you are staying?” 

To this, Jesus says, “Come and see.” When the disciples come and see, they stay because of the lateness of the day. The NRSV says that it is four o’clock, but the Greek says that it is the 10^th hour. Could it be that the 10^th hour is used because in Roman numerals 10 is X and X looks suspiciously like the Greek letter chi, the first letter of Christ?

We are told that the disciples stay because of the hour. Except, of course, Andrew doesn’t stay. He goes and finds his brother, telling him, “We have found the Messiah.” He brings him to see Jesus who renames Simon as Cephas (Peter). I see everyone having a Walton-style good night and Simon/Cephas/Peter getting wished good night more than anyone else because of his new names, unless, of course, he replies as each as well.

All of this is to prepare us for “being found” in the “process of finding”. Jesus is finding disciples, and naming them, establishing an intimate relationship with them. Jesus is finding us, and naming us, establishing an intimate relationship with us. At the same time, the disciples and we are finding a relationship intimacy with Jesus and finding names for him that define that relationship—Lamb of God, rabbi/teacher, Messiah, the one of whom the prophets wrote, Son of Joseph, Son of God, King of Israel, Son of Man. Each of these titles/names will define the disciples’ and our relationship with God’s Word revealed to us in the person of Jesus.

READING THE BLUEPRINT

The next day, Jesus has a decision to make. It is like he has come to a fork in the road, and he chooses to go to Galilee. Here he finds Philip and says, “Follow me.” It must be that Philip follows because he goes to find Nathaniel. In a moment of selective memory, Philip says, “We have ‘found’ the one of whom Moses and the prophets wrote, Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”

Philip retorts, “Can there be anything good in Nazareth?” As Jesus told the disciples yesterday, “Come and see,” so now Philip tells Nathaniel, “Come and see.”

When Jesus sees Philip and Nathaniel coming, he says about Nathaniel, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” This reminds us that Jacob, the first to be called Israel, and thus the first Israelite, was filled with deceit—there was that birthright thing, and the blessing thing, and the spotted sheep thing, even the false modesty thing with Esau later. Nathaniel is not like him.

Nathaniel wonders how Jesus knows him. Jesus tells Nathaniel that he “Saw him under the fig tree before Philip went to find him.” In response, Nathaniel claims his place as one of the children of God when he names Jesus as more than rabbi. Nathaniel outs Jesus to be the Son of God, the king of Israel.

Jesus asks Nathaniel whether he believes because of the fig tree vision. Jesus then tells him that he will see greater things than that—Nathaniel will see the heavens opened and the angels of heaven “up-rising” and “down-rising” upon the son of Man.

ROUGHING IN THE HOUSE

If you think that this is a good time to break out in song, singing, “We are climbing Jacob’s ladder, soldiers of the cross”, you might be right. As we have seen Jacob dreaming at Bethel, seeing angels on the ladder that leads to heaven, so now John claims the cross as being the source-place of salvation with the power of resurrection and the ascension into heaven. The “down-rising” is already clear—the Word has been made flesh and tents among us. The “up-rising” is, narratively, yet to come.

In the meantime, as Jesus continues to find us and call us to follow, we are invited to “Come and see” the terribly wonderful fulfillment of Jacob’s dream, claiming our relationship with Christ as gardener, rabbi, risen from the dead, my Lord and my God.  Jesus begins his ministry by saying “Follow me.” In time, we will hear that his last words in the book of John are also “Follow me”.

PUTTING UP THE WALLS

The story is told of a balloonist who got caught in a fog bank. He tried going up, and he tried going down, but he couldn’t get out of the fog. Not knowing where he was or where he was going, he trusted to the wind currents and focused on keeping aloft. After several hours, the fog began to break up. Finally, he was able to get below the fog. He saw beautiful farmland below. In the field directly in front of him, he saw a farmer plowing. From the basket of his balloon, he cried out, “Friend, where am I?” The farmer looked up and shouted back, “You’re in a balloon, fool!’”

Throughout this passage in John, we hear that people are being found. This implies that they were lost. It is with pride that Andrew and Philip say, “We have found the Messiah.” Really? Like Columbus discovering America, the land was always there, and the people who lived there knew exactly where they were. We need to acknowledge that Columbus and his crews were lost. In contrast, we need to acknowledge that Jesus is not lost. It is the world that is in trouble; we are lost.

