Sermon from September 7, 2009

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Let us pray, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14”

Here is good one about tolerance: A man who was walking across a bridge and came upon another man standing right on the edge, about to plunge to his death. The first man shouted "Stop! Are you a Christian?" "Yes, as a matter of fact I am." "Well so am I. Are you Catholic or Protestant?" "I'm Protestant," "Well so am I. Are you Episcopal or Lutheran?" "I'm Lutheran." "Wow... I am too. Are you ELCA Lutheran or Missouri Synod Lutheran? "I'm ELCA Lutheran," "Me too, that's amazing! Were you LCA or ALC?" "I'm LCA." "I can't believe it, so am I." But tell me are you a German Lutheran, or a Swedish Lutheran?" He answered, "Swedish Lutheran" To which the first man said, "Die you heretic," and he pushed him off the bridge.

Sounds crazy right? But how many times do we divide ourselves by churches or religious groups? I can think of hundreds of times I have been at church when someone has come up with a new idea and the first words out of someone’s mouth is “But we have never done it this way before.” Why are we not willing to take a chance? Why can we not trust in God when we are presented with a new and exciting avenue of ministry that differs from the status quo.

Every single church and every single Christian is guilty of this. I cannot tell you how many times I flinch in chapel at seminary when someone changes the order of morning prayer. My friends tell me I’m part of the rubrics police--i.e. I get annoyed when pastors and leaders do not follow the red italic text in the hymnal. We so easily forget texts like this one today--“Whoever is not against us is for us.”

This one particular line appears four times in the Synoptic Gospels--twice in Luke and once in Matthew and Mark. It is a line that, I believed, had great importance in the early church and among the Gospel writers. Think of the implications this line had on the early church--on the disciples hearing these words first hand. They thought they were doing the right thing by telling Jesus about this healer--TEACHER THIS GUY IS NOT PLAYING NICE WITH US! They are thinking they need to defend Jesus and the ministry he is establishing among the people. Think about the implications this man could have had on Jesus if he screwed up? But Jesus stops them and so eloquently turns their mistake into a teachable moment; “Whoever is not against us is for us.”

Robert Jenson, a famous theologian, has a wonderful quote his commentary on Mark, "Whenever you want to draw lines in order to mark who is outside the kingdom and who is inside, always remember: Jesus is on the other side of the line! Jesus is always with the outsiders!" What criteria should we use to determine if someone is "of Christ" or not? Where does active church membership fall within requirements for being "of Christ"? Most importantly, where is Jesus in all of this?

As a good Lutheran Seminarian, I would answer this last question by saying “Jesus is present in the hearing/the speaking of the word and in the Holy Eucharist.” But digging even deeper, I believe Mark is making the argument that Jesus is our midst just by saying his name. In verse 37 from last weeks lesson, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name”, in today’s reading, verse 38 “someone casting out demons in your name,” verse 39 “no one who does a deed of power in my name” and verse 41 “whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ. “ Bearing the name of Christ and acting in Christ's name indicates a belonging to Christ and perhaps even, being Christ's presence for the world . By claiming the Name of Jesus, God grants us the presence of Jesus in our lives no matter who we are.

Donald B. Kraybill, a professor in the field of sociology and religion says, "The genius of the gospel is its seed of self-criticism or self-reformation. Each generation of Christians, like the Pharisees, is tempted to make sacred its programs and freeze its routines. Jesus showed us that humanly created structures aren't sacred. There are no sacred places, organizations, times, objects, doctrines or social positions, except in the sense that all good things are finally sacred." We must remember that God is in charge and through God, all things are made Holy and Sacred. When it comes down to it, our hymnal will not save us, our Book of Concord will not save us, our church, our pews, our ideas will not save us but it is simply the cross that will save us. No matter what we do on earth, the cross is what saves us. So in the Name of Jesus, go and proclaim this message of God’s love for us and remember that whoever is not against us is for us. Amen.