Sermon for September 26, 2021 - The Eighteenth Sunday After Pentecost, Year B, The Rev. Jeffrey W. Mello

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A few weeks ago we heard the part of Mark’s gospel, a chapter earlier than this one, in which Jesus asks his disciples, “who do you say that I am?”

The question of identity as followers of Jesus; that is, “who is Jesus” and “who are we who follow the one called Christ?” continues through this morning’s reading from Mark.

Last week, Jesus addressed who ‘the greatest’ among them was, and who they are called to be as ones who welcome God by welcoming the least among them.

This week, the disciples’ identity crisis continues.  They want to stop a group of people from healing in Jesus’ name because the ones doing the healing weren’t part of their group.

It’s hard to imagine that the disciples couldn’t figure out what Jesus would say in return, given the last two or three exchanges they’ve had with him, but they complain anyway.  And Jesus responds quite predictably.  Basically he says, “Look, they’re doing the work, aren’t they?  That’s what matters. What’s the problem?”

The reason we get so many questions of identity in Mark’s gospel is because the community to which Mark was writing was having their own struggles with identity.  These new, small groups of Jesus followers were trying to figure out what it meant to be a part of that group.  And as differences between groups began to appear, the very human instinct to try to discern which group was “right” began to emerge as well.

So Mark, using Jesus’ teaching, tells the early church, “Stop fighting over who is better.  Just do the work.”

Jesus continues with his warning that his followers ought not to be stumbling blocks for anyone desiring a relationship with him.

It would be better, for someone who gets in the way of another’s relationship with God to have a millstone tied around their neck and be tossed into the sea.  Not one of Jesus’ more subtle images.

Jesus’ harsh warning caused me to ask myself, “how might I be a stumbling block to anyone who longs for a relationship with God? How might I get in the way?”

Of course, as a leader in the the institutional church, I know that the church itself has been a stumbling block.  When the church has erred on the side of power, or greed, or fear, the church has caused many to stumble.  And in many places, I know it still does, and it needs to repent.  It is a human institution, and as long as it is run by humans who seek after power and greed or use fear as their guide, it will continue to fall short of the church God calls us to be.

But I wonder about how I, as an individual, can be tempted by those same things.  How does fear, or greed, or a longing for power find a home in my heart?  And how does it all find its way into my words and my deeds?  What stumbling blocks have I thrown on the path of another?

It can be easy, as a more progressive congregation in a more progressive denomination in a more progressive part of the country, to assume we are without stumbling blocks.  Let’s remember, though, that women have only been ordained in this church for 45 years.  They have only been bishops in this church for just over 30.  Women clergy earn less than their male counterparts and hold fewer leadership positions at the parish and diocesan levels.  Though Gene Robinson was elected the first openly gay bishop in 2003, today there are only three openly gay diocesan bishops in the Episcopal Church, out of over 110.

And we are only just beginning to uncover and tell the truth of the church’s historic and current role in the oppression our siblings in Christ who are black, indigenous, asian,  and latino/a.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but when my portrait joins those of the previous 13 rectors of St Paul’s Brookline lining the hallway, mine will be the 13th picture of a white male.

So, yes, there is work to do in the church.

And, yes, there are many stumbling blocks we as a parish, as a diocese and as a denomination are actively working to dismantle.  And much of this work involves teaching people who God is not.  God does not hate Gay people.  God is not male.  God is not white.  God is not..

We are well versed in the “God is not” conversation, helping us to unlearn old stumbling blocks.

But I do wonder if I have been as clear with those who might seek a relationship with God about Who or What God IS as much as who or what God is not?

Are there stumbling blocks I create that are “stumbling blocks of omission”?

This week I saw a post on Facebook that referenced studies that reportedly say that the number of young people who profess to believe in God is the lowest they have ever been.  

Now, I usually don’t engage with these kinds of click-baiting posts that don’t cite the research they are referencing, or clarify their terms.  What do they mean by “believe in God?”  What were the terms used? Maybe I don’t believe in that image of God, either.

But then I saw a comment from a college friend of mine suggesting that young people don’t believe in God anymore because they've come to realize the church is a force of oppression and they don’t believe in all that nonsense.”

Okay. Ouch.

Now, I know better than to try to engage in these kinds of conversations on Social Media. 

I write sermons instead.

Reflecting on that post and my friend’s response, I wondered if young people say they don’t believe because they are clear about who God isn’t, but not so sure who God is.

Are they clear on what Christianity shouldn’t be a bit fuzzy on what being a part of a community who follows Jesus can be? Ought to be?

Are we as clear about who we are as a church and what we stand for as much as we are who we are not and what we reject?

Who are we? Who do we say that we are?

I can hear Jesus say, “do the work.”

That’s what James is saying in his letter. “Do the work.”

The suffering should pray.

The cheerful should sing songs of praise.

The sick should call on the community for healing.

We should confess our sins, not in the privacy of a confessional booth, but to one another, removing isolation and shame and building trust and growing in mutual love.

We should pray for one another. Whatever prayer looks like for you. Pray for me. And I’ll pray for you.

This is who we are, who we ought to be, who we can be. 

What do you need in order to finish the sentence God is….?  Jesus is…? The church is…?

Jesus doesn’t love us for who we aren’t, but for who we are.

Let’s do the work. And return God the favor.

AMEN.  

© 2021 The Reverend Jeffrey W. Mello