Epiphany2A, Zion Philadelphia UCC Ritzville, WA; January 15,
2017, by Annette Fricke
What
are we to make of this Jesus who is so compelling he has people following
him? Who is this Jesus that draws people
to him? But most importantly, in our
following, what are we looking for? That
is the question that Jesus posed so many years ago, and if you believe that
Jesus is also God, you also believe that God continues to ask this question of
us. Questions are important and I am
reminded of attending seminary many years ago, when the professor known as Dr.
Doermann would never give a sentence while answering a question, but instead
would ask another question. There is the
temptation to just walk away from such a man thinking, “I just want an answer,
not another question.” However, there is
wisdom in his answer which is not an answer at all yet has the effect of
causing a person to think about the initial question. After all, who says a question cannot be
answered by a question? Where is that
rule written, or set in stone? The
underlying question that Dr. Doermann was getting at was that same question
found in the gospel text, “What are you looking for?”
It is
in the name. The naming is what makes
connections. If you want to make a
connection with someone, you find out that person’s name and how to contact
that person. Naming is hooked to
identity. For example, Jesus changed
Simon’s name to Cephas, equivalent to Peter.
Way before that, Abram became Abraham.
It was a way of proclaiming your relationship to God. It was once customary to change a name at
baptism where the presider would ask, “What is his or her Christian name?” It was common practice to be baptized on a
saint’s day and take that name, then that saint would be your patron
saint. You would seek help from this
saint and try to mold your life to be like his or hers. Martin Luther was born
the day before his baptism and was baptized on St. Martin of Tours day. However, Martin Luther raised the point that
if we are all recipients of God’s grace, we are all saints. Paul’s writings attest to this. Paul had been less revered than Peter in the
Roman Catholic Church. The Roman
Catholic Church is now taking into account Paul’s writings with the help of
Protestant researchers. It is not just a
matter of whose teachings to follow but even the whole structure of
authority. It has to do with hierarchy
versus a humbler thought that we are all in the same boat. Nobody is better than anyone else. Period. We
all have a role to play and we all have our jobs and our expertise. We are good at some things and not so good at
others. We continue to be students even
if it is our job to be a teacher or a counselor. We continue to be students in
relationship to God.
From
Harvard Dean James Ryan with my own twist:
There are five truly essential questions that you should
regularly ask yourself and others. If you get in the habit of asking these
questions, you have a very good chance of causing others in your life to think
and make connections.
The first question is “Wait, what?” We live in a world of
distractions. Almost every American has
justified the need for a cell phone for communication for both personal and
work use. When trying to speak directly to someone, it sounds something like:
“blah, blah, blah, blah, and then...” And at that precise moment, the question
inevitably comes: “Wait, what? What did you say?”
“Wait what” is actually a very effective way of asking for
clarification, which is crucial to understanding. It’s the question you should
ask before drawing conclusions or before making a decision. It’s
important to understand an idea before you advocate for or against it. The
wait, which precedes the what, is also a good reminder that it pays to slow
down to make sure you truly understand.
The second question is “I wonder” which can be followed by “why”
or “if.” So: I wonder why, or I wonder if. Asking “I wonder why” is the
way to remain curious about the world, and asking “I wonder if” is the way to
start thinking about how you might improve the world. As in, I wonder why our churches
are so segregated, and I wonder if we could change this? Or I wonder why some
people often seem bored in church, and I wonder if we could make this place
more engaging without compromising the gospel and making it seem more like
entertainment rather than serious spirituality and goal oriented?
The third question is: "Couldn’t we at least...?" This
is the question to ask that will enable you to get unstuck, as they say. It’s
what enables you to get past disagreement to some consensus, as in couldn’t we
at least agree that we all care about the welfare of our church, even if we
disagree about strategy? It’s also a way to get started when you’re not
entirely sure where you will finish, as in couldn’t we at least begin by making
sure that all kids have the chance to hear the gospel and experience it from
us?
The fourth question is: “How can I help?” You are here, I
presume, because you are interested in helping others because that is part of
your understanding of the gospel. But you also know, from your time here, to be
aware of the savior complex, of the stance where you are the expert or hero who
swoops in to save others. We shouldn’t let the real pitfalls of the savior
complex extinguish one of the most humane instincts there is — the instinct to
lend a hand. But how we help matters as much as that we do help, and if you ask
“how” you can help, you are asking, with humility, for direction. And
you are recognizing that others are experts in their own lives and that they
will likely help you as much as you help them.
The fifth question is this: "What truly matters?" You
can tack on “to me” as appropriate. This is the question that forces you to get
to the heart of issues and to the heart of your own beliefs and convictions.
Indeed, it’s a question that you might add to, or substitute for, New Year’s
resolutions. You might ask yourself, in other words, at least every new year:
what truly matters to me?
So, these are the five essential questions. “Wait, what” is at
the root of all understanding. “I wonder” is at the heart of all curiosity.
“Couldn’t we at least” is the beginning of all progress. “How can I help” is at
the base of all good relationships. And “what really matters” gets you to the
heart of life. Ask these questions regularly, especially the last one. https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/16/05/good-questions
And so, I charge you with this, the first important thing to
remember is everybody’s name. We have a
tradition in the Episcopal Church where we invite people up front to talk about
their blessings before the congregation with just one rule, “Before you speak
about your blessings, tell us your name.”
The reason is simple, it is difficult to make connections with people if
we don’t even know their name. The
opposite is also true, if you forgot someone’s name, ask their name. Don’t be embarrassed if you forgot nor
offended if you were the one whose name was forgotten. We are to continue to
work on those bonds we already have as a church and be ready to explain
that the prosperity gospel is not biblical and that is not what Christianity is
all about. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosperity_theology
We are dependent on God and each other.
We need God and each other. God’s
love takes on flesh and blood in us. We
are to continue to ask questions, all kinds of questions to keep the lines of
communication open because that is how things are accomplished. We are to care for each other and our
neighborhoods as well as the world because God has cared for us first. We are to spread the gospel of God’s love in
all that we do and say. How do we do that?
With each encounter, ask yourself, “In this situation, what is the most
compassionate thing to do?” That will
put us on the right track every time.
