Peace

Peace

Saturday 6 June 2015

Have we done gone lost our minds?



As some in the southern states of the USA would say “That boy done lost his mind!” Theories varied as to exactly why George Midian (not his real name, by the way) was crazy— or if he even was really mentally unbalanced— but none of us as children were ever brave enough to actually talk to him and find out. He was sort of our local Boo Radley, I suppose. (For a nice synopsis of the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird and the figure of Boo Radley, catch the article on Wikipedia The setting for today’s Gospel reading is a very Boo Radley-like experience that Jesus has with his own family— those who should have been best-positioned to know him. 

Jesus is, of course, talking about his “kingdom,” his favourite subject. He really believes that God has sent him to establish a kingdom that is sort of, kind of, on this earth— but isn’t really exactly like the other kingdoms of the earth. Yes, that was some crazy-sounding, mind blowing stuff all right! No wonder his mother and family came to try to talk him into coming home with them. We may have to be willing to ask ourselves just how crazy are the demands of the kingdom of God for those who would claim to follow Christ today? Are we “brothers and sisters” of our Lord Jesus? Would we show up to help Bert or Ernie— so to speak— even if people thought us strange and absurd?

Creating a legacy, building something that will last— I hear these yearnings from church members and church leaders. As the church struggles to adapt and change, facing decline and demise in the twenty-first century, people call out “Give us a king!” (1 Samuel 8: 6). Well not literally but this is what the cries of despair of members sound like. The Israelites want to build a kingdom, complete with a monarch, but God yearns to be their only ruler and king. Churches want the perfect pastor, minister, priest or bishop to solve all their problems. They want God to create a perfect solution to build a church that will last and a legacy that will endure. 

But God’s Spirit is the perfect solution, when we allow the Spirit to move in our being as we build ministries on the foundation of Christ and Christ’s teachings. Notice I missed out the “our” when using the word ministry because they are not ours but God’s as one Bishop rightly told me. We are the custodians or caretakers of any ministry. When churches and their leaders reach out to new and different people, welcoming the least and the last, our churches get messy and messed up. Our leaders don’t hold office hours or attend church meetings, because they’re spending time with drinkers at the local bar or immigrants at refugee centre or at places like Centrelink (Government Social Services in Australia).

The people cry out, as Jesus’ family did, “He’s out of his mind!” Jesus’ mother and siblings want to protect Jesus within the family, but Jesus yearns to minister to the world, inviting all who would follow Christ into the family. Churches do want to minister to the world, but we want to protect the church family and are nervous with crazy change and unfamiliar paths. Jesus yearns for us to follow into the crazy, unfamiliar mess of service and love, which is the path of discipleship. Paul knew these struggles well, for the early church struggled in similar ways. But we are reminded that God has a bigger plan for us, an eternal legacy that will endure and outlast kings, rulers, pastors, bishops, and even churches.

“We know that if the tent we live in is torn down, we have a building from God. The church is not our magnificent or rundown buildings.  It’s a house that isn’t handmade, which is eternal and located in heaven.” God’s realm will prevail. God’s plan will come to fruition. Building churches focused on such things as plant i.e. buildings, creating a legacy of faith to hand on, and growing the body of Christ are all worthy goals. Still, today’s scriptures remind us that the call of Christ often leads to different goals: inclusion and diversity, humility and partnership, spirituality and faith. God calls us to build things that truly last, to build structures that welcome one and all, and to provide foundations and shelter for all of creation. In doing so, we may discover that the legacy takes care of itself.


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