Critics are Everywhere

Proper21B Immanuel Lutheran Church, Moses Lake September 29, 2024 by Sr. Annette Fricke There is plenty of evidence to not only suggest, but fully illustrate that Jesus had a lot of disappointing moments with the disciples. Here they are again when they come back from a mission trip, not gleefully rejoicing that people are out doing works in Jesus’ name but trying to stop them because they were not following Jesus in the same manner that they thought they should. Critics abound wherever we go especially when we consider all the inspections and required licenses of physical spaces of business, for example or care facilities for those who need nursing care on a long-term basis. “This isn’t right and that isn’t right. This shouldn’t be this way, but that way. You also see this kind of conversation inside churches because it also extends to how a church fulfills its mission in the community as well as how to go about it within the church in which is a part of the outside community. Some people have a more open view of people whose opinions are different from theirs and others would have us fit in their boxed in ideas of doing it right. The truth is that everyone has a bit different sense of what it means to do something right. In my previous job in Spokane a few years back, I once took 5 days in a row off for a vacation yet was called to come back to work on 2 of those days. Most folks I know, including myself, don’t appreciate being told we have the week off, then being called into work. It was made known that I was preaching at the local nursing home and could not come in on day shift on Sundays. The second day I was asked to come in the message left on my phone indicated that someone was needed to stay till after dinner until “things settled down.” What that meant was still left for me to discover. I returned to work on a Wednesday to find out that the State was there to address complaints, three of them about the floor I worked on. In addition to that, aides from the skilled nursing unit were to work with us on the assisted living floor until they were certified. They had failed to meet the deadline of transitioning from registered nursing assistant to certified nursing assistant within 120 days because they were unable to schedule taking the written and skills tests required for the state certification. At least 3 of my co-workers were now working in the Skilled Nursing Unit. Another issue was on my assisted living floor about who is qualified to serve food and who is to cover the floor and what happens when residents call during meals? What happens is this: the State needs to be satisfied that all is done according to the specifications dictated by the laws and regulations concerning assisted living. In skilled nursing, you are required to be certified by the state to work there. My mind went back to the days when aide work was on the job training and the charge nurse made sure you were properly trained. Change happens and consequences are always in place for not following it. Now the state must be satisfied, or facilities are written up, complaints posted publicly, people get fired, and/or facilities get shut down. As communities, both residential facilities like the one where I worked in Spokane and churches have something in common. At each juncture when someone new comes into the community or visits before accepting residency or membership, we need to ask ourselves the question, “How do I welcome the stranger, the newcomer?” “How will I make this person feel welcomed and accepted?” “What behaviors will we find difficult to accept and where will we draw the line?” Each community has certain values that are expressed by its members. I used to teach my staff to not only look for new staff members by whether they would be competent to perform their jobs but also how their personalities would fit with the personalities already on staff. Personalities must work well enough together to be able to work as a team. As we converse with each other on an equal playing field and learn to respect those who have differing opinions, our conversations should lead us to changes that will be beneficial to growth. We can respond in different ways that previously. We can accept ideas both great and small and see where they lead. Most of all we need to always be aware of whether our actions are ones of peace, loving relationships, and forgiveness. Everything we say and do, according to this text should strive to create an atmosphere of peace. We should abhor violence and anything that keeps us far from peace. Our interactions with others should be from a position of compassion even when we disagree with others’ words and actions. We need to really listen closely to others. Our strength should never smother another’s weakness. Like a dimly burning wick, we should shield from wind and provide oxygen. We should feed and nourish our relationships, so they thrive and those who come from the outside will feel welcome. Because that is living the gospel.

