Have Salt in Yourselves

Sermon for Proper 21 B (RCL), offered by Nathan Ferrell at HS, Bellmawr & St. Luke’s, Westville

Texts: Esther 7:1-10; 9:20-22; Psalm 124; James 5:13-20; Mark 9:38-50
Title: Have Salt in Yourselves

There was a priest who was kneeling at a roadside shrine just outside of a town in Ireland. He was there praying when a young woman passed by right next to the shrine and so distracted the priest.

“You insolent girl,” the priest shouted out. “Can’t you see that I’m saying my prayers? Why do you have to disturb me when I’m praying?” “I’m very sorry, Father,” the young woman sincerely said. “I didn’t notice you. I’m on my way to see my young man, and I was thinking about him.”

“Well, I was thinking about God,” the priest replied very piously. Now there happened to be an elderly man who was traveling along the road at the same time, and he heard this entire exchange. He stopped and spoke to the priest: “This young woman was thinking about her man, and didn’t notice you. You were thinking about God, but you noticed her. If you loved God with the same devotion as she loves her man, you both could share this place in peace.” (Celtic Parables, Robert Van De Weyer, p. 110).

My dear friends: it is so very easy for us human beings, whether ordained or not, to get distracted from that which is of the upmost importance, and it is very common for us to place the blame for our challenges upon others. This is not the first priest to be distracted by the sight of a young woman, nor is he the first to blame the girl for his own shortcomings.

We can see these realities at work in this obscure teaching from the Lord in our Gospel reading for today. Now, this passage can be difficult to understand, but I hope and pray that you are not confused here. The good Lord knows that the most important thing today, at least in my mind, is that you leave here this morning with a better understanding of what Jesus is teaching us in this passage. He is the Master, and these words from the Gospel are not a mistake. They are often misunderstood, and misunderstood badly, and so we have some work to do, because it is of upmost importance that we understand what he is trying to teach us. After all, we have committed our lives to following him as our Savior and Lord.

In this passage, Jesus and his friends are inside someone’s home, talking together. There is still a young child there among them, whom Jesus had brought before them to illustrate the kind of attitude that he wishes to see in them. He had just spoken about the importance of welcoming others in his name when John mentions the fact that the disciples had just tried to stop this supposedly illegitimate healer.

This leads to a time of teaching in which once again, as he did so often during his teachings, Our Lord ridicules the teachings of the Pharisees that true righteousness can be gained by changing your outer circumstances. You might remember that their teachings included things such as the importance of washing your hands before eating as a way to ensure cleanliness before God.

The mindset of the Pharisees leads to a logical progressions such as this:
“If I cut off my hand, then obviously I will not be able to sin with that member of my body any longer, and consequently that will help me to be pure and holy before God.”
I haven’t quite figured out how my foot could possibly cause me to sin so badly in any way, but it’s no matter. The point our Lord makes is the same: this way of thinking is stupid! But it’s not just the Pharisees of 2000 years ago who think this way.

This tendency to lay blame outside of ourselves for our problems is a very familiar temptation for us human beings. For us men, it seems almost like instinct to blame many of the problems that we have on the women around us. Scripture shows that this instinct has been with us from the beginning. In the Garden of Eden, Adam blamed Eve for his failure in eating the fruit of the forbidden tree.

You see, in St. Matthew’s Gospel, this teaching from Jesus is placed in the context of discussing the problem that men have with self-control of their own sexuality.
“But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). In that context, he refers to the solution of the Pharisees: cut off your hand, tear out your eye. That is, change the circumstances, but do not deal with the root of the problem. No matter what the context, this way of thinking is always in error. It is the way of thinking that causes men to blame women for their struggles.

The most obvious example of this in our world today is in the Arab world. Look at the women in the Muslim world who are forced to wear the burqa. Why are they dressed like this, covered from head to toe? Because of the men’s problems! Of course, it is the men who have mandated the need for women to be covered with the burqa. Men who lack self-control in themselves and so believe that if they never see the skin of a woman, then they will never be tempted by her.

