Scripture Readings: Numbers 11:4-29 | Psalm 19:7–14 | James 5:13–20 | Mark 9:38–50

“Whoever is not against us is for us.” (Mark 9:40).
 
Have you ever heard the phrase: “That’s not how we do things around here!”?  Have you ever used it yourself?
 
Every community, big and small, develops its own sense of how things are done over time… promoting practices and values that help to shape a shared sense of identity and culture, whether consciously or not. Sometimes these social rules are pretty obvious… sometimes they are left unspoken. Sometimes they seem to be really rigid, and sometimes they can be much more flexible.
 
And these shared ways of doing things can be really useful, and good… giving us the gifts of meaningful traditions passed down from past generations… as well as helping us to accomplish great things together… binding us together in co-operation to achieve our common goals we simply could not reach on our own.
 
We might have really good reasons to hold onto “how we do things around here”. But we must always remember that there’s a big difference between valuing our own ways of doing things, and denigrating the ways of others.
 
Every community, big and small, faces this danger: we can start to assume that our way is not just a good way… but the best way… or even the only way… and so fail to see what the Living God might be doing outside of our little circle. In fact, we might even find ourselves actually acting against Him!
 
In our Scripture readings today, we are reminded that God’s ways are often much bigger than we imagine. And we are invited to trust the Lord to do what is right, even when it challenges the way we would like to do things.
 
Our first reading today from the book of Numbers tells us about a crisis moment in Moses’ ministry. We find Moses overburdened by the huge responsibility and challenge of keeping God’s people Israel on the right track as they make their way through the wilderness… constantly doubting God’s goodness, and grumbling about all the things they want, but don’t have.
 
At this point in the story, Moses is completely fed up with these unfaithful people. Leading them had become such a hassle that he even asks the LORD to take his life!
 
But even though God was fed up with His people too, He did not give up on them, or on Moses, His burned-out servant. So, the LORD eases Moses’ heavy load by sharing His empowering Spirit with others.
 
Numbers 11:16-17, “So the Lord said to Moses, ‘Gather for me seventy of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; bring them to the tent of meeting, and have them take their place there with you. I will come down and talk with you there; and I will take some of the spirit that is on you and put it on them; and they shall bear the burden of the people along with you so that you will not bear it all by yourself.”
 
And as a sign of the Spirit’s presence and power at work among the elders, they all began prophesizing together. Imagine how relieved Moses must have been to see that God had begun to work among His people in a new way. But then something much more unexpected happened.

Two of the elders who were supposed to be a part of the special meeting had not been there. They had remained in the camp with the rest of the people… but God’s Spirit came on them anyway.
 
To those close to Moses, this seemed like a threat to their leader’s authority. These two elders had not followed the proper protocol, but were now taking on leadership of God’s people. So Joshua, Moses’ right hand man insists that they be stopped. But Moses responds in Numbers 11:29 “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!”
 
For his part, Moses clearly understood that God’s Spirit didn’t belong to him… nor was the Spirit’s plan simply to support Moses in his ministry. No, Moses knew he was God’s servant… at God’s command and disposal… not the other way around. So if the LORD saw fit to speak through these two prophets, or even all of His people, how could Moses take offense? Rather than being put out, Moses says he would prefer that all of the people could share in this Spirit-filled ministry.  
 
This is a clear reminder for us today that God’s Spirit is not bound to follow our expectations, or to obey our sense of how things should be done. To put it bluntly, He’s not bothered about “how we do things around here…” God’s got much bigger plans than we can imagine.
 
And so, like Moses, we can be grateful for, and obedient to, what God has invited us to take part in, and trust Him to do what’s right, even when it doesn’t quite line up with our plans or expectations.
 
Moving now to our Gospel reading for this morning, we can see that it has some clear parallels to the reading from Numbers Chapter 11.
 
Here we encounter John, one of Christ’s closest disciples, getting upset because someone outside of their group was performing miracles in Jesus’ name. Mark 9:38, “John said to him, ‘Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.’”
 
Like Joshua centuries earlier, John was concerned that those other people were stepping out of line… acting outside of the proper channels, and undermining the work of God’s Anointed One. I mean, if those other people were really trying to serve God’s Kingdom, wouldn’t they need to do things their way?
 
I can imagine the fear in the back of John’s mind. The fear of losing his own sense of influence. The fear that things might get out of control, and dishonour might then fall on his beloved Master. The fear that these others might make a mess of things if they don’t follow in their footsteps.
 
These are of course all pretty reasonable fears. All of these things might have come about. But even so, it seems that Jesus Himself was not too concerned about the things that were making John so jealous.
 
Mark 9:39-40, Jesus said “Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us.”
 
How do these words speak to our hearts and circumstances today? Do we have a hard time when we see other groups… and maybe especially other groups of Christians doing things very differently than we would?  Do we at times feel contempt for them? Looking down our noses because they’re not doing things our way? Do we at times feel threatened when they seem to thrive? Are we afraid that they might make a mess of things for the rest of us?
 
Again, there may be some seemingly good reasons for us to feel these ways. But we must always remember that there’s a huge difference between valuing and upholding the Gospel… the Good News of what Jesus Christ has done to reconcile all of humanity with the Living God, and with one another… and demanding that everyone respond to this Good News by doing things “our way”.
 