Gospel according to the Syrophoenician Woman

Proper18BPentecost15, September 8, 2024, St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, Moses Lake by Sr. Annette Fricke, OP. I have worked in a couple of different settings now where I was one of the oldest of the employees and supervisors. It wasn’t like that in school before college. In school as a child, most of our classmates were within a year of the same age and it’s difficult without knowing for sure who is older and who is younger. There was some parental control going on as well as being held back due to poor grades. Holding back is how my bestie was in class with me and her sister was in my younger brother’s class. Occupationally, we were very different however and had in common that we did not become farmers or the wife of farmers. Same, but different. Because of my upbringing on a farm, working in Othello is a fit. Because of my brother’s childhood on a farm, being a small animal veterinarian is a fit as well. He lives out in the country and works in the larger city. I live in a larger community and work in a smaller one. The same, but different. The two healing stories in our gospel text have similarities. The most glaring of the similarities is that they both take place in non-Jewish territories. These are places where Jews are not welcome and in fact, are rather despised and treated with contempt. Perhaps the harsh words of Jesus to this woman from the region of Tyre reflect the political imbalance of the wealthy Gentiles and Jewish peasants there. Beyond that, Jesus was likely aware of the economic hardship that many Jews in that region experienced due to the exploits of the Gentile landowners. We should be asking why Jesus is there at all if he indeed sees his priority as the house of Israel. Indeed, the Gospel of Mark gives us a vision of the outstretching of God’s kingdom to be that which extends beyond the reaches of the folks of Judaism. Obviously, one of the major points of reading is that we are to go beyond our own little villages or social groupings of people in our quest to extend the mercy of God. But note also that this text has nothing to do with converting anyone by means of God directly, nor of our evangelization in God’s name. Pure and simple, this is about showing mercy to all people. It has nothing to do with imposing values or judgments on someone else. It doesn’t mean that we should not issue a marriage license because we do not thing that gay men should get married. It does not mean that if we are Quaker and believe in pacifism that we will not issue a permit to have a gun to defend houses or property. Jesus did not ask her, as far as we know, what she believed in. He met her at her need and healed her daughter. We don’t know what happened after that. We have no “Gospel according to the Syrophoenician Woman.” Perhaps we should; perhaps she would tell us how Jesus paid attention to even her, one who had a sick child among many sick children of the day. This woman was not going to just stand by and watch her daughter continue to suffer. She was passionate. She knew Jesus was a healer and she was determined to get healing for her daughter. She knew Jesus had that which she most desperately desired more than anything. She was prepared to do what it took to get it. Some of us will watch someone like that and say to ourselves, “What a stubborn fool,” but maybe that’s what’s lacking in us at times. At times, we just give up and become lackadaisical, paralyzed into inaction. Will God bring healing if we never ask for it or if we always pray meekly, “Thy will be done?” Is it not a step better to even demand that God hear our pleas for mercy? Lastly, it is important to notice that the mother pleads for the daughter and the deaf man is brought to Jesus by his friends. Community is important. God does not expect us to be the lone rangers and to conduct our prayer life and spirituality as though it’s just between God and us. Many of my preacher friends have nixed the idea of worship services other than Sunday because there just is no interest in attendance. But is that true? Are we willing as a congregation to go beyond obligation to voluntary fellowship gathering, maybe something informal? What will move our congregation to become more nurturing? What can we do to build fellowship among those who feel hurt or left out? A glaring part of the gospel text is that this woman appears to be by herself. She doesn’t seem to have friends, nobody to advocate for her. The image is provocative and is a quite comprehensive picture of the enormity and generosity of God’s love for all humanity. God’s love is like a table on which the children eat. We can see the common household setting of eating at the table with the dog hanging around looking for a bite. God’s mercy is not just for the few, but for the many because God’s children are not just those we most love and admire, but also those who live on the fringes of society and the edges of what we might term unacceptable dress or behavior. Not only do we put God in a box, but people as well. We want both God and others to conform to our sense of right and wrong. We don’t like entertaining the thought that someone else has an idea that might be just as good as ours. Jesus commends the woman not so much for her belief as for her passion and persistence. She has a good argument. She asserts herself with logic. We are to follow our hearts, passionately seeking, no demanding that those in our midst receive healing, remembering that we are all in this together. We may be different, but we are the same.