It is a horribly patriarchal way of thinking, one that has reared its ugly head in many different cultures and societies. There have even been groups of Christian men over the centuries who, taking passages such as this one from the Gospel in a literal sense, have determined to live in a way that they can never see a woman and so therefore cannot be tempted by a woman.

How foolish, and how blind to reality! This way of thinking is a distraction from what really matters, and that is the state of the heart.

Dear friends, for a man’s heart that is filled with the love of Jesus Christ, that is deeply connected to the Creator, that is listening to and following the lead of the Holy Spirit, it does not matter at all if the woman in front of you is covered head-to-toe with a black Muslim burqa, or if she stands completely naked! What difference is that? The God-filled heart has the same response to a sister in Christ, no matter how she is dressed! And the response is always the agape love of God: the will and intention to do what is best for her within your own power.

Of course, if a man lacks any self-control at all, then that is a different matter altogether. But the point is always the same: who are you on the inside?! Remember, please, the crucial question by which Christ calls us to measure ourselves: What would you do if you could? If the opportunity were immediately before you, what would you do?

Here is the crux of the problem when we think about sin: we tend to focus upon the act, we get distracted by what we did or did not do, and we lose sight of what is really important: the state of the heart.

But the Gospel of Jesus Christ is about transforming who we are on the inside, about the grace and love of God making us into brand new people. The grace given us at this Communion Table is about this work of transformation. When we share the peace of Christ together, it is about this work of transformation, so that we can meet every other one as an equal sister or brother in Christ.

We have been speaking here only in the context of the relationships between men and women, but the principles are the same in any context. Think of the challenges of self-control when dealing with alcohol. The response of the Pharisee is the call to prohibition. “If we forbid the sale of alcohol, then that will rid society of this evil!” What that mindset fails to understand, once again, is the obvious and clear reality that all behavior is governed by the human heart! If someone is intent on becoming inebriated, then they will find a way to do so, whether the sale and consumption of certain substances is legal or not.

Why cut off your hand, or hack off your foot, or tear out your eye? How can that change who you are on the inside? Even a mutilated stump of a human being can have a heart full of lust and anger and bitterness.

Like a blind guide leading the blind, the Pharisee fails to see the obvious: the law cannot control or change the heart. The law cannot change who we are on the inside.

Only grace, and love, and mercy, and peace from God can do that. And that, my friends, is why we are here.

Gentleness Born of Wisdom

Sermon for Proper 20 B (RCL), Offered by Nathan Ferrell at HS, Bellmawr & St. Luke’s, Westville

Texts: Proverbs 31:10-31; Psalm 1; James 3:13-4:3,7-8a; Mark 9:30-37
Themes: the virtuous woman, a life of wisdom,
Purpose: to teach, to inspire
Title: Gentleness Born of Wisdom

My friends in Christ: we cannot pass up on the opportunity to reflect together upon this famous passage from the Book of Proverbs. This is an alphabetical Hebrew poem, meaning that each verse begins with a consecutive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In our Bibles, this passage is sometimes given the title of “The Perfect Housewife”.

It’s difficult to know what to think about this passage from Proverbs. “A capable wife who can find?” Look at this list of activities that this capable wife undertakes.

She wakes up before dawn and prepares food for her family. She stays up late at night. She buys land and manages the farming of it. She makes sure that her family has warm clothing for the winter. She is generous in sharing with the poor. She makes fine clothing for her family and for retail sale to others. She teaches with wisdom, and she speaks with kindness. She does not eat the bread of idleness.

Wow! She is quite an active woman. But notice, please, the subtle detail which makes the biggest difference of all: she has servants! Servants who actually DO most of the labor required by her many tasks. The capable wife imagined here is a wealthy woman who is efficient at managing the activities of her servants.