Here we can easily run straight into real danger: by insisting that it’s “our way or the highway”, we can all too often end up tearing down and devastating the people that the Living God has called us to care for and love.
 
There are many ways this has happened in the past, and is still happening today. And one clear example that seems important for us to discuss, especially ahead of tomorrow, is the history behind the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
 
Rather than offering my own account of the devastating impact that European Christians, including our own Anglican Church, have had on so many Indigenous peoples, particularly through the abuses rampant in the residential schools, I am instead going to read an excerpt from a document entitled An Apology for Spiritual Harm which was offered by our former Primate, Archbishop Fred Hiltz, and addressed to General Synod in 2019. I apologize in advance, it’s a long quote. But I believe these words are still needed for us today.
 
“In the Apology to survivors of the Residential Schools delivered on August 6, 1993, Archbishop Michael Peers expressed his remorse on behalf of the Anglican Church of Canada that “we tried to remake you in our own image”.
 
Today, I offer this apology for our cultural and spiritual arrogance toward all Indigenous Peoples – First Nations, Inuit and Métis – and the harm we inflicted on you. I do this at the desire of many across the Church, at the call of the Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples, and at the request and with the authority of the Council of the General Synod.
 
I confess our sin in failing to acknowledge that as First Peoples living here for thousands of years, you had a spiritual relationship with the Creator and with the Land. We did not care enough to learn how your spirituality has always infused your governance, social structures and family life.
 
I confess our sin in demonizing Indigenous spiritualities, and in belittling the traditional teachings of your Grandmothers and Grandfathers preserved and passed on through the elders.
 
I confess the sin of our arrogance in dismissing Indigenous Spiritualities and disciplines as incompatible with the Gospel of Jesus, and insisting that there is no place for them in Christian Worship.
 
I confess our sin in acts such as smothering the smudges, forbidding the pipes, stopping the drums, hiding the masks, destroying the totem poles, silencing the songs, stilling the dances, and banning the potlatches. With deep remorse, I acknowledge the intergenerational spiritual harm caused by our actions.
 
I confess our sin in declaring the teachings of the medicine wheel to be pagan and primitive.
 
I confess our sin in robbing your children and youth of the opportunity to know their spiritual ancestry and the great wealth of its wisdom and guidance for living in a good way with the Creator, the land and all peoples.
 
For such shameful behaviours, I am very sorry. We were so full of our own self-importance. We followed “too much the devices and desires of our own hearts” (Confession, p. 4, Book of Common Prayer). We were ignorant. We were insensitive. We offended you. We offended the Creator.
 
As we look to you today, we have come to acknowledge our need to repent.
 
As we turn to God, we say: “We have offended against thy holy laws, We have left undone those things which we ought to have done, And we have done those things we ought not to have done…” (Confession, p. 4, Book of Common Prayer).
 
I know that an important part of repentance is sincere lament, and that an important part of lament is our intention to “lead the new life, following the commandments of God, and walking from henceforth in God’s holy ways…” (Invitation to Confession, p. 76, The Book of Common Prayer).
 
With humility, I ask our Church to turn to the Creator seeking guidance and steadfastness of will in our efforts to help heal the spiritual wounds we inflicted. Let us commit ourselves to learning how traditional Indigenous practices contribute to healing and to honour them…
 
…I offer this apology in the name of Jesus Christ, the great Pain Bearer and Peace Maker. I have hope that through Him, we will be able to walk together in newness of life.[1]
 
Far more must be said, and done… but I deeply appreciate Archbishop Hiltz’ call for us to repent of our prejudice, and arrogance, and jealousy, and to seek new ways to walk humbly alongside our Indigenous neighbours… our brothers and sisters… towards the peace of God.
 
But to do so, we must learn to let go… to trust that the Living God is not bound by our expectations and practices… to recognize that God’s Spirit is at work in the world in ways we can hardly imagine… to hold firmly onto the Good News of Jesus Christ, while holding onto our own traditions and practices a bit more lightly… remembering that the God we serve is the Creator all that is, and not just our little circle.
 
Turning back to our Gospel reading, what is our Lord’s response to John, His jealous disciple? Essentially: ‘Don’t stop those other people from serving in My name. Trust Me to handle them, and to be at work in and through them.’
 
Of course, we know there are those who are actively acting against the Gospel… those who are fiercely opposed to God’s ways in the world. But there are also many who are serving Him faithfully, but perhaps in ways that make us uncomfortable. The question for us today is: Can we trust God to know what to do with us all?
 
I mean, it’s not like we’re all the perfect models of faithfulness ourselves. We’ve got many things wrong. And yet, God has not given up on us, but longs to work through us to share the Good News with our world.
 
Jesus reminds us that those who are not “one of us” might still be an important part of God’s family, and faithfully serving God’s good Kingdom work in the world. And so, we dare not cause them to stumble by shutting them down, but instead, we can always pray for them, and seek to share God’s holy love with them as best we can.
 
