17 Pentecost

September 27, 2009

Mark 9:38-50

This coming Thursday marks a big day in my life. October 1st is my one year anniversary as the Priest-in-Charge of St. Stephen’s. And I can say that, for me anyway, it has been a GREAT year! And since my contract is being renewed, I think most of you are all right with me as well. But for me, this year at St. Stephen’s has been a exciting. And as I’ve gotten to know this wonderfully eclectic congregation called St. Stephen’s, I realize I am very lucky to be serving such a congregation. I have personally have learned much in my time here—namely, what it means to service fully and completely in Jesus’ Name.

In this morning’s Gospel, we find the followers of Jesus coming to him and complaining about someone—an outsider, not one of the inner circle of Jesus’ followers—who is casting out demons in Jesus’ name. We don’t know who this person was—we never hear anything more about him. Possibly it was one of those many multitudes of people who were following him around, observing all that he had done. Possibly it was someone who was trying to be like Jesus. More likely it was a genuine follower of Jesus who simply had not—for whatever reasons—made it into the inner circle of Jesus’ followers. However, the apostles do not like it. They are threatened by this person—this outsider. And because he is an outsider, they want it stopped. So, thinking he will put an end to it, they go to Jesus. You can almost hear them as they whine and complain to him about this supposedly pretentious person.

But Jesus—once again—does not do what they think he will do. Jesus tells them two things: first “for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me.” And the big one—the most obvious one (you would think)—
“Whoever is not against us is for us.”
You would think that we—the Church—would have learned from this story. You think we would have been able to have heard this story and realized that, if we are all working together for the same goal—for the furthering of the Kingdom of God in our midst—then, we are all working together in Jesus’ name.

But the fact is, we have not quite “got it.” Over the recent history of the church, we have seen that the Church has at times acted like the disciples in today’s Gospel. Now, when I’m talking about the Church—capital C—I am talking about the human-run organization of the Church. As such, let’s face it, it is an imperfect structure. It has the same faults and failings of all human-run organizations—no matter how blessed it claims to be by God.
I will admit one thing to you—and for those of you who have come to know me in this last year at St. Stephen’s, this comes as no great surprise—but, I have a love-hate relationship with the organized Church.

I truly love the Church. I love serving God’s people within the structure of the Episcopal Church and I love serving here at St. Stephen’s. I also love serving the Diocese of North Dakota as the Bishop’s Executive Assistant. I love the Church’s traditions. I love its liturgy. As I’ve mentioned many times here before you, I love being a priest. And, on really good days, I am so keenly aware that the Church truly is a family. We are a family that might not always get along with each other, but when it comes right down to it, we do love each other . And I have never seen that more keenly than here at St. Stephen’s. Certainly, we here, at St. Stephen’s, are very much a family.

Now I know St. Stephen’s has a reputation. It has a reputation, rightly so, of being the first on many issues. It has been the first in women serving fully and completely. And it has been a first in gay and lesbian serving fully and completely. And I love to be serving in a church that has been the first in both of these issues.

But even so, I will be just as honest that there are many days in which I find being a member of the Church—capital C— a burden. The Church—as most of us know—can be a fickle place to be at times. It can be a place where people are more interested in rules and dogmas than a place that furthers the love of God and of each other. It can be a place where people are so caught up in doing right, that they run rough-shod over people who truly need the Church and who truly long for God.

When I was ordained a deacon, I remember a colleague of mine—someone who knew about my love-hate relationship with the Church—saying to me that they found it amazing that I—of all people—was putting on the “uniform” of the organized Church. I remember being shocked by that statement. For some reason I hadn’t even considered the fact that I would now be a representative of something that I wasn’t certain I wanted to represent.