We have had friends who lived overseas in Africa and South America while working for the US State Dept. In those places, they lived in nice compounds and they had servants. They had a cook to make the meals, a gardener to manage the exterior grounds and a nanny to handle the children. They had a driver who maintained the car and drove them around. It is quite common, in fact, for all people of means in the developing world to have household help like this. Now, I cannot imagine such an arrangement. For us, in our society, things are quite different. In my household, Erin and I have to do everything! And if we try to get some help just from our children, then it actually takes MORE work just to cajole them into action and to keep them motivated. It’s easier – usually – just to do it all ourselves.

So what can we learn from this poem on the perfect wife? To think in practical terms, the Bible teaches us that it is good to be efficient, to manage well the affairs of one’s household. The wisdom of this godly woman is just the opposite of the quarreling trouble-makers that the letter of James speaks against:

“For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind” (James 3:16). There is no chaos, no disorder, no waste, no wickedness in the house of this virtuous woman. She clearly shows by her good life that her works are done with gentleness born of wisdom.

There was once the wife of a priest who was so efficient and diligent, particularly at conserving food, so that she rarely ever threw away any food at all. For one dinner, she served her priest-husband nothing but leftovers which he regarded with great disappointment and disdain. He began to pick at the food, which caused his careful wife to say, “Dear, you forgot the blessing.”

“Listen, sweetheart,” he replied, “if you can show me one piece of this food that hasn’t been blessed already at least two times, then I can’t see what another prayer can do for it!”

Now, if we had the servants available for all of these many tasks, I suppose that it would be quite wonderful to live in such a well-ordered and managed household as this one envisioned by the writer of Proverbs.

But, here is the problem that I see: in the final analysis, who really wants to live with a capable, virtuous, efficient partner? What each of us truly desires, and needs, is love and intimacy.

Efficiency is good, but love is better. When we strip everything else away, we find that each one of us needs to be loved, to be understood, to be accepted, and to be cared about. But not cared about in the sense that we have enough warm sweaters and hats and gloves for the coming winter.

We need to be cared for as a person, to be taken seriously as a unique individual, to have our own thoughts and feelings respected and held in confidence. We need to be trusted. We need to know that our companion will be there for us when times are tough, that we will not be left forsaken when we fall and need a hand to get back up.

If one is able to find this kind of love and commitment and deep emotional care, then I think one can put up with a little sloppiness around the house. Efficiency and cleanliness may make my life easier and more comfortable, but they cannot satiate the longing of my heart for true and lasting companionship.

I do believe that our Lord Jesus, during his years of earthly ministry, understood and felt this longing. This dynamic is part of what is going on in our gospel reading this morning.

Our Lord was true man, fully human, and here he was speaking with his friends about his upcoming suffering and death. He was making himself vulnerable to them, and I feel certain that what he desired most from them at that moment was to be understood. To have them truly understand what this means for him directly at the deepest levels.

And yet, they respond by thinking only in practical terms. Who is the greatest of his friends? As if, when their dearest friend tells them of his impending death, they immediately start to discuss his will, to plan out the line of inheritance and who will be next in line to take over once he is gone! How could they so foolishly misunderstand?

We adults are so practical. We have to be efficient to succeed and thrive. We have to plan ahead. But it is not the same with children. Children play, and they long to be with their friends, to share time and experiences with their friends. Children tend to be much more attuned to emotional needs than we adults who have been dulled by years of struggle and labor.

And at that moment of unease at what was to come, mixed with disappointment in his friends, and frustration, our Lord Jesus took the little child in his arms. Think about it. He hugged that child, as if what he needed most at that moment was simply the touch of a friend’s hand on his shoulder.

I can’t say this for sure, but we do know how our Lord feels about displays of affection. Remember when Mary came and used the entire jar of costly perfume to anoint him? And the very practical disciples complained that those resources could have been better used in other ways! And our Lord defended this act of love, this moment of caring which displayed her understanding. And remember the widow’s mite, when the widow gave to the temple treasury all that she had, how he praised her for her generosity and devotion?