When the disciples want to know where Jesus is staying, Jesus says, “Come and see.” When he finds Philip, he calls him to follow. When Nathaniel wonders whether any good can come from Nazareth, Philip says, “Come and see.” The thing to be seen is already apparent. The surprising thing that happens is not the invitation to “Come and see”, or the command to follow, the surprising thing is that Andrew, Peter, Philip, Nathaniel, and at least one more do follow.

Note that the invitation to “Come and see” can only be made after knowledge of the relationship with Jesus is established. We can only claim that “we” have “found” the Messiah after we have been found. In our wanderings in the wilderness, Christ finds and directs us to the place where he is staying. We can only find the place where Christ is staying if we follow where Christ is leading.  Christ is leading to the place of the tenth hour, where X may mark the spot, to the cross where God’s mercy rises from the violence of our world. When we find the place that is not lost, we are able, with joy and enthusiasm, to invite others to “Come and see.”

Out from the distracting fog of uncertainty, where we trust to the wind/breath of the Spirit, we find ourselves seeing the baptismal font and the Lord’s table before us. We might cry out, “Where are we?” only to be told, “You are in the body of Christ, where even fools are welcomed.”

HANGING THE TRIM

The Siren calls of our world are many and various. They distract and draw us away from following the way Christ would have us go. Yet, when we come to those crossroads of life and sometimes choose poorly, we can know with certainty that there is one who walks alongside us who will find us and remind us to follow. So, we go, from the crossroads of choice in our lives, to the cross that finds us and leads the way to where we need to go. Come and see the place…

ROME IMPROVEMENT 01/10/2021

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SURVEYING THE SITE—Mark 1:4-12

This week we are challenged to think about the wilderness places of our lives. Is that wilderness place a safe place? Is it dangerous? Is it lonely? Is it a place that you long to go to? Is that wilderness place a place of new growth or is it harvested fallow ground? Whatever your thoughts are, the place of wilderness is where we begin and end this week.

READING THE BLUEPRINT

If this passage were filmed, I could imagine an aerial view of the Jordan River flowing into the Sea of Galilee with hills and crops along the shore. There might be a few fishing boats on the sea as the camera scans the immediate horizon. Then, as the focus of the shot begins to close on a particular point along the banks of the Jordan River, a rough looking character and throngs of people suddenly appear.

There is nothing gradual about this throng gathering, it just appears. There are the noises of the crowd, people pushing their way through to get a better vantage, and this rough looking character speaking loud enough to hear his voice, but not enough to understand the words he is speaking. As the camera draws nearer, the words become clear: “People of God, you have lost your way. Turn again to God. Reflect God’s light to the world and be baptized!”

One person in the crowd elbows the one next to him, saying, “Who is this guy?” The camera now tightens in on the rough looking character as the other responds, “They call him the Baptizer.” We see his ruddy appearance, a coarse woven camel’s hair garment with a leather belt around his waist. As the camera isolates on his face, we see intense dark eyes. In the background the second person continues, “They say he eats nothing but locusts and honey. He would’a been a hit in old Egypt years ago, eh?”

Now we hear John’s voice, overwhelming all other sounds. “The one, who is more powerful than I, is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandal. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

One man pushes through the crowd to stand before John, and they both go into the river where he is baptized. Other people begin to enter the water after him, so no one notices the unidentified person as he walks back to the bank. He looks up into the skies. There is a lightning flash, a thunderclap, a bird flies for shelter, and the unidentified person walks off into a nondelineated, out-of-focus distance. As he walks away, John the Baptizer, the river, and all the people vanish.

Oh, did I mention that this whole event takes place in the midst of a torrential down-pour?

ROUGHING IN THE HOUSE

This theme of wilderness is integral to our faith identity because it is the place of becoming. In Genesis we read that the world was an endless wasteland, a wilderness, and from the wilderness place, God creates all that is created. When Moses fled to the wilderness after killing an Egyptian soldier, it is there that he receives his call to lead God’s people to the Promised Land. In the wilderness, God’s people receive the law. Isaiah 35 tells that in the wilderness there will be a holy way which shall be for God’s people, on which no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray. There the redeemed shall walk, and everlasting joy will be upon their heads. 

