Only the People of God can end Hate and Violence

“What is it you want me to do for you” is a question Jesus often asks those who approach him seeking something. Two examples appear in the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 10:35-52. First James and John, the sons of Zebedee want to “sit on his right hand and his left hand when he comes into his glory.” A short time later, “blind Bartimaeus” asks to receive his sight. Both requests reflect blindness: Bartimaeus cannot see the beauty of this world and wants to; James and John cannot see the truth and beauty and danger of Jesus’ mission in the world and their place in that mission.

We who are God’s people, like the “Sons of Thunder,” are often blind to our part in the mission and ministry of Jesus Christ. We forget about the cup of suffering that Jesus ‘drank’ and the baptism of torture and death that he suffered as he stood up to injustice in his mission to bring God’s Kingdom to Earth just as it exists in heaven. Many of us also forget, or choose to ignore Jesus’ call to us to share in his Baptism and drink of his cup. Who can blame us? As I read the Gospels, the idea of being ridiculed, losing jobs, hated and possibly even executed for proclaiming God’s good news to all people, for loving our neighbor as ourselves, and for welcoming the stranger, do not inspire one to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

Two weeks ago I baptized Howard King, a smiling, trusting seven month old. In my sermon I told Howard, and all who were gathered, that only we as God’s children can do away with the hate and violence in our nation and the world. Even though during this week we have seen the murder of two black people at a Walmart in Kentucky, thirteen pipe bombs sent to former government officials and people of wealth and power in our country, and the murder of eleven of God’s Children during worship in a synagogue in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, I stand by my comments to Howard and his friends.

Today, I challenge all of us to avoid casting blame, to look at ourselves rather than others and focus on how we can, through our faith and our actions, our politics and our speech, do what I assured Howard only we can do. As we look at people, problems and politics through the eyes of our faith we will not all see the same scenarios or arrive at the same solutions to the problems and situations of our world today. How then do we proceed? I believe we proceed as Jesus would, with questions first rather than answers. Who do we hate? Why do we hate them? What do we do to make it easy for people to hate us? Finally, can we give our anger and hate over to God?

Some possibilities from my reflections, I know you will find your own as well: When posting on social media, fact check before you post. Better yet, don’t post, rather, talk with your friends and family members who see things differently or believe things differently than you, and really listen to them. Do not consider your political opponents “mobs” or “racists” or “deplorable” or things I cannot even write in the newspaper. We all know people like that exist, but we do not have to be them. Finally work your heart out for the politicians who reflect your beliefs, and rest assured I will do them same.

Most importantly, know that Jesus is Lord, not Caesar! I am pretty sure that Jesus would be turning over some tables in our country today, including some of mine.

And pray, and pray and pray!

O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Human Family: Book of Common Prayer, page 815)

A Life Well Lived

Two weeks ago I lost a friend and mentor, the Reverend Bob Gilbert. His death was not unexpected, he was eighty-eight years old and had been ill for some time, but his loss, just as his life had a profound effect on me. I first met Bob in Tellico Plains, Tennessee when I was nineteen years old and working for the U.S. Forest Service. I was young, Methodist, and learning the business of Forestry and Bob was the Methodist Minister of a rural “three-point Circuit. Bob and his wife, Dot, had three sons just younger than I, and after church on my first Sunday in town they invited me to lunch and I soon became their “fourth son.”

We stayed in touch over the years, and when Lynn and I married, the four of us continued our friendship, including a memorable trip by Bob and Dot to our New Orleans home when Bob’s beloved University of Tennessee Volunteers played in the Sugar Bowl. I will never forget crossing Bourbon Street as we showed the Gilberts around our city, and a member of Bob’s congregation shouted out, “hey Brother Bob, how you doing!”

Bob was small in stature, standing about 5’9” tall, but large in faith and courage. As one of his sons said at his funeral, “you would not be around dad long before you heard about Jesus: about His love and sacrifice and about how much Bob wanted you to know Jesus like he did.” I am convinced that I would not have become an Episcopal Priest had it not been for Bob’s love of me and the example of faith and strength and courage he gave to me and all those around him.

Brother Bob preached for over fifty years, but his faith was action as well as words. He believed that all people are children of God and God made no distinction between “Red and Yellow, Black and White.” This was not a popular belief in East Tennessee in 1967.  Not only would Bob tell everyone about Jesus, he was not bashful about telling people and showing people what Jesus would do. He was invited by members of the local Ku Klux Klan to lead a devotional at one of their secret meetings. Bob was met at the designated location, blindfolded and taken up the mountain, off the paved road and into the woods. The blindfold was removed and he found himself surrounded by Klansmen in white robes and masks, a burning cross in the center of the circle.

After Bob was introduced he began to tell Jesus’ familiar story of the “Good Samaritan.” Except: the robbed and wounded man in the ditch was a black man traveling from Knoxville to Chattanooga. “As the Methodist preacher and Baptist pastor drove by on the other side, the Klansmen cheered.” And then: “the third car stopped and out stepped a Klansman, robed and headed to this very rally. He took the man to the nearest hospital.” The crowd booed and hissed and cursed. Finally Bob shouted, “Quiet! Do not interrupt the word of God when it is being preached!” Brother Bob finished the story, was blindfolded, the fire put out and everyone left, without him. He made it to the dirt road, up the hill to the paved road and a hundred yards down the road a member of his church picked him up and took him back to his car.

Last Sunday I baptized a seven month old child, Howard Dewese King. My Prayer for Howard and for you and me was and is: “that we will have the courage, the faith, the sense of humor and the abundant life that Brother Bob had.”

“For we are buried with Christ in his death so that we may live in the power of his resurrection.”

We Want To Be First

Jesus and his disciples continue their journey. As they are heading to Capernaum (Mark 9: 30-37) Jesus again teaches them about his future: “the Son of Man will be betrayed into human hands. They will kill him and three days later, he will rise again.” Scripture tells us that “they did not understand, and they were afraid to ask.” I am pretty sure I would have reacted as they did.

Once they arrive at the house in Capernaum, Jesus asks them what they had been talking about on the road. They are silent because they had been arguing about who was to be the greatest. He then explains to them that if they want to be the greatest, if they want to be first, then they must be last of all and servant of all: To use their gifts and talents and privilege to serve others.

The call to be last of all applies firstly to those aspects of our lives where we hold some privilege or have some skills and abilities. Our privilege may be financial privilege, racial privilege, education privilege, gender privilege or unique skills or talents. Being last or servant does not imply that we are to be doormats, or that we are to be quiet in the face of oppression: not at all. It is a call for us to use our privilege and our abilities to serve those who do not have them. As I read this week in Sojourners Magazine, “we are only last in those places where we are first, and only servants where we have the ability to lead.”

What does this look like in real life? I share two examples to get you started thinking. First, Bill Gates, Founder and former CEO of Microsoft Corporation and his wife Melinda started the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which is worth $50.7 Billion Dollars. They use their money and their gifts and their blessings to fight disease, poverty and poor education around the world.

Second, The Very Reverend Tracey Lind, former Dean of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Cleveland, Ohio. She was Dean of the Cathedral for seventeen years, as it grew to over 1000 members and devoted many of its resources to the benefit of the citizens of the city. She also has a