Jesus reminds us to take drastic steps not to give ourselves over to sin… including the sins of prejudice, divisiveness, arrogance, and pride. Pluck out our own eye, He tells us. Cut off our own hand or foot… do whatever we must to make sure that we ourselves are living in line with the living God. And trust God to take care of everyone else.
​
After all, we belong together in God’s Kingdom. We are not simply solo disciples, or even small self-contained communities. We are part of the one worldwide Church, the body of Christ, brothers and sisters bound together through Jesus: His life, and all that He has done for us all.
 
And so, as St. James reminds us, we are to pray for one another. We are to confess our sins, and seek forgiveness and healing together in Jesus’ name. And yes, in humility and love, we are to seek to keep each other on the right path. But the point is never simply to insist on “our own way”, but to help each other learn again and again how to stay true to God’s way… which has been made known to us most clearly in the self-giving love of Jesus Christ at the cross… who allowed His own life to be cut off, to bring forgiveness and newness of life to a world full of sinners like us.
 
So may the Holy Spirit of God guard our hearts and minds from all prejudice and pride. May He bind us in faith to Jesus Christ, the Risen Saviour of the world. And may our lives make known the Father’s reconciling love in all we do. Amen.


[1] Archbishop Fred Hiltz, An Apology for Spiritual Harm. Address to General Synod, July 12, 2019. https://www.anglican.ca/news/an-apology-for-spiritual-harm/30024511/

This week our communities and country will commemorate the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Here is a message to help us prepare for this solemn day from our National Indigenous Archbishop Chris Harper. 

​And our Songs for this week can be found here:

Scripture Readings: Jeremiah 11:18–20 | Psalm 54 | James 3:13–4:3, 4:7–8 | Mark 9:30–37

“Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” (Mark 9:35).
 
These words are such a contrast to how our world operates. All around us, people are competing to be noticed… to be seen as important. Searching for honour and status by building themselves up… amassing wealth… or influence… or power.
 
Just this past week here in New Brunswick election signs have started to sprout up everywhere. And in Ottawa, our Members of Parliament argue about who has the best plan for our country, while eagerly tearing each other down. Meanwhile, our neighbours to the South are in the midst of a seemingly unending fight for the Whitehouse… and this spirit of competition and mistrust seems to be permeating every level of society.
 
Everyone wants to be on the winning side. Everyone wants to advance… to be elevated. Everyone wants a taste of greatness… and a share of the glory.
 
And into this mess, Jesus says, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.”
 
The Good News of Jesus has much to offer our world today… a world obsessed with greatness… and it has much to says to His Church as well… to His people… who can be just as caught up and confused about what true greatness is as everyone else.
 
Sometimes this confusion shows up when we just go along with the impulse to build ourselves up… to strive to make ourselves and our communities seem impressive, influential, and important to those around us. But sometimes it shows up when we start to doubt our value… when we give into discouragement because our dreams for the future didn’t come true, and we feel sidelined and insignificant.
 
I mean, after all, in a world so fixated on success and greatness, what kind of difference could we make anyway? What good could our little church, in our little neighbourhood, and our little lives really do, right?
 
Our reading today from the Gospel of Mark reminds us that God offers the world a very different way to understand greatness… and call us to keep on striving for what matters most.
 
Our passage begins with Jesus trying for a second time to teach His disciples the true nature of His mission: that He had not come to conquer the Roman armies, or establish an earthly centre of power… but to suffer… to be rejected, and betrayed, and brutally executed… but rise again on the third day. This was how God’s great and glorious Kingdom would finally come about.
 
But, as it turns out, the disciples were still not getting it… confused, and afraid to ask Jesus to explain what He meant, they were still caught up in pursuing their own visions of God’s Kingdom… visions that included their own glory and honour… their own sense of greatness.
 
We can see the same self-centeredness being addressed in our second reading today, from the book of James… highlighting the source of all sorts of conflicts at work in every human community.

James 4:1-3, “Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures.”
 
St. James is calling out Christians who were still just serving their own desires… whose lives were simply reflecting the deeply selfish values of the world and its visions of glory and greatness.
 
And he contrasts this with a vision of true greatness… and Godly glory… God’s light and wisdom at work in our daily lives, which looks very different.
 
James 3:16-18, “For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.”

One of these ways reflects our natural, self-seeking habits. The other reflects the Spirit-led life of God at work in and through people transformed by His love. People who have put our faith not in our own status or understanding, or abilities, but in the rescuing grace of God offered to us all in Jesus Christ.
 
It can be so easy, even for us Christians, to get caught up in a self-centered sense of greatness… to just build our lives around achieving our own goals, and serving our own desires… or when we despair and give up when we seem to not be as successful as those around us.
 
In the face of this temptation, which can show up in both big and subtle ways everyday, we must ask ourselves: Will we choose to keep seeking our own desires, our own glory, or God’s good Kingdom? Will we trust in our own sense of greatness, or entrust ourselves to the greatness of our Lord?
 
St. James’ spells out how to make this choice. James 4:7-8,
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (James 4:7-8).
 
As long as we’re serving ourselves… as long as our lives revolve around getting what we want… achieving our goals… building up our own sense of greatness, we’re missing out. But if we turn to the Lord, and turn over our hearts and minds and lives to Him… resisting the temptations of the evil one, and instead drawing near to the Living God in faith… then we can begin to experience something wonderful… and liberating… and new.
 