In the years since my ordinations, I have found that, yes, I am a representative of the Church in ways others might not be. The collar I wear instantly labels me and there have been many people who have come up to me, because of the collar I wear, and have made assumptions about where I must stand on certain issues in the Church. Sometimes, they are shocked to find that I don’t hold the opinions they think I should. And sometimes, people are downright offended that I don’t. Sometimes people are especially shocked to hear that I—an ordained priest—would even dare profess the hate side of my love-hate relationship with the Church. But not being honest about it only helps perpetuate the hypocrisy the Church so often is accused of.

When I look at the Church as it is right now—with all its wrangling and arguing—I can honestly and clearly hear the voices of those disciples of Jesus in this morning’s Gospel. I can hear their statement as one of anger and one of frustration and one of jealousy. People in the Church on all sides of the issues are condemning each other, bashing each other and demeaning each other in the name of the Church as we speak. People—because of their differences—are not acting like they love each other. They are not acting like a family.

I see the Church, at times, as making a real solid effort to be what Jesus wanted it to be. If I didn’t believe that, I wouldn’t be here in the Church. One aspect of the Church that I have always loved is the belief—and the fact— that there is room here for everyone in the Church—no matter who they are. I feel there is room for people who have differing views in the Church. Not everyone has to agree. But we all do have to make room for each other here. The Church however doesn’t always see itself in such a way.

Like the disciples in today’s Gospel, the governments of the Church like to claim that only they know who can and who cannot do God’s work in the world. When an upstart—when a person marginalized by society—comes along and tries to do God’s work in Jesus’ name, the Church very often tries to put an end to it.

Look at our recent history in the church. Thirty years ago, the issue was women. Can women be priests? A lot of people said, “absolutely not.” And people on both sides of the issue were ugly and mean and vicious and hateful to each other about it. One side said, “if we ordain women, the Church will fall apart.” The other side said, “If we don’t ordain women the church will fall apart.” Well, the Church hasn’t fallen apart. We’re still here and, I personally can’t help but believe we’re a much better place for allowing women to serve us as priests. When I think of what the church would be like without women priests, or gay and lesbian priests, I think it is a bleak and ugly place.

As Anglicans, I have loved the fact that there has always been room for everyone. But we also have to make for room for people we might label as “conservative.” There is also room for people we might not agree with 100%. There is room for people who challenge us and provoke us and jar us out of what can very easily devolve into self-righteous complacency.

As Scot McKnight says in his delightful book, Embraced by Grace:

“In God’s equality, difference is maintained and loved.”

Who are we to judge who God calls to serve? God decides these things. Our job as Christians is simply this: we must love in Jesus’ Name.

As Jesus says in today’s in Gospel, “Whoever is not against us is for us.” For those people who throw up their hands and say, “This doesn’t have anything to do with me.” I say, “Yes, it does.” We are all family. We are all in this together. And we need to love each other, in Jesus’ name. This Church that I love is a wonderful place to be at times. And I think it is a place from which everyone can benefit. Like those disciples, none of us is perfect. All of us are fractured, sinful people at times. Because we are fractured sinful people, isn’t it wonderful that we have a place to come to even when we’re fractured and sinful, a place where we are not judged, a place where we are welcomed for who and what we are. This is the ideal of the Church. This is the place Jesus intended it be.

The Name of Jesus puts all of us on common ground. The Name of Jesus makes us all equal. The Name of Jesus eliminates those fringes of society, those marginalized places and makes us all part of the inner circle. We—all of us—are the inner circle of Jesus’ followers, no matter who we are.

So remember, the Church is not an exclusive club. It is not a club for everyone who believes exactly the same thing. Following Jesus means making room for the person we might not agree with. Following Jesus means walking alongside someone whom no one else loves or cares for. Following Jesus means, as he tells us this morning, being at peace with each other. Following Jesus means loving each other—no matter who or what we are.

This is what, I think we are doing here at St. Stephen’s. All of us, in our own ways, are attempting to follow Jesus here. That is why I am very happy to be here, with you. Together, here, we are serving each other, we are serving those who need to be served, we are reaching out in love, in Jesus Name. So, let us, together, continue to do just that. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.