All are Welcome

There are many themes in Mark 9:38-50 that are ripe for discussion: Jesus' tolerance for an unknown exorcist and his apparent criticism of his disciples' desire for exclusivism; the danger of being a “stumbling block” to others, and the concern for loss of identity.

Clearly, the disciples view their relationship with Jesus as exclusively theirs. Jesus instructs them that anyone who offers another a cup of water in his name is doing it in the name of the One who sent him. As it was then and is now, the followers of Jesus do not belong to an exclusive club; the love of God has no boundaries and cannot be confined to the four walls of any church or denomination

At the time of Mark’s writing, “Christianity” had yet to be named as such and although the relatively small number of Jesus’ followers were in the midst of persecution, they were struggling for an identity of their own. At that time they were considered as “non-Jews” or Gentiles. Today, we still reference people who are not part of our group as non-Christian or non-Catholic, etc. Richard Rohr speaks about those who need to be identified in some exclusive way so as to be recognized as a member of a group. He refers to people’s use of religious “sign posts” so that they can be recognized as members of an organization or specific denomination. However, all too often institutional “church-club” membership exists as an end in itself and not as the basis for following Jesus. Group membership is commendable as a means to self-identify and as a means to express communal pride and fraternity, but it’s not when it is used to exclude or suggest a sense of elitism or superiority.

Commentators tell us that the Greek word, skandalon, is defined as an obstacle that people trip over and gets in the way. It has been colloquially translated as a “stumbling block.” Today the word scandal denotes a decidedly moralistic tone. In the context of this gospel, Jesus’ reference to stumbling block has nothing to do with scandal as we know it. Rather, he was quite clear that his warning was directed to anyone who would lead his followers astray: Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. In other words anyone or anything that got in the way of a follower’s relationship with God was a stumbling block.

By extension, Jesus refers to the awesome responsibility that those closest to him have as leaders. It’s interesting that in these verses Jesus lays bare the minefield of the church and the real dangers within the Christian community then and now. Those most vulnerable “little ones” within the Body of Christ may be impressionable and susceptible to irreparable damage as a result of stumbling blocks caused by careless discipleship.

In this gospel, stumbling blocks can come disguised as precious body parts that can be so “dangerous” that they must be severed. The violence in Jesus' use of hyperbole here is inescapable. He purposely uses this over-the-top language to get the disciples', and our, attention. We are likely to think there's nothing worse than losing a hand, a foot, or an eye. But Jesus says there is…the consequences of causing another to stumble are far worse than self-maiming.

Jesus asks us to examine not only those stumbling blocks that get in the way of our faith, but those that we place, wittingly or not, in the way of others. Here he includes the Church community and individuals within. Jesus does not confine his attention to Church leaders, its hierarchy and priests, but is speaking to each to one of us who are in a position to influence the “little ones,” young and old.

 

 

Satan...really??? What did I say that was so wrong?

 

Suppose this was the first time you were reading Mark’s words in his Mark 8:27-38. You might wonder if these people really knew each other or if they had an identity crisis. On the one hand Jesus asks "Who do people say that I am?" On the other, his close “friends” who are all over the lot, respond "John the Baptist,” and others, “Elijah,” and still others, “one of the prophets." Now, this is after they have seen him feed thousands; cure the sick; raise the dead, and cast out demons. This is also after he’s provided enough clues as to who he really is. 

Then, after Peter, comes up with the right answer, so we think, and proclaims “You are the Messiah.” Jesus turns to his disciples and rebukes Peter…and calls him, “Satan” and tells him that he is setting is mind on human things, not divine things.    

Now here’s a loaded question, which of the two is confused? I did say it was a loaded question but, in fairness to Peter why did he get it wrong or does even get partial credit? (Tuesday, September 11, 2012 rrr)

 

We are Ministers to One Another

How often have we read about Jesus’ healing the sick; restoring speech to the impaired; sight to the blind, and hearing to the deaf? Somehow we have become jaded to Jesus’ ability to perform miracles: after all isn’t this what God and the most divinely inspired human can do? I recall having read somewhere that the great mystery of the incarnation of God in Jesus is not his divinity but his living fully in his humanity.

We spent most of this summer reading and discussing John’s Gospel. We delved into what the mystical significance of the Bread of Life; the sharing of the Bread, and what the Word becoming flesh in each of us means.

We strive to be in a “right relationship with God.” This is what being a Christian and living the Word is all about, right? But what does being in a right relationship with God really mean? Let’s close our eyes and picture this for a minute. Note, I use the word “picture,” not “understand,” in an effort to prompt our imagination and senses to feel the words as a palpable, sensory experience, and know what being in a relationship with God actually feels like, tastes like, and smells like.