We can discover that we are here to share in something that is so much bigger than ourselves. We are invited to belong to an eternal fellowship… a family of sisters and brothers, where we don’t have to compete, or fight for attention or status… but where we all are welcome, and wanted… and where we all have been given a role to play together in God’s good Kingdom.  
 
Jesus shows us that true greatness is not found in building ourselves up… but through giving ourselves away in love.
 
Back in Mark Chapter 9, Jesus calls His bickering disciples to explain what they were arguing about on the way to Capernaum.
 
Mark 9:34-37, “But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, ‘Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.’ Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.’”
 
Whoever welcomes a child in Jesus’ name, welcomes Jesus as well as His heavenly Father. What does welcoming a child have to do with the disciples’ argument on the road about greatness?
 
Notice that Jesus is not telling them to become like a little child here. He does that elsewhere. No, He’s making the point that even a little child… a member of society with zero status or influence or power, can act as an effective messenger of the Gospel, and servant of the Kingdom of God.

The Anglican Bishop and scholar, N.T. Wright puts it well, saying of the disciples that, “They were each hoping, it seems, to become Jesus’ official spokesman. Jesus would be king; the question was, who would be Chief of Staff, head of the royal household? Who would speak for Jesus? Who would be his ambassador, welcomed with the honour due to Jesus himself? Answer: anyone at all, and the humbler the better. An insignificant, unnamed child can become Jesus’ official representative, so that receiving him or her means receiving Jesus. Furthermore… by receiving Jesus, not least in the person of an insignificant child, people will receive ‘the one who sent him’”.[1]
 
In other words, there’s no point in fighting over positions of honour and status in God’s Kingdom… God doesn’t operate the way our world does… rewarding those who fight their way to the top, while leaving everyone else in the dust. It’s not a matter of ambition or ability that makes an effective disciple of Jesus… even the lowliest, least capable people can be used by God to share His love with those around them… faithfully offering to others what they have received.  

“Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.”
 
While the disciples were busy bickering over who was going to be the greatest, Jesus made clear that the message itself is far more important than the status of the messenger! The Gospel is not a tool to use to build ourselves up, it is the Good News of God’s great love for our messed-up world… and what He has done to rescue and raise it up again. And God loves to work through even the most humble people to share this Good News with everyone.
 
The Living God, the Creator of all that exists isn’t limited by our limitations. Nor is He impressed by our world’s ideas of greatness. Time and again, He uses humble messengers… everyday people to serve His glorious purposes. Instead of playing favorites, God wants to work through us all.
 
So we don’t need to worry about being seen as great by others to be of great use in God’s Kingdom. If we want to be great in God’s eyes… to reflect the values of His Kingdom… and share in His own glory and honour… it means laying aside our selfish ambitions, and learning to serve others like He does: in self-giving love.
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We know that Jesus our Saviour King did not seek His own glory, but rather, He humbled Himself… submitting to the will of His Father in Heaven… and giving His life at the cross to atone for the sins of the whole world. 
 
Our Lord was beaten, ridiculed, and publicly put to death. But what seemed to be the worst failure and defeat, was turned into God’s glorious victory over sin and the power of death when Jesus Christ rose again from the grave.
 
And the same Spirit that was at work in Him can empower you and I today to take part in the work of His Kingdom… putting His holy love into practice, and helping those around us hear and see the Good News at work in our own lives, so that they can share in it too.
 
So let’s not get distracted by worrying about trying to make ourselves look great in the world’s eyes… or even in our own eyes. And let’s not give into self-conscious concerns about not being important or powerful enough to be able to make a difference for God in the world.

Instead, let’s heed the words of St. James, and keep on drawing near in faith to Jesus, our great Saviour King, so that all we say and do starts to reflect His glorious life and light, and rescuing love… trusting Him to take care of the rest. Amen.


[1] N. T. Wright, Twelve Months of Sundays: Reflections on Bible Readings, Year B (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2002), 107.

And our Songs for this week can be found here:

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 50:4–9 | Psalm 116:1–9 | James 3:1–12 | Mark 8:27–38

​“…How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire…” (James 3:5-6).
 
Words are powerful.
 
Like fire, words can be a source of great hope, and comfort, and strength, and light… but they can also wreak havoc… causing all sorts of chaos and destruction.
 
Words can be used to create… to bring about beauty and order, and understanding… opening up new possibilities to explore, and expanding our imaginations. And words can be used as weapons… tools to tear down others… to dehumanize our neighbours… and spread deception instead of drawing us towards the truth.  
 
Words shape how we see our world… and how we see ourselves as well… wielding great influence over what we believe, and over what we do.
 
How many of us can remember a time when someone important to us lifted us up with their words? Offering just the right words of encouragement, wisdom, or even correction when it was needed the most? Or what about those poems or songs that pierce our hearts, and open our eyes to a whole new perspective?
 
On the other hand, how many of us can recall those times when someone’s words knocked us back? When instead of helping us find our way, we felt attacked, humiliated, or lost?  And looking around our world today, at all the viciousness, all the fear and hatred being thrown about… and all the division and destruction that these words fuel… we can see why St. James warns that the human tongue… our words are a dangerous force:
 
“How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire!” he says, “And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell.” (James 3:5-6).
 