Jeremiah 31 also speaks of that wilderness road. There we hear of the blind and the lame, those with young children, and those who are with child will walk through the wilderness in comfort.

Now, Mark tells us, in the wilderness, this place from which creation comes, John appears. There John heralds the coming of a new creation relationship with God, proclaiming not just a baptism of water, but a baptism of the Holy Spirit. As we are imagining this new creation relationship, we hear God’s evocative word speaking this new creation into being. The heavens are torn open, and the birth of a new relationship with God is established as the Spirit descends on Jesus in the likeness of a pigeon.

It is now time to enter again into the wilderness in order to discern the Son of God’s leading for God’s new covenant people.

PUTTING UP THE WALLS

At the beginning of Advent, we heard the words from Isaiah 64, “O that you would tear open the heavens and come down.” This week these words are fulfilled.

I remember, as a child, a picture of Jesus’ baptism on my Sunday School room wall. The water is serene. John is standing in the water looking at Jesus who walks toward the shore. In a cloudless sky, a dove descends over Jesus.

This image sufficed until I got to seminary. Then, having translated this text myself, I was no longer satisfied. I started to interview people who were blind and asked them to describe the day: what time of year it was; what was the weather like, what they smelled when they heard this story. What I got was a description that had nothing to do with the pretty picture from Sunday School.

I heard of oppressively hot days, storms and tornados, lightning with the smell of ozone in the air, wind blowing, torrential rain and thunder—lots of thunder. One said, “I don’t know how bad the storm was, but I wish I could have had a tape recorder there that day.” They heard the heavens being torn apart—the boundary between heaven and earth being destroyed. In this boundary-breaking event, they heard the answer to the prayer of Isaiah 64.

Accustomed to the images that have been prepared for us, we overlook the radicality of Jesus’ baptism in Mark. In God declaring Jesus’ identity, the world has changed. The kingdom of God has seismically shifted, and the Son of God walks among us. It is radical! It changes the world, creating a spirit-driven wilderness time of new formation.

We live in the world where the heavens are torn open. God comes down to live among us in the wilderness. We are called to consider the implications of the new creation possibilities that continue to stretch out before us.

HANGING THE TRIM

During this past week, many, newly aware of living in the wilderness, asked in fear, “Just how close did we come to losing the freedoms we assume to be ours guaranteed by the constitution?” I heard some respond, “Well it was close, but it turned out not to be so bad, didn’t it?” In the horror, they were looking for hope and sunny days ahead.

John’s words seem especially poignant today. “Repent and receive your new identity. Claim your place in the kingdom of God. Speak truth to power. Embrace the anger, for those would take your constitutional liberties away from you. It’s time to get into “good trouble.” For the fear that many of white America experienced this week is the fear that many of our brothers and sisters of color experience daily.

We need to look at those pictures carefully and consider the response of the day and then imagine what that response might have looked like if the throng had been Black, or Asian, or Latinx, or gay, anything other than a White crowd. How much power are we willing to give Caesar to divide us and terrorize us with false promises of salvation?

Jesus’ baptism opens the kingdom of God to us, that world where we are justified by grace through faith in Christ and taught a new way of living. This new way of living calls us to stand with those who are falsely deemed disposable, of less importance, not made in the image of God.

In these schismatic times, when the face of reality is shifting, we, who have been justified by Christ, are given the opportunity to stand fast and work for the justification of others. Now that the boundary of heaven has been torn apart, we all get to play and embrace our neighbor, sharing those Holy Words, “You are beloved. With you, I am blessed. With you, there is shalom.”

In the torrential rains of baptism, with God’s word of claiming, with the sign of the cross upon us and sealed by the Holy Spirit, we hear God’s creation words of goodness, entering our wilderness time of new creation. So, can we hear our names among the names of the disciples?

Are we ready for the radical love of God that breaks down the barriers between heaven and earth, between liberals and conservatives, men and women, gay and straight, and from those cosmetic differences we call race?

Are we ready, because, on the other side of the storm, on the other side of wilderness days, is the promised land of heaven and earth inclusion where the Son always shines!