God fully shared our humanity through Jesus as we through Jesus, fully share in God’s divinity. Anything less than that relationship with God would be reduced to mere acquaintance. So, with this as our premise, we consider Mark 7: 31-37 from the perspective of both the healer and one who is in need of healing. Do we ever think of ourselves as “healers”? Think of the times we listen, comfort and support one another.

Sure, we know what it means to want to be cured or be free of pain, and we can relate to medical professionals who are trained to provide healing and cure. But where does that leave us and what does this have to do with either Mark or the John of our summer and how the two Gospels relate?

There are so many ailments that are outside the bounds of the medical professional’s ability. But yet, somewhere within resides our ability to reach out and heal or be healed. The readings of John help us consider our Gospel in Mark with inspired eyes and ears.

What is required for us to be healed or the healer or both? Why do we resist the potential that resides within each of us? We hear but do not listen while remarkable things happen all the time, and we dismiss them as “coincidences.”

“Our ministering and supporting one another morph into the essence​ of our being and become who we are, as if they exist as an integral part of us. We become ever changed by their existence. Like an encrusted stone picking up moss while rolling down a hill, we are ever changed with each turn… And at the core is "love" God's love. I suppose, this is what's meant by becoming the Word. We need not speak of what we do, they describe us and speak quietly; and we give thanks for them.” (Ministries RRR 7-28-15)

In Mark 7: 1--8,14-15,21-23  Jesus teaches that the people of God are not set apart by particular traditions or ethnicity, but by a purity that emanates from the heart, manifested by love for others. We do not need more religion, but more reflection on what proceeds from our heart. Yes, traditions can be good, and can point others to God. However, they can also send a message explicitly or implicitly, "you don't belong."

Jesus challenged the purity “laws” and turned them upside down. In their place he substituted a radically alternate social vision. The new community that Jesus announced would be characterized by interior compassion for everyone, not external compliance to a purity code, or by egalitarian inclusivity, but rather by inward transformation.

"No outcasts," writes Garry Wills in What Jesus Meant, "were cast out far enough in Jesus' world to make him shun them — not Roman collaborators, not lepers, not prostitutes, not the crazed, not the possessed. Are there people now who could possibly be outside his encompassing love?" 

“Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;
but the things that come out from within are what defile…
from within come evil thoughts and they defile.”

Who do we judge when we sanctimoniously spurn those who are not like us or not part of our group? (Bible Study Blog, Bob Reina, August, 28, 2012)

 

To Whom Can We Go?"

 

 

Are you leaving or Staying? 

In John 6: 60-69, the followers of Jesus have heard words they do not understand. They are repelled! It simply is impossible to believe that Jesus is inviting them to eat his flesh and drink his blood…so, many of those who had followed Jesus up to this point, now walk away. They have reached an obstacle in their belief which they cannot overcome.

It is not difficult to imagine Jesus sadness as he watched them leave… Fearing that he was going to be completely abandoned, he turns to the twelve apostles and asks them what they are going to do...Peter speaks for them and us when he responds “Master to whom can we go?”

We do all that we can in life to avoid being placed in position of vulnerability, yet in this gospel we have the twelve willing to be vulnerable by surrendering control and choosing complete dependency on Jesus. That dependency reveals an ultimate statement of faith: Lord, we have no options. We have no choice but to keep following you.

Faith is deepened in situations where self-reliance is no longer possible, a place in which it is difficult to rely on our intellect, reason or abilities.

The process of listening to what Jesus is saying to each of us and then asking: “am I going to leave or stay?” is part of our spiritual journey. For most of us, it can happen many times in our lifetimes. We are faced with a choice: do I accept this, or do I acknowledge that I have to grow into its meaning? And what do I do? To whom do I turn while I am growing into understanding? These are the steps we take to be totally dependent, reliant, and available to Jesus. 

This is the challenge of the Gospel and in the end our response has to be personal…to walk away…or to stay and walk further into the Mystery. ( adapted from Tuesday, August 21, 2012  Bible Study Blog by Bob Reina)

Another Bread Story

Whether we say it aloud or not, I’m sure we are thinking it: Here comes another “Bread” story. What more can we possibly say? Hasn’t John really exhausted the subject? I suppose that this was my reaction when I first saw the lectionary scheduled for this week. I asked myself, what else can I say or write. I wondered how the priests and theologians were able to continue to plumb the depths of John’s gospel and help us understand its relevance to our lives. Later I tried to put myself in the audience of John’s day and began to understand how vital these stories of Jesus, the Bread of Life, are to our faith. We need to hear them again and again until Jesus becomes our bread of life in the depths of our very being.