‘Talk is cheap’, some say. ‘Actions speak louder than words’… maybe. But there is no denying the fact that words can be incredibly powerful. And so, what we say really does matter… especially when what we’re talking about really matters.

In our reading today from the Gospel of St. Mark, we heard about a pretty tense moment between our Lord Jesus Christ, and St. Peter, one of His closest followers. In a way, this exchange is sort of a war of words… a conflict over the meaning of who Jesus is, and what He had come to accomplish.
 
It started when Jesus asked His disciples what might seem like a pretty simple question: “Who do people say that I am?” (Mark 8:27). I mean, the obvious answer would be: Jesus of Nazareth, right?
 
So what is He getting at? What does this question mean?
Well, it’s essentially a question of purpose… of reflecting on how the crowds understood His significance.
 
Jesus had been travelling all around Judaea and Galilee, healing and teaching, performing wonderous signs, and exorcising demons… and people had noticed. They had formed their own ideas about Jesus, and what He was up to… ideas that may or may not be true. And so Jesus asks His students to tell Him what they have heard the people saying about Him. “Who do people say that I am?”

And for what it’s worth, the crowds seem to have a fairly positive impression of Jesus… identifying Him with people like John the Baptist, or the prophets of old… imagining Jesus as one of the many messengers sent from God over the centuries. Important, and powerful, but not necessarily unique or different from those who had come before Him.
 
Then Jesus turns to His disciples… those who had followed Him closely, and shared in His ministry… and He asks them: “‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered him, ‘You are the Messiah.’” (Mark 8:29). The Christ. God’s anointed One.
 
Not simply one messenger among many… but the One promised long ago who would bring freedom and salvation to God’s people. The One who would fulfill the promises of Yahweh to Israel, and finally bring about God’s good Kingdom. This is who Peter says Jesus is.
 
And we might expect Jesus to respond: ‘Well done Peter! You figured it out, now go and tell everyone else…’
But instead St. Mark tells us that Jesus “sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.” (Mark 8:30).
 
Why would He do this? I mean, isn’t the whole point of St. Mark’s Gospel story that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, God’s Son? Why on earth would Jesus sternly order His disciples to keep the truth about Him quiet?
 
I don’t presume to know the whole mind of our Lord, but I think one reason He did this is that the word “Messiah”, while true, and powerful, was also powerfully misunderstood. People knew the word “Messiah”… but they did not necessarily know the depths of what it meant… they had all sorts of ideas and expectations wrapped up with this word… ideas and expectations that as it turns out, were not based in reality.
 
Many imagined the Messiah would come at the head of a might army, ushering in God’s justice and judgment on the Gentile nations oppressing His covenant people. And with this popular vision in mind, some took up arms themselves, and used violence to try and prepare the way for the Messiah… serving him by slaying their enemies.

Others imagined the best way to prepare for the Messiah was to cut themselves off from the world… to avoid all of those unholy people around them, and strive to keep themselves pure. And yet others sought to reform their fellow Israelites, teaching them to strictly observe the Laws of the Covenant… as well as the traditions of the elders… so that they would be rewarded for their obedience, and remain securely on God’s side in the Messiah’s Kingdom.
 
Jesus knew that these ideas and expectations… these words that were shared among the people were powerful. Many had built their lives and the lives of their loved ones around these visions of what the Messiah was going to do. The word, if it got out, could spread like wildfire… but because so many people were confused about what God’s Messiah was really about… what He was really going to do… if the word got out too soon that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, there could be all kinds of unnecessary confusion and chaos… and instead of bringing the hope and comfort, and strength and light of God’s Kingdom, so many people would miss the whole point… the meaning behind His mission.

And so, it’s at this moment that Jesus does something new and unexpected… turning a corner no one saw coming: “Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly.” (Mark 8:31-32).
 
Jesus confronts head on all of the ideas and expectations the people and His own followers had about the Messiah… about what God’s Chosen One had come to accomplish. He tips His hand and reveals to them that His path lead to betrayal, suffering and death. And only then would He be raised and glorified. Jesus knew this would be the culmination of the whole story of God’s salvation in the Holy Scriptures, and turning point in the entire story of humanity. He knew that to save the world, God’s beloved Son would have to lay down His own life to rescue His enemies… to offer them God’s forgiveness, freedom, and new life once and for all.
 
But there was one problem: Peter could not handle it. There was no place in his imagination for a humiliated and suffering Messiah. God’s Chosen One was supposed to reign in glory, and overthrow His enemies… not willingly experience a shameful and agonizing defeat.
 
And so, Peter does the most logical thing: he tries to change his Master’s mind. He takes Jesus aside, and quietly rebukes Him… trying to guide Him… to encourage Him… to help Him see that there must be another way forward.
 
Peter tries to tell Jesus what it means to be God’s Messiah… and as we heard, it doesn’t go well.
 
 Jesus responds to the words of Peter with a rebuke of His own: “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” (Mark 8:33). Jesus connects Peter, one of His closest followers, with the forces of darkness… with the deceptive enemy, who’s eager to offer enticing temptations to turn our backs on God and His ways.
 
