James 3:13-18 4:1-3, 7-8a - Razor Planet



“What About Me?”Mark 9:30-37James 3:13-18 4:1-3, 7-8aMay the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. AmenA recent review of a ship’s log revealed an incident at sea that was most unusual. It illustrates the issue at stake in our lessons today. 1st Message: Please divert your course 0.5 degrees to the south to avoid a collision.Reply: Recommend you divert your course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision.2nd message: I am the captain of a US naval ship – do you read me? Divert your courseReply: No, you divert your course.3rd message:THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS NIMITZ; A US NAVY WARSHIP. DIVERT YOUR COURSE IMMEDIATELY!!Reply: This is a lighthouse. Your call.We need wisdom to see the limitations of our knowledge and our tendency to deny things we do not want to hear. In the ancient world, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians and ancient Israel all embraced wisdom traditions supported by their respective mythologies, cults and liturgies. Wisdom is personified in Proverbs 8 and should have any doubt of her importance hear these words:The Lord created me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts long ago. I, wisdom, live with prudence, and I attain knowledge and discretion. For the ancients, wisdom was not something you attained late in life through experience. It is a life force. James relied heavily upon the wisdom literature of ancient Israel (Sirach and Proverbs) to reorient us to that divine perspective Jesus talked about when he told Peter to set his sights on divine, not human, things. Our lesson today unfolds as Jesus and the disciples walk from Galilee to Capernaum. Jesus predicts his passion and resurrection for the second time. One would expect this to generate a reaction at least as dramatic as the revelation. Mark tells us that they did not understand and were afraid. Silence.In scene two Jesus and the disciples arrive at a home in Capernaum. Jesus asked them what they were arguing about earlier on their walk revealing that he knew they were arguing about who was the “greatest.” I invite you to join me in thinking over two aspects of the story. First: the context. Jesus told them something they did not want to believe. I understand their silence on that topic. I might shift gears as well and start thinking about my own power and position since Jesus is going to die.Prior to their walk to Capernaum Jesus had taken Peter James and John up the mountain and was transfigured before their eyes and shown forth in his glory with Moses and Elijah (Mark 9:2-8). When they came down the mountain the disciples tried to heal a boy of a demon and failed. Jesus intervened and later told them that what they had failed to do was pray. Is it any wonder that the disciples are trying to figure out where their personal power begins and ends and what that glimpse of eternity they saw has to do with their life? They start where you and I do when we are overwhelmed: they go in a different direction to seek recognition and get power.The second thing to consider is that Jesus did not insist that they deal with his prediction about the passion. He met them where they were. He stepped right into their argument. They may have been embarrassed to have been caught arguing over who is first but Jesus is not. Their silence opens up space for them to hear words of wisdom and a new vision for leadership. Jesus reaches back to the wisdom tradition: whoever wants to be first must be last and offers them another way to look at things.To be great in the Lord we must serve and exercise power, to include not rule over people. Jesus did something natural to us but shocking in first century Palestine. At that time children were at the very bottom of the society: completely powerless and totally vulnerable. Believe it or not they were considered property and had no rights or protections.Jesus used the word welcome four times in verse 37. From a divine perspective to become the greatest they must welcome, and serve, everyone and see that in doing this they welcome God. It is said that the longest trip we will ever take is from the mind to the heart. Wisdom is there to be our guide so that we do not crash into a lighthouse.To link divine wisdom to our own wisdom we pray: we imagine God’s kingdom, love, grace and mercy. If we pray we are more likely to imagine a world centered on God’s kingdom and not get lost in our own version of things to prove we are the greatest. At the end of his life an infamous character said, I have spent the best years of my life giving people the lighter pleasures, helping them have a good time, and all I get is abuse, the existence of a hunted man. The words belong to Al Capone America’s Notorious Public enemy – the most sinister gang leader who ever shot up Chicago actually regarded himself as a public benefactor- an unappreciated and misunderstood public benefactor. The anecdote comes from Dale Carnegie’s book, How to Win Friends and Influence People. A cynic would say, we are all legends in our own mind. An ancient might say we get trapped in the vain imaginations of our hearts. But, God says, Do not fear for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name and you are mine…I will be with you… for you are precious in my sight and honored, and I love you. (Isaiah 43:1, 2b, 4b) The story does not end with our shortcomings. It starts there. A New Yorker cartoon featured a well-dressed middle-aged couple holding hands as they made their way down the steps after the Sunday service. The picture showed the man turning toward his wife to mutter, “How can I love my enemies, when I don’t even like my friends?” A dilemma: one that human wisdom cannot fix but divine wisdom can address.The lessons from James are hard hitting: envy, strife, competition even murder and adultery if you read the entire passage. The point is not that Jesus and divine wisdom will make it all go away. The point is that when we are trapped in those places of evil, the absence of God, we have a way out: in James famous words, Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. James was writing to communities that were wrestling with church leadership.Yesterday your elders and deacons and PNC gathered for a retreat. Like me they have all vowed before God and To serve the people with energy, intelligence, imagination and love. We met to pray. The Reverend Cynthia Brasher forged a new path for our spiritual journey blending our stories and the story of Hope and the Garden of Hope with God’s design for us. The Reverend John Cairns brought focus to our dreams for Hope. He let us pretend that we had a magic lamp: as well as our dreams and the result was a lively shout out of what we really want for Hope: 44 things in all. Then he challenged everyone to choose; to choose a few things we could do well: there are four. Your leaders will be telling you more about the big four and asking you to weigh in on them. I had the privilege of listening to your leaders ideas for building the church and strengthening our bench: that’s you the dedicated members. And this morning we celebrate the arrival of a new member. As we shift into this special rite of membership I am reminded that to be alive in Christ is the most wonderful thing in the world and to share this one by one is what makes us all great in the Lord.What about me? 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 stagger and fall. But those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall rise up with wings like eagles,they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.I trust that God will grant each of us a glimpse of his divine wisdom for this church and in sharing it we shall become alive in Christ. AmenThe Rev. Elizabeth KuehlHope United ChurchSeptember 20, 2015 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download