I wonder if we fully comprehend the theological and existential significance of approaching and “gathering” around the altar, the table of the Lord, to receive Communion. And if we don’t, is it really any wonder? Let’s face it, debate about the meaning of the sacrament continues even now in this relatively tranquil ecumenical period between and within different denominations. The sacrament holds a pivotal place in the Church, in that it is central to our life of faith and yet can also be so very confusing.

John writes (John 6:51-58), “How can this man give us his flesh to eat...Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.” In their literal interpretation these phrases had quite an impact on John’s audience then as they do now. He is speaking to us in the present time as directly as he did in his time.

St. Augustine attempts to clarify the connection between sacraments and our daily lives with his use of the phrase “visible words.” I find this phrase attractive because it helps me appreciate the Eucharist as the visible, physical counterpart to the teaching of the church. The Eucharist is the embodiment of the proclaimed and heard gospel and through imagery and our ability to relate to their physical forms, they enable us to bridge the metaphorical words of John with our humanity, and God’s incarnation in Jesus…through him and with him. As we fully absorb his presence in water, bread, and wine, we become incorporated into the “trinity.” When the word of God in scripture and the sacramental rites have worked their way through our senses and penetrate to the intuitive level of our being, the immense energies of the Spirit are released and our consciousness is gradually transformed into the mind of Christ. (Thomas Keating, The Mystery of Christ, p2)

The liturgy does not offer us a mere seat in the bleachers, or even a ringside seat. We are invited to participate in the event itself, to absorb its meaning and to relate to Christ on every level of his being as well as our own. The main thrust of the liturgy is to develop a relationship with Christ and engage all our faculties: the will, intellect, memory, imagination, senses and body. The transmission of the personal relationships through him…with the Father. It empowers us as we celebrate the mysteries of Christ, to not only perceive them as historical events but as manifestations of Christ here and now. (Thomas Keating, The Mystery of Christ, p8)

 

 

 

Please give me a Sign

You are looking for me. How poignant was Jesus’ statement taken from last week’s gospel. Yes, the followers of Jesus, still not wanting to believe through the signs they were already provided, were looking to be spoon fed what they half-heartedly wanted to believe. Yet, by virtue of their human nature, found it hard to believe. Doesn’t this sound familiar to us now, here in the present? Show me please, so that I may trust.

We are taught to read literature as if it were a newspaper. Time is sequential and reality is “flat.” It’s one–dimensional, in that the words on the page are an assemblage of alphabets to communicate information in our language through our intellect in real time. What we see on the surface is what really is in black and white. This is not the case when we read the Gospel and especially John’s.

David Steindl-Rast writes in Deeper than Words: “to understand John’s gospels in the way they were meant to be understood, we must develop a sense for poetic language. These images speak to our intellect through our poetic sensibilities…Tuning in to this language means both taking it seriously and not taking it literally.” Marcus Borg tells us that John’s gospel invites his hearers to see in a radically different new way. His appeal is to the imagination, to that place within us where our images of reality and of life itself reside.

So when John begins the first chapter of his Gospel with In the beginning was the Word and the Word was God (verse 1)…And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us, he announces the incarnation of God in his fullest humanity as the Word became flesh in Jesus, and by extension, he also signifies that the Word becomes flesh in us.

So back to our Gospel (John6:41-51). The signs Jesus followers are asking for are signs that were prophesized in the coming of the Messiah, namely, the return of manna falling from heaven. But Jesus attempts to raise their hearts and minds to a higher level, away from manna, the perishable food: I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven…whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.

With this, Jesus makes the distinction between the perishable things of this world and the eternal life in God, lived through Jesus’ Word made flesh in us as we become the bread of life when we share our lives with compassion for one another.

When Jesus speaks about “live forever,” he is talking about eternity. When we think of eternity, we usually think of the afterlife. But eternity is timeless; it has no before or after; eternity is the “life to come” but it is the present life. We are living in eternity, now. So we look for signs and ask: how many times have we seen God acted out in the love of Christ, in the little things of life and yet, resisted or failed to make the connection? There are no coincidences; God reveals himself in the here and now.

It’s a quiet thing that happens when we are immersed or as I often like to think, marinated in the words by our sharing of his bread with one another. It all seems to happen on tip toes.

When it all comes true
Just the way you planned
It's funny but the bells don't ring
It's a quiet thing
When you hold the world
In your trembling hand
You think you'd hear a choir singing
But it's a quiet thing
There are no exploding fireworks
Where's the roaring of the crowd
Maybe it's the strange new atmosphere
Way up here among the clouds

Happiness comes in on tiptoe
Well, what do you know
It's a quiet thing
A very quiet thing.

        Kander and Ebb, Flora the Red Menace