One of Us - Sermon for the Nineteenth Sunday After Pentecost (September 29, 2024)

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.
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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/