These are harsh words, to be sure. But they are words not intended to simply tear Peter down, or fill him with shame… but to shed much needed light! To powerfully drive home the danger of what was really going on here.
Even though Peter may have thought he was helping Jesus, in reality Peter was trying to convince Christ to abandon His mission… to set aside His Father’s will, and save Himself instead… a temptation that could have been disastrous for the whole world, had Jesus given in to it. Despite Peter’s conscious or unconscious intentions, Jesus can see the evil one at work in the words of even his dear friend… a fire set alight by hell… and so our Lord publicly and powerfully rejects Peter’s vision of the self-seeking Messiah.
 
How often do we Christians today follow in St. Peter’s footsteps? Offering words that seem wise, but actually lead away from the Good News that we have been entrusted to share? How often do we see Christ’s name co-opted by those who wreak havoc in our world? Spreading hate, prejudice, greed, and all sorts of other destructive forces?
 
How often do we hear people who claim to be disciples of Jesus tearing down those around them, and using their words to seek influence, and to keep themselves feeling safe and secure?
 
Jesus had harsh words for St. Peter that day long ago. And sometimes I wonder what harsh words our Lord Jesus might have for us, His people today.
 
But the Good News is, that even when His words are harsh, they are always words that flow from His gracious love… words of rebuke, not to crush or condemn, but to turn us back to the right path, and to the light. Unlike the evil one, Jesus is not our accuser… but our advocate… the One who truly has our back! Offering us another way… opening up our imaginations to God’s way, and inviting us all to share in it.
 
And so, after He says a firm ‘no!’ to Peter’s idea of the Messiah, Jesus shows us how we can all say ‘yes!’ to Him, and share in what He is up to:
 
“He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:34-38).
 
The Messiah came to give His life as a gift of love… to reconcile our broken world to God. He came to bring God’s life, and hope, and grace, and love to those who are lost. To set the prisoners free. To welcome the outcasts. To lift up the broken hearted. To forgive sinners.
 
But in order to accomplish all this, He had to deny Himself… deny His impulse to save Himself, and take up HIs cross… and lose His life… trusting the Father to raise Him up again. Jesus lived out these words… faithfully holding true to His Father’s love, and dying to save the world He spoke into existence from the destruction we keep on bringing on ourselves.
 
And then He rose again, overthrowing death itself, and blowing apart all of our ideas and expectations of what is possible… and inviting us to face our own suffering with an unshakable hope… the hope that even if we lose everything… the same saving love that raised Jesus from the dead will raise us up too. 
 
The word of the Gospel… the Good News of Jesus, the Risen Lord is powerful. It changes lives when we believe in Jesus, and what He has done for us all at the cross.
 
Which is why it is always important for us to remain attentive to this word and to what it means! To do all we can to understand the significance of our Messiah and His mission of saving love.
 
Peter knew Jesus better than the crowds did… he was right about His identity, but not about His purpose and goal. And we know that many Christians know things about Jesus… but seem to miss the big picture… why He came, and what He is calling us to do too.
 
But thankfully in time, Peter’s own life would be transformed by the Good News… he would come to know the fullness of God’s forgiveness and redemption through the suffering, death, and resurrection of the Messiah.
​
And we can too! It doesn’t matter if we’ve been following Jesus for a whole lifetime, or are just at the start of our journey with Him, we can all learn more about Him. We can all draw near with faith, and humility, and curiosity, to listen to His word… striving to better understand what He has done, and what He is still doing in our world.
 
We can do this in many ways, including intentional study… both alone and alongside others… learning together… teaching each other… guiding and correcting and encouraging one another as God’s Holy Spirit brings Christ’s words to life in our midst.
 
Words are powerful. And we know that our world needs to hear the words of hope and light and life that the Good News of Jesus gives. And so, may we draw near to Jesus, God’s word made flesh, and spend our lives listening to Him, so that we all can share the hope, and comfort, and strength, and light that He is with the world. Amen.

​Our service of Morning Prayer, Bulletin, and Sermon this week can be found here:

​And our Songs for this week can be found here:

Scripture Readings: Isaiah 35:4–7 | Psalm 146 | James 2:1–17 | Mark 7:24–37

“Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him?” (James 2:5).
 
Have you ever been chosen last for something?
If you have, you’re certainly not alone.
 
As a somewhat timid and uncoordinated child, I can remember many a recess starting off by being among the very last to be chosen for a team. And then there were all those middle-school dances, when it seemed like everyone else was asked to dance, and I would be among those who were passed over… trying to hide the painful feelings that come with all rejection.
 
Thankfully, in the context of my whole story so far, these memories are actually pretty mild. They weren’t pleasant in the moment… but in the grand scheme of things, these were just normal instances of disappointment… something that everyone must face from time to time… and wholly unlike the ongoing damage and destruction caused by true partiality and outright favoritism.

Partiality… favoring one person or group over another, is an incredibly common practice… but it’s one which is also at the root of so many problems our society struggles with today, such as racism, sexism, the marginalization of the poor, the elderly, and those unable to advocate for themselves. So much oppression and suffering has been caused by human beings choosing to turn their backs on their neighbours. In many ways, partiality is the complete opposite of the kind of love God longs for us to share in.
 