Practical efficiency is good, but love is far, far better, my friends! It is love which God longs to see in us and to share with us.

The writer of Proverbs closes his poem with the famous line: “Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised” (Proverbs 31:30).

And I cannot help but think that, in light of the New Testament and what we learn from our Lord Jesus, we could go on to add: “Waste is harmful, and disorder is ungodly, but the one who loves is to be praised.”

All of Us Make Many Mistakes

Sermon for Proper 19 B (RCL), Offered by Nathan Ferrell at Church of the Holy Spirit, Bellmawr & St. Luke’s, Westville, NJ

Texts: Proverbs 1:20-33; Psalm 19; James 3:1-12; Mark 8:27-38

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. Amen.

There’s an old Irish story about a traveling preacher who visited a village where, in one of the large houses, a young girl lay seriously ill. Her parents asked the preacher to come and visit her. And so he came, knelt next to the young girl’s bed, and prayed. After a minute, he stood up and the traveling priest then said to the parents, “Now the girl will start to recover.”

Well, one of the girl’s uncles was there. He was a skeptic about spiritual matters, and he pinned all of his hopes on medicines. And so he scoffed at the priest, “How can a few words make a sick person well?!”

To the uncle’s surprise, the preacher turned to him, his eyes blazing with fury. “You understand nothing,” the priest shouted. “You are an ignorant fool.”

The uncle was greatly offended at this rudeness. His face went all red, and he began to shake with anger and to sweat. But then the preacher’s face broke into a smile. “Listen,” he said, “when just a few words can make a grown man like you all hot and angry, why do you doubt the power of a few words to make a young girl well?” (Celtic Parables, by Robert Van De Weyer, 1998, p. 83).

Today is our time, my brothers and sisters, to reflect together upon the power of the tongue to bring healing and to inflict harm. The Letter of James teaches us about the power of just a few words. This is heavy exhortation, a strong teaching about the dangers of uncontrolled speech. The images presented here are striking: “the tongue is a fire”, “it stains the whole body”; the tongue is “a restless evil, full of deadly poison.”

But there is no need for us to get lost in the many images and metaphors employed here by the epistle, for the meaning is clear as the blue sky in winter: our tongue is to be used for blessing and not for cursing, for healing and not for harming.

What we learn here about speaking is true of every good gift that God has given to us. Every gift has a purpose and a power, and this power can be misused for evil, or it can be controlled and used for its intended good purpose. Think of the gift of food, how it is so good and yet how food can also be misused and so can cause great harm. Think of alcohol, how it is a wonderful gift and yet how it’s misuse can do so much damage. Think of the gift of science, how it yields so many wonderful blessings and yet how it can also be used to create weapons of mass murder.

The same principle is true of the tongue, the power of human speech, but it is more immediate and direct. We have the ability to use our words for great good, to build up, to encourage, to teach, to give praise and thanks. But we also can use this gift of speech to do great harm, to tear down, to destroy, to cut and bite and lash with our tongue.

Consistently throughout the Bible, God teaches the faithful to take great care with how they speak.

From the Letter to the Ephesians, we are given perhaps the clearest and most direct teaching on how God wishes us to speak. Ephesians 4:29 says: “Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear” (Ephesians 4:29).

Imagine for a moment such a world, imagine living in such a community where everyone speaks the truth in love, where everyone has the goal of using their words to build others up, where we all limit our words to what is useful.

My household seems to be a great place to see where the opposite happens all the time. If you haven’t noticed lately, most children continually hurt each other with their words, and my children in particular seem intent on becoming masters of this craft. You know what children say to each other on the playground: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” I have no idea who started that saying, but nothing could be farther than the truth. Words can hurt. Words can leave scars on the heart that can last far longer than scars on the skin.

