Proper17A, September 3, 2017 for St. Martin’s Episcopal
Church, Moses Lake, WA by Annette Fricke
Jesus said, "Things are going to change now." He heaved a sigh. We all were moving
with him now toward the little spring of water. He said, "I have to go to
Jerusalem. When I get there, I will suffer many things from the elders and the
chief priests and the scribes. I'm telling you now so that you need not be
surprised when it happens. It will happen."
Jesus knelt
down by the spring, cold from the earth. He made a cup of his hands and scooped
water. Just before he started to drink, he said, "I will be killed in
Jerusalem, and on the third day be raised --"
I spoke
again. I said the most natural thing there was to say.
Well, my
feelings were so hurt by Jesus' words. Be killed? Was this the gloomy thing
he'd been thinking about all the time?
I grabbed
his wrist and shouted, "No!" The water splashed from his hands.
"No, God won't allow it!" I cried.
On account
of my feelings, I was gripping him with all my strength. But he started to pry
my fingers from his wrist. He had terrible power in his hands.
I blustered
on. Surely, he knew that I was arguing out of love for him! "O Lord,"
I said, "this can never happen to you!"[1]
The
immediate sense of this text is Peter’s reaction and comprehension of what
Jesus was saying. Peter, as a
spokesperson for the disciples, understands that they will be losing a mentor,
the one who has inspired them, the one they love most. But again, he does not
fully get it. As "human beings," is it possible for us not to see
with "human eyes? Is it possible for us to ‘get it’?
Have you
ever played or observed the children’s game called “Follow the Leader”? The
"game" can get complicated if the leader goes where the followers
don't want to go – crossing a narrow beam over a high crevice, running across a
busy street, squeezing through the entrance to a dark cave -- or when it means
going to Jerusalem, to suffer much, to be killed, and to be raised.
The "game" gets more complex
if the followers can't actually see the leader. Suppose the leader disappears
into a tall cornfield or into a dark cave. How do we "play follow the
leader" when the leader is unseen? Where is Jesus leading us now? Where is
Jesus leading our congregation now?
And yet,
someone from the outside looking in won’t see it that way at all. They might wonder why we would follow Jesus
at all and how it is possible since he is not visible in the way you and I are.
Think about what it is like just observing what goes on between people. The
same person we adore, someone else despises.
We are of a different ilk. We are
called to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus. Who is this Jesus and why do we follow
him? For some, it is a matter of time.
The time may come when they do recognize the value of following Jesus.
Think about
the artist whose work goes unappreciated and dies in poverty who is recognized
after death for his or her contribution and brilliant works of art. Suddenly those paintings are worth a great
deal of money—money that could have saved that artist from being a pauper while
alive.
Consider a
man who goes unappreciated for his work by those who feel they are justified by
racist attitudes, firmly grounded in scripture no less, simply because he is
black and not white. The church of the past and present is often filled with
contradiction. Of course, the natural thought is that the church before us was
less enlightened. We believe many things in line with the gospel of love and
justice, but do our actions say something different? How do we distinguish between our “humanness”
and truly following Jesus and sometimes can only tell in hindsight?
Today,
September 3 is annual UBE (Union of Black Episcopalians) Sunday. It is meant to
be a celebration of the contributions of Black Episcopalians: People of the
African Diaspora to the vibrancy of the Episcopal Church. Supporting UBE
reminds and empowers us ALL to live into the fullness of following the Way of
Jesus. In particular, there is much we can learn from Alexander Crummell. Alexander Crummell lived from 1819-1898. He was an Episcopalian priest, missionary,
scholar and teacher, was born in New York City in 1819 to free black
parents. He spent much of his life
addressing the conditions of African Americans while urging an educated black
elite to aspire to the highest intellectual attainments as a refutation of the
theory of black inferiority. Crummell
began his education at an integrated school in New Hampshire. He later
transferred to an abolitionist institute in Whitesboro, New York where he
learned both the classics and manual labor skills. However, after being denied
admittance to the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church because
of his race, Crummell was forced to study privately. Nonetheless at the age of 25 he became an
Episcopalian minister. From 1848 to 1853
Crummell lectured and studied in England.
He also graduated from Queens’ College, Cambridge University in
1853. Crummell left England to become an
educator in Liberia, accepting a faculty position at Liberia College in
Monrovia. From his new post, Crummell
urged African Americans to emigrate to Liberia. Due to political reasons, this
did not work out, so he returned to the United States, settling in DC. When some Episcopal bishops proposed a
segregated missionary district for black parishes, Crummell organized a group
now known as the Union of Black Episcopalians to fight the proposal. From 1895
to 1897 Crummell taught at Howard University in Washington, D.C. In 1897, the last year of his life, Crummell
helped found the American Negro Academy and became its first president. The point is this man was anything but
selfishly inspired. He responded to the
gospel in a direction of social justice for his own minority group in a way that
would benefit the whole of society. He broke
the barriers put up by the church and made the church better. He is an example of putting your hands to the plow
and never looking back. Every day, like him,
we should be listening for the call of Jesus and every day deciding what it is that
we can do to preach, teach, and follow Jesus.[2]
He knew in his heart that his life mattered
just as much as any white or other people who opposed him.
We are free to
disagree with others, but at the same time, we need to examine why we disagree.
If our disagreement is rooted in oppression
and the denial of basic humanity to our fellow brothers and sisters, we need to
be open to the point of view different from ours. We are sometimes wrong as a church and as individuals.
We must be willing to acknowledge that before not just God, but others. We must be open to what Jesus is teaching us. Peter learned from Jesus and this is where we should
be, too. Jesus said, "Things are
going to change now."
[1]
Walter Wangerin, The Book of God
[2] http://www.blackpast.org/aah/crummell-alexander-1819-1898,
Jeremiah Moses, Alexander Crummell: A Study of Civilization and Discontent
(Oxford University Press, 1989);
Pbs.org/wnet/aaword/reference/articles/Alexander_crummell.html,