This is why, as we heard in our second Scripture reading this morning, St. James speaks against it so forcefully, seeing it as a real threat to the integrity and vitality of the Christian Church, and as an assault on the Good News of Jesus Christ itself.
 
James 2:1, “My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?” He goes on to describe how the rich and the poor among them are being treated so differently… as if those with worldly goods were somehow more worthy of honour and acceptance in the eyes of God.
 
St. James goes on to remind his listeners that Christ has shown us another way of life… one that doesn’t simply follow the world’s patterns, but that is shaped by God’s gracious love.
 
James 2:8-9, “You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.”
 
According to St. James, partiality is opposed to the love of God that we have come to know in Christ Jesus… the love that calls us to extend God’s compassion, comfort, and care to everyone.
 
But how does this all fit with those parts of the Scriptures that seem to suggest that God Himself plays favorites? If partiality is opposed to God’s love, than how are we to understand the role of Israel as “God’s Chosen people”? Or even more puzzling, how Jesus our Lord responds to the pleas of the Syrophoenician mother in our Gospel reading this morning? Is God actually showing partiality? Or is something else going on?

 Before we dig into this important question, I just want to make an important point: When we as Christians ask these kinds of questions, the posture of our hearts really matters! We can ask them in faith… seeking to grow in our understanding… humbly acknowledging the limits of our own insights, but still desiring to learn more about our Lord, and how to walk in His ways. Or we can ask them assuming that we can somehow pass judgment on our Creator… trusting that we are the ones who can rightly assess what is best, and that God must measure up to our standards.
 
One of these ways leads to wisdom. The other way leads to pride and foolishness. The Living God is not answerable to us. Nor does He ever need to defend Himself before mere mortals like you and I. And yet, in the Scriptures He shows us, again and again, that He wants us to know more about Him… to wrestle with deep questions about His character, and come out the other side with confidence in His goodness, His justice, His compassion, and His great love for our world.
 
And so, even though our Scripture readings today leave us with some challenging questions, they are there for our own good… inviting us to draw near to God in faith, to search Him closely for a deeper understanding of our Lord, and to learn how we His people today can faithfully walk in His ways.
 
Our Gospel reading today is from nearly halfway through the Gospel of St. Mark: the story of Jesus, the Christ… Israel’s Messiah, the Chosen anointed One… the Son of God. And throughout the first half of St. Mark’s Gospel, we can see Jesus engaged in a clear struggle… a campaign against the forces of darkness, the spiritual evil at work in our world, that has brought pain and oppression to so many, for so long.
 
He heals the sick. He casts out demons. He gathers disciples to share the Good News of God’s Kingdom at work in Him. He travels from town to town, changing lives as He goes… never settling down for too long. He forgives sins. He teaches in parables. He confronts religious hypocrites. To the amazement of His disciples, Jesus performs miracles that reveal God’s power at work in Him, like calming the waves of the storm, feeding thousands with a few fish and loaves of bread… and even raising the dead.
 
All of these acts were a part of His ministry… His mission… being sent from His Father to His people Israel… to the descendants of Abraham and Sarah, whom God had chosen long ago to be a people set apart to share in His holy life up close and personal… blessed in order to be a blessing… so that all the families of the world might be blessed through them.  
 
In short, Jesus was not simply wandering about the ancient world doing random acts of kindness. Jesus was at work bringing God’s Kingdom into the world, as Israel’s prophets like Isaiah had promised long ago.
 
Listen again to the words of Isaiah Chapter 35 which we heard read this morning. It is promises like these that Jesus was pouring all of His efforts into fulfilling. Isaiah 35:4-6,
 
“Say to those who are of a fearful heart,
‘Be strong, do not fear!
Here is your God.
He will come with vengeance,
with terrible recompense.
He will come and save you.’
 
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then the lame shall leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert;”
 
Despite the very sketchy devotion of Abraham and Sarah’s descendants spoken of all throughout the Scriptures, Yahweh, the Living God, would not go back on His promises to them. He would not forsake His people, even when they kept rejecting Him. And so, God sent His Son to save His covenant people, and turn their hearts back to Him.
 
But here in Mark Chapter 7, Jesus is approached by someone outside of Abraham and Sarah’s family… a Syrophoenician woman… a Gentile mother, desperately seeking aid for her daughter.
“Gentile” is one of those words we might hear in Church, understand it’s basic meaning, and forget it’s deeper significance for the bigger story that’s being told. In a basic sense, it means someone who was not Jewish. A member of “the nations”, in a vague, general sense. A Gentile was simply not ‘one of us’… they were ‘one of those other people, out there somewhere… doing who knows what.’ For most Israelites in Jesus’ day, Gentiles were the people out there in the darkness… while God’s people on the other hand, were the ones living in the light.
 
It's all a pretty common way that we humans keep organizing the world, even today: ‘Us vs. Them’.
 
Who are we tempted to see as ‘those other people’ today?
The people we’d rather not have around? The people we dismiss as backward, or ignorant, or downright evil?
 
Who are we willing to pass over, and who do we easily show partiality to, without even thinking about it? Uncomfortable questions we need to ask ourselves from time to time, and which this passage calls us to ponder.
 