I heard someone comment on the radio this week about his years of lobbying the FCC to ban the use of the word “retard” from radio and television, because he believes that it is an intolerable insult to people with disabilities. While I commend his zeal and his desire to protect the vulnerable from harm, this man unfortunately fails to realize that what matters in speech is intent, not content. Any word can be used as a verbal weapon to inflict harm. If that is the intention of the speaker, then which word is used does not matter.

You have no idea how often I admonish my children about their words.

“You need to think before you speak!” I can’t tell you how many times I have said that to my children. Think before you speak, not after.

Unfortunately, we as a society are infected by a kind of terrible virus that makes mockery of our language. Yes, we suffer from verbal diarrhea. I think you know what I mean. It seems that many people today are compelled to publish every single thought that enters their mind. The worst instance of this, I think, is the Twitter phenomenon. Do we really need to hear and read what everyone in the world is doing at every minute?

I believe that it is important to let your words be few, and let each one have meaning.
As a wise man once said: “It does not require many words to speak the truth” (Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce.)

We do well, my friends, when we are careful with our words. Not only do they have great power when applied to others, but they also reveal many things about ourselves.

Do you remember just a few weeks back, when we heard our Lord teach us about the connection between the heart and the words that we speak? “What comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart” (Matthew 15:18). This is the truth about our words. “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34).

The Lord also gave us this stern warning: “By your words you will be justified; and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:37).

But we must not rush to think that everything in our relationship with God relies upon our words. Actions always supersede words. Just last week, James spoke clearly to this fact. “If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,’ and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that?” (James 2:15-16). Nice sounding words alone mean nothing, if they are not flowing from a heart of compassion that is moved to act.

Both our words AND our actions are faithful signs of what is on the inside. And in the final analysis, I believe that the familiar saying is true: actions speak louder than words.

I enjoy the realism, the practicality of this Letter of James. “For all of us make many mistakes.” So this epistle teaches, and so we all know to be true.

But remember this, my friends: the goal of our journey here on earth is to live life to the fullest, to experience abundant life in Christ: a life where our heart is renewed afresh every day by the love of God. When our hearts are so filled with agape love, then our mouths will naturally speak forth with praise and blessing.

Then we will live as the fulfillment of the prayer of the Psalmist, for then the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts will always be acceptable in the sight of the Lord, our strength and our redeemer. And that is a good way to live. Amen.

He has done everything well!

Sermon for Proper 18 B (RCL), offered by Nathan Ferrell at Church of the Holy Spirit, Bellmawr & St. Luke’s, Westville, NJ

Texts: Proverbs 22:1-2,8-9,22-23; Ps 125; James 2:1-17; Mark 7:24-37

She lived without hope. Her daughter, the joy of her life, the foundation for the future, was ill – very ill. The local healers could not identify the cause; none of their salves or herb mixtures helped her in any way. People said she had a demon, that a spirit had invaded her body and taken it over for some unknown, evil purpose. So she struggled on, hoping against hope for some opportunity for help.

She heard about him in the marketplace. People spoke about this healer with hope. They thought that this teacher from Galilee might be different than the others. When she heard it whispered a few days later that he was there in her very own town, staying at the house of the local carpenter, she made her decision. She had nothing to lose. Her daughter was getting worse by the day. She went to the house. The gate was closed, but that was not going to stop her. She pushed it open and quietly walked through. She saw him walking in the courtyard. It is hard to say how she knew that he was the teacher, but she could tell right away. Others were there also. The local carpenter. His family. Some noticed her now and began to ask why she was there. Who was she? But she didn’t notice any of them, only him. She ran to him, all of her fears and hopes colliding in a sea of unruly emotion. She fell at his feet and begged. She didn’t even remember his name. She just cried and begged for her daughter to be well once again. She never remembered exactly what she said to him. She only remembered feeling desperate and lost, like teetering on the edge of a cliff, about to fall into despair.

She had never felt love before in this way – like a wave of compassion had just splashed up on her face. It came the moment that he said these words to her: “You may go.” You may go. The demon has left your daughter.

There is no way to explain it, but somehow she knew immediately that it was true. That he was true. That he spoke the truth. That her life had just changed forever, just like that (snap). It was absurd, crazy, but she knew it was true.

When the townsfolk heard about this healing miracle, and all of the other wonders that this teacher from Nazareth had done, they were astounded beyond measure. Dumbfounded. Awestruck. And so the people said, “He has done everything well!”

This is the Gospel story, my friends. This is our Gospel truth. Can you say what the people said then? Can we say it today?
Let’s try it together: HE HAS DONE EVERYTHING WELL !

Now, I want to be honest with you. (Hopefully I always am!) I am learning how to say this. “He has done everything well.” It does not roll easily off of my lips.

Not that I lack faith or trust in our Lord Jesus as the Messiah, the Savior of the world. But the truth is that I am not sure what to expect from God in this life.

What do these healing miracles from the Gospels mean for us today? Can we expect to receive the same kind of healing touch from the Lord when we are ill or injured or malformed or diseased in some way?

The Church has struggled with this question for nearly all of her existence. Does God intervene in human lives now in the same way as it happened in the Scriptures?

By faith, I know that the answer to this question is a resounding YES! God does not change. The Holy Spirit has not changed. And yet, there is so much suffering in the world. So many strong Christian people die terrible deaths and suffer from horrible diseases. Some who pray and ask are healed. I believe this. But so many others are not.

It is difficult; no, it is impossible to understand. I don’t think any of us should cling blindly to easy clichés and trite epithets. It is difficult to know what to expect from God in this life.

What God chooses to do or not do is, as they say, “beyond my pay grade.” When God intervenes in human lives and when God chooses not to is all beyond my control or your control.

What IS in my control is how I respond to the realities of life that God brings my way. For what shows the true inner character of a person is not so much how they act, but how they react. How will you and I react to the needs of those in our community who need healing of the body, the mind and the spirit?

I believe that, in addition to the power of the Holy Spirit which can bring healing on any level to a human being, in addition to this, God brings healing directly through the touch of other people. I believe that the gifts of science, medicine and technology are wonderful tools that God uses to bring healing into people’s lives.

And maybe that is why miraculous healing is much more common among the poor of the world, because these folks whom God loves have far less access to these other gifts that are so common to us in the developed world.

And maybe this is why the Scriptures continually call us to reach out in love to those who are less fortunate than ourselves, to share our gifts with the poor.

The Letter of James drives this point home like a sledgehammer.

“Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him?” (James 2:5).
“You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’”(James 2:8).
“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works?” (James 2:14).

I do not know how or when God chooses to heal people. I know that our Lord Jesus cares for each and every one of us. I know that his compassion is boundless and unlimited, and that when we cry out to him, he hears us. I do not know why our requests for help and healing are sometimes left unanswered.

But I do know this: God has chosen us to be healers. God has chosen us – as the body of Christ – to be vessels filled with healing grace for those in need around us, whether that need be for physical healing, emotional comfort, mental healing, or spiritual renewal.

We are the body of Christ today. He lives in us and through us. Therefore we have a high calling, and a great responsibility. Many of you will remember the famous poem penned by that Doctor of the Church, St. Teresa of Avila, written to inspire the baptized for action:

Christ has no body but yours,

No hands, no feet on earth but yours,

Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world,

Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,

Yours are the hands with which he blesses all the world.

Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,

Yours are the eyes, you are his body.

Christ has no body now but yours,

No hands, no feet on earth but yours,

Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world.

Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

There is nothing trite or cute or quaint or meek about this calling. Into a hurting world, we are sent by the living God. It is a difficult path, at time a dangerous one, but it is the life into which you and I were baptized. And so today, may the Holy Spirit inspire us anew with boldness and courage to be the healing hands of Christ in this time and place. Amen.