June 9, 2024

The Third Sunday after Pentecost

June 9, 2024

The Rev. R. Allan McCaslin

Readings: 1 Samuel 8:4-11, 16-20; Psalm 138; 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1; Mark 3:20-25

From the Gospel according to Mark, “(Jesus asked) “Who are my mother and my brothers?”  I speak to you in the Name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

     In preparing for yesterday’s Book Sale to Benefit the ECW[1], I happened across my copy of Michael Curry’s book, “Crazy Christians.” In that Book, Curry writes, “… we Christians have often tried to make Jesus tame. We want to manage the Messiah. But this Messiah won’t be managed…”[2].  That quote along with his book’s title kept resonating in my mind, in my spirit, as I prayed and meditated on this morning’s scripture lessons.

See, there is the tendency today to write off anyone who holds different beliefs, is at the other end of the political spectrum, or who behaves in ways that are hard to understand, as just “crazy”.  And describing people as “crazy” is a way to discredit them, dismiss their views and actions, as well as a way to not only limit, if not destroy their credibility and influence, but also deny their value as a human being created in the same image of God as you and me.

That is exactly the intent behind what people were saying about Jesus in today’s gospel reading. Describing him as “out of his mind” is their way of saying “he’s crazy … don’t listen to him”. And people weren’t just muttering it under their breath. They were saying it out loud, in public, and even to his own family. And Mark tells us that Jesus’ family started to believe them. So much so, in verse 21 we read that the family was moved to action because, “people were saying, ‘He has gone out of his mind.’”

      So, why all the hubbub? What is Jesus doing and saying that has people so upset? I mean, he has been healing anyone and everyone in need, and casting out demons and that should be cause for celebration. Yes, I realize that he has being doing so on the Sabbath and that might cause some raised eyebrows. But we need to remember that just prior to this story Jesus reminded the Pharisees and his critics, “The Sabbath was made for us, not us for the Sabbath. So what’s the problem? 

Well, there are a couple of things going on here: Jesus has been doing everything he can to make sure everyone and anyone can experience God’s grace. And that is wonderful, but his actions defied the community’s understanding about who is in and who is out. See, people born with some form of disability or defect, as well as those possessed by demons were believed to be cursed by God, or to have sinned or are suffering because of the sins of their parents, and, therefore, unwelcome in the community and unworthy of God’s mercy and grace. But Jesus has forgiven as well as healed all who are in need and done so without exception.

And, if defying those community norms wasn’t enough to rile people up, healing and forgiving on the Sabbath defied their religious norms. Jesus put the needs of the people he has encountered above the religious rules and traditions that regulated the community. And while rules and traditions do have value because they are a means to experience God’s grace, as we discovered in last week’s gospel reading, they are not an end to themselves. When following the rules becomes more important than meeting the needs of others, we actually misuse the very rules God gave us to help people flourish and experience an abundant life.

And that is why Jesus was called crazy. But I believe there was another issue here - a subtle one but true nonetheless: Jesus’ actions robbed his critics, (and, frankly, robbed us), of their ability to judge and include or exclude people, their ability to judge one’s worthiness of God’s grace simply by how one conformed to their religious expectations. So don’t listen to this guy. He’s crazy. Listen to us – we know best.

     You know, people thought the Prophet Samuel was crazy. When Samuel urged the people and leaders of Israel to rethink their intention to throw off their structure of governance by prophets and judges in favor of a king, they thought he was nuts. And that’s okay because the truth is, Samuel thought they were nuts. In today’s Old Testament lesson, Samuel warns the nation that a king will draft their sons into his armies; take their best servants and their best livestock, and best produce, too, and make it his own so that they become enslaved to working for him, rather than, for the good of their families and communities. But the people said, “We are determined to have a king over us, so that we … may be like other nations.” Well, Sam relented, and the people got their king alright: a man who will become Israel’s national disgrace – a man known as King Saul. See, they had forgotten that they were to be different from all other nations.

       St. Paul reminds us in his second letter to the Corinthians, that our world is a different world. The church, Paul says, does experience persecution for daring to be crazy and inclusive. That is our “seen” reality. But our unseen reality is the glory and fulfillment of God’s kingdom unfolding in our midst. The kingdom of God made possible through the resurrection of the Christ, the Son of God, the one considered “crazy” then, and still considered “crazy” today. And so, says the world, is anyone who follows him.

     See, just as it was in Samuel’s day and in St. Paul’s day, so it was in Jesus’ day, and still is in our world and the church today. We forget that we are called to live differently. So, just like those religious leaders who confronted Jesus in our gospel reading, we, too, want a Messiah we can control. But as Michael Curry reminds us, “this Messiah won’t be managed…”[3]

     See, Jesus showed the people then, just as he continues to show us today, anytime we draw a line between who is in and who is out, we often discover Jesus is on the other side – identifying with them, caring for them, and loving them – just like he identifies with, cares for, and loves, you and me. But that’s not the way of our world, it is?  

     And that is why I believe Jesus wants us to be crazy, too. When he asks, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” and then answers saying (they are) “Whoever does the will of God …,” Jesus is not dismissing the meaning or value of family, but rather, expanding it beyond our biological and nuclear understanding so that it includes all who need to know the Christ. Our family is more than Moms and Dads; more than sisters and brothers; more than the whole communion saints. Jesus urges us to grasp that the person down the street contemplating suicide, that immigrant at our borders, the teenager next door struggling with opioid addiction, all of them are worthy of the same sacrificial love and care we offer one another because they are family, too. 

     Michael Curry sums up our gospel lesson with these timely, challenging words – words so appropriate during this time of transition for this parish. He writes, “Sane, sanitized Christianity is killing us … We need some crazy Christians … crazy enough to believe that God is real and that Jesus lives. Crazy enough to follow the radical way of the gospel. Crazy enough to believe that the love of God is greater than all the powers of evil and death … We need some Christians who are crazy enough to catch a glimpse of the crazy, transforming, transfiguring, life-changing vision of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Christians who are crazy enough to follow him into the work of helping God to realize God’s dream for all people and for all creation.”[4]

       So I ask and I wonder this morning: Can this congregation be known as, and called crazy Christians? By God’s grace, I sure hope so! Amen.  

 

[1] ECW – Episcopal Church Women

[2] Michael B. Curry, Crazy Christians: A Call to Follow Jesus. Morehouse Publishing, NY, 2013. P 3.

[3] Michael B. Curry, Crazy Christians: A Call to Follow Jesus. Morehouse Publishing, NY, 2013. P 3.

[4] Ibid, Pp 6-7.