Back in Mark Chapter 7, this desperate mother comes to Jesus and pleads with Him to do what? To do for her daughter what Jesus had already been doing for so many others: to set her free from the forces of spiritual darkness that were oppressing her. To cast out the demonic powers opposed to God’s Kingdom, that were making her life into hell.
 
Would Jesus help her? Or would He turn her away? If He came to bring God’s Kingdom into the world, was it only for a chosen few to enjoy, or for all? Was the saving love of God only for Israel, or was there room for ‘those other people’ as well? These are the questions that this passage calls us to ask, and wrestle with too.
 
Not just in these pages from the distant past, but in our own context. In our lives. With our own prejudices and partiality on the line. Imagine ‘them’ in this woman’s place. How would we want Jesus to respond to ‘their’ desperate pleas for His help?
 
However we may have wanted Him to respond, this is what Jesus actually says:
“Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” (Mark 7:27).
 
Notice… He doesn’t say no.
What He says is challenging… but He doesn’t say no!
 
He says “Let the children be fed first…”
He has a responsibility… a mission to fulfill. He has come to bring the Kingdom of God to light in the midst of Israel, and His focus needs to remain on accomplishing this work. But He doesn’t say no.
 
He says “it is not fair to take the children’s food”… it’s not right to divert His energies and efforts that are intended to nourish the faith of those who are set aside as God’s own people… “and throw it to the dogs”, that is, to take something precious and treat it like garbage… left to be swallowed up by those who will eat anything… those who can’t see the true significance of what is being offered.
 
And yet… Jesus doesn’t say no to her. He doesn’t refuse to help. He makes plain the barriers already between them… but He doesn’t say no.

And she doesn’t give up. This desperate Gentile mother persists. She says in reply, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” (Mark 7:28). Sure, the dogs might not fully appreciate or understand the meal being offered… but neither do the children… and is it not right for the dogs to be nourished by what the children themselves treat carelessly?
 
This woman was not attempting to overthrow Jesus’ priorities, or get in the way of His mission… but she believed Him to be the best hope for her suffering daughter. She believed that Jesus had the power to rescue her child… and she believed in His willingness to do so… to offer compassion and mercy in her hour of need.
 
And she was right to believe all this, because when Jesus sees her faith, He sets her daughter free from the spirits that troubled her.
 
Why does St. Mark include this story in his Gospel account? What does he want us to see in this encounter between Israel’s Messiah and this desperate Gentile mother?

I won’t pretend to know everything it has to teach us, but I think part of its message for us today is that God doesn’t play favorites, but in His compassion and mercy He makes room for all who will draw near in faith… even those we tend to overlook or dismiss as insignificant.
 
This passage takes place at a crucial moment in the bigger story that St. Mark is trying to tell: the story of how Jesus, the Christ, Israel’s Messiah, the Chosen One… the Son of God was being sent to offer His life to His own chosen people… but most of them would end up throwing this precious gift away… rejecting Him like crumbs swept off from the table.
 
In short order, St. Mark will make plain that Jesus knew exactly where His mission would lead Him. Mark 8:31, “Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.”
 
He knew that in order to fulfill the work the Father had sent Him to do… in order to save Israel, and bring about God’s Good Kingdom in their midst, He would have to die… to be betrayed by His own, and crucified as an outcast. Rejected completely. His body broken, and blood poured out at the cross. Jesus knew exactly how painful in mind and body and spirit all of this rejection would be… but He didn’t say no.
 
He didn’t say no, because He also knew that this is exactly how God would share His saving love, not just Israel, but with the world!
 
From the start, Jesus’ mission was much wider in scope than even His closest followers imagined. Though His focus was on reaching God’s chosen people, it was not out of favouritism, or partiality, but as the way God’s salvation could break through every barrier that we humans keep setting up between ourselves… working through one family in order to bless every family… every people and nation. 
 
God’s Son gave His life to the world through the rejection He faced from His own chosen people at the cross, so that God’s compassion, mercy, and saving love might be shown to all… Jew and Gentile… without distinction.

Jesus’ encounter with the Gentile mother in Mark Chapter 7 is then an early glimpse of what He was doing all along: first going to ‘the children’ of Israel, so that God’s saving love could be shared with all the nations. But by her persistent faith, this mother gave Jesus a chance to reveal His compassion and saving love ahead of time. Unlike His own people who would miss all the clues, she could see what He was really about: bringing God’s saving power and light into our darkened world. And in telling her story twenty centuries later, we are reminded that the Living God Christ reveals to us does not play favorites, but reveals His saving love to all who trust in Him.
 
But even more than that, this story calls for a response… challenging us all to reexamine our own assumptions about the limits of God’s compassion and care, and how we are to take part in sharing it. Who are we more likely to show partiality to, and who do we tend to ignore? How might God’s compassion and love set us free from these traps, so that we can truly love our neighbours?
 
Or maybe we needed to be reminded that even when we feel like an outsider… rejected or insignificant, Jesus invites us to draw near to Him in faith, and trust in His mercy and love for us as well. Maybe we need to be reminded not to give up on His mercy and rescuing love.
 
However the Spirit of God may be at work in our hearts this morning, may we all find fresh comfort and hope in the Good News that Jesus Christ God’s Son came to save not just some… but to give His life to save everyone and anyone who will trust in His love. Amen.

​And our Songs for this week can be found here: