June 2, 2024

The Second Sunday after Pentecost

June 2, 2024

The Rev. R. Allan McCaslin

Readings: I Samuel 3:1-20; Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17; 2 Corinthians 4:5-12; Mark 2:23-3:6

From First Samuel, “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.” I speak to you in the Name of God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustaining Sanctifier. Amen.

      As I prayed and meditated on each of today’s scripture lessons, my thoughts were drawn to the importance of listening. Saying, “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening” requires truly listening to and for God. And I realized that listening is not only key to understanding today’s Old and New Testament lessons, as well as our Gospel lesson, but what creates a healthy relationship with God and with one another. And therein lies a timely message for us not only as a Parish during these days of transition, but our daily lives as followers of Jesus Christ.

     See, it’s one thing to say, “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening” but nothing will come of that if we are so busy with activities, programs, or endless chatter that we never pause or rest. The truth is we live in a world saturated by too much talking and not enough listening. Think about that for a moment: When we’re driving around town and the car radio is blaring away while we try to focus on the road ahead of us, there is no way to truly listen to what is flooding our ears and our minds. More often than not, what we hear is chatter – aimless chatter - to the detriment of not only the world’s but, our own sense of self and purpose. You know when it comes to aimless and seemingly endless chatter, I believe we would do well to remember this particular moment in that old film “The Wizard of Oz:” When Dorothy first meets the Scarecrow and learns that he doesn’t have a brain, but rather, a head full of straw, she asks, “How can you talk if you haven't got a brain?” Scarecrow replies, “I don't know... But some people without brains do an awful lot of talking... don't they? The truth is we aren’t able to listen if we’re too busy talking and I would add, too busy doing. And that truth goes to the heart of today’s Gospel lesson.

     Every religion has its own unique rules and regulations. And that in itself is not necessarily a bad thing since rules and regulations, and even traditions have their place. There is value in upholding specific rules of conduct and for good reason. Society needs and depends upon them to provide structure and define what behavior is acceptable, as well as unacceptable. We teach our children rules so that they can grow and flourish, and so they can be safe. Rules are important but in today’s Gospel reading Jesus reminds his hearers of what can happen when adherence to rules, often bound by tradition, becomes our sole focus and, thereby, the primary standard of faith. And when that happens, it is easy to miss or outright ignore the original intent of those rules or in Jesus’ situation, the intent of the laws governing one’s Sabbath observance.

See, our Lord’s critics were so focused on the letter of the law they missed its intent. Now, when Jesus says to them, “the Sabbath was made for (us) and not (us) for the Sabbath he is not suggesting we should work 24 hours a day, 7 days per week, and never take time for Sabbath rest, but rather, remember that responding to human need must always transcend rules, even religious rules and practice.

To emphasize his point, after this particular exchange with the Pharisees, Jesus healed a man with a withered hand. His point? Responding to human need takes priority over everything else in this world. And I would suggest that the only way to keep and be faithful to our religion, is to be willing to set aside expectations that tend to enslave us: set them aside so that we can more fully love God, care for our neighbor, and ourselves, and have time to quiet ourselves and truly listen for the voice and presence of God. That is the gift of the Sabbath that Jesus was trying to convey.

    Still, we Christians seem to think that the busier we are the more faithful we are to our Lord. Now, it doesn’t help that St. Paul, in today’s reading from his second letter to the Corinthians, describes ministry, that is, his role and our role in life, is to be a slave for Christ.  I realize that slavery is not what he is talking about here and we would do well to emulate St. Paul’s life example. Nevertheless, Christians tend to measure the deepness of one’s relationship with God by how busy they are with Church activities. So, not only do we find too much talking going on, but too much doing as well.

    Barbara Brown Taylor, in her book “Leaving Church” writes about her experience on the first Sunday after she left parish ministry. She decided to stay home that morning, sit out on her front porch with a cup of tea, and just enjoy the quiet. She says she was suddenly overwhelmed with a sense of remorse for all those years when she insisted that good Christians attend church every Sunday, because that is how we keep the Sabbath and prove to everyone that we are, indeed, good people of faith. In other words, we tend to insist upon keeping the very rules, those legalistic rules, about the Sabbath that Jesus challenged in our reading from Mark. Taylor says that she realized in that moment that far too many Christians spend a lot of time trying to be good, trying to follow all the rules. But, she wondered, does being good mean being whole?

Taylor went on to say that sometimes we do need to sit out on our front porch on a Sunday morning and just be in the presence of God. Now, this doesn’t mean every week, folks. But there is merit to her discovery. Taking time to disengage from activity in order to listen to and for God can refuel the soul, and help us reevaluate our priorities and how we live. In so doing, we can grasp a deeper understanding of what it means to not only follow Christ, but to rest in Christ, and to be as Christ in this community.

    It is my understanding that in Jewish Orthodox tradition, to observe the Sabbath means to come home, turn off TV and the telephone/cell phone, too. Then, for the next 24 hours, take time to quiet one’s self, reflect upon the past week, read something that stimulates the mind, and most of all, spend time with a loved one and engage with them in transformative conversation – you know, where we actually listen in order to understand and not simply listen in order to respond – and then share a meal, and do so without interruption or distraction. Such practice is a reminder that the world does not revolve around us. And grasping that truth can instill in us a sense of humility and well-being that can invigorate God’s people for the week ahead. That is the gift and wisdom of observing a Sabbath rest. And at the heart of that Sabbath rest is not in-activity, but active listening.

     This is an incredible parish. This little church does more to meet the needs of others than many churches. We know that we truly seek and serve Christ when, as our Lord says in Matthew 25, we feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, look after the sick, and visit the imprisoned. And I wouldn’t change a thing that we do here. But we must pay attention to what these lessons say to us this morning. They affirm that saying, “Here I am, send me” is not only an invitation to serve God and our neighbor, but also an invitation to take care of ourselves – our souls and bodies; to take time for intentional quiet; to say, “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening”, and then spend uninterrupted and undistracted quiet with God and with those dear to us, truly listening to them and our own selves.

     We are in a time of transition: a time of discernment as we look forward to the next chapter in the ongoing life of this precious community of faith. Perhaps more than ever, we need every member and friend of this Church to commit to listen for God and each other so that as a united community of faith, we hear and follow God’s direction. To that end, let us understand that saying “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening”, requires actual listening and, therein, rediscover the true intent and beauty of the Sabbath, and find renewal and strength for the journey ahead.

And so this morning I pray, “Speak Lord, for your servants are listening.” And by God’s grace may that be true for, and in, and with us all. Amen.