Proper10BPentecost7, Sullivan Park
Care Center, July 12, 2015 by Annette Fricke
The miracle
stories of Jesus fail to give insight as to what Jesus is all about or who
Jesus is. This is quite evident when we
observe that the people think that Jesus is: (1) John the Baptist, raised from
the dead. (2) Elijah (fulfillment of the prophesy presented in Malachi 4:5-6). (3)
One of the prophets (perhaps fulfilling God’s promise of a prophet like Moses
in Dt 18:15-20). These same three responses are given by the disciples when
Jesus asks at Mark 8:27-28, “Who do people say that I am?” I propose that the
same is true for people today, especially those who are outside of the Church
looking in. My brother has encountered
those who talk about what the Church was in their childhood days, got mad and
left, assuming that it is the same now as it was. They appear to take so little interest in
what the Church says or does in regards to Jesus that their judgment of the
Church is not only outdated, but quite inaccurate. I find that type of apathy
and lack of research labeled to the extremes of calling people stupid, idiots,
or needing to “dumb it down” so that even the most uneducated can
understand. The tactic of “dumbing it
down” for others doesn’t work either for those who simply do not want to know
and have no interest in changing their opinions which are, in fact, not based
on reality. The name of Jesus is tossed
around to justify every sort of political or religious argument you could
possibly imagine. One meme on Facebook
puts it this way, “Jesus was a radical non-violent revolutionary who hung
around with lepers, hookers, and crooks.
He was not American and never spoke English, was anti-wealth, anti-death
penalty, anti public prayer but was never anti-gay, never mentioned abortion or
birth control, never called the poor lazy, never justified torture, never
fought for tax cuts for the wealthiest Nazarenes, never asked a leper for a co-pay,
and was a long-haired, brown- skinned homeless community organizing, anti-slut
shaming middle eastern Jew (John Fugelsang).”
If you took the name of Jesus out of this, most people, especially those
not associated with or no longer associated with the Church, would not
recognize and attach Jesus’ name to it.
It is meant to sound ridiculous and at the same time convey what Jesus
did and did not stand for or against.
For those who get it, it actually brings a chuckle. As I said last week, Jesus and culture are
not the same and we need to choose wisely if we are to make the choice of
culture vs. Jesus less we confuse the two.
The gospel
lesson for today once again presents this dilemma, but in a specific way. How do we deal with the powers that are above
us? What is my response to rules in the workplace
with which I disagree? And for you as
residents, where can I take my grievances about this institution so I feel that
I am being heard and respected as one who helps pay for this building and the
hired staff? Either way, as staff or
residents, it hits us where we live.
Where I work, we are constantly reminded that there is an eleven story
building going up right next to the seven story building where I work and
residents I work with live. It’s not
just an eyesore, it actually blocks much of the sunset so cherished by most of
us. One resident suspects that the last
three raises in her board and room bill are actually paying for that building next
to us, not the one she lives in; one that only others will live in. She is angry and rightfully so.
I mentioned
the co-pay that many people are required to pay for medical services. A co-worker and I were comparing notes on a
casual basis one day. It’s a $10 co-pay
to see a family physician, it is $20 to see a cardiologist, it is $200 for an
echocardiogram and $250 for a treadmill test.
So you go along with it for a whole year and then get a letter in the
mail stating that you need to make an appointment, it’s time for another
check-up. Never mind that you have been
seen by 2 cardiologists, one a surgeon all year long. We both feel like we have been getting the
run around, like someone is just trying to make a buck off the poor. This was my solution: I remembered that early in the treatment
process the cardiologist said that there is no surgical solution. OK, he said that then proceeded to send me to
the surgeon who charged me for two visits, sent me back to the first
cardiologist for a treadmill test which I passed. The bottom line is that there is nothing they
can do surgically. I think I understand
what that means. However, the first
cardiologist said that my medication dosage was rather low yet he only bumped
up the dosage by 50%. In light of
figuring out what was bothering my stomach and seeing that I am taking double
the amount of Lipitor of anybody I know, this is how I dealt with the power
over me: I e-mailed my primary doctor and said this, “I want to take 50 mg
Atenolol, half of the Prilosec and half of the Lipitor.” A week later, she agreed. Time and blood tests will determine if I was
right.
The gospel
story is a gruesome one, much like the modern-day thriller movies of blood and
gore and society’s current preoccupation with zombies and the walking dead. What are we to make of the violence in this
story that continues to this very day? Herod
had so much guilt about what he had done to John the Baptist that he thought
perhaps Jesus was the ghost of John the Baptist coming back to haunt him and in
some ways, he was. God’s kingdom has a
way of continuing to come despite all that surrounds us, despite wars foreign and
domestic, in spite of those who continue to inflict violence on even their own
children. Disagreements among people
living side by side continue as they have for multiple generations. As the Jesus movement people, we have a long
way to go towards improvement to make this place one that is more civil in its
behavior. As citizens of this world, we
have not grown out of responding to our baser instincts of self-preservation at
all costs. Yet self-preservation is not
what we are called to by Jesus. Jesus
never talked about self-preservation as a virtue. He actually said just the opposite. Jesus’ answer to most situations is that of
love and respect above all else. As TS
Eliot said in his play, Murder in the
Cathedral, “The peace of this world is always uncertain, unless men keep
the peace of God. And war among men
defiles this world, but death in the Lord renews it.” There are some who have
difficulty with martyrdom, yet should that be our situation, may the Lord have
mercy on those of us who did what we were able to follow our Lord Jesus. We are called to fight against those who
would mock us or prevent us from living a Christian life, but remember that
peace is up to us. The justice and peace
of the world is in our hands. We are God’s
children in both life and death and during our time on earth, Jesus is our
model. Many people of his time and ours
were against him. Each moment gives us
opportunity to once again follow in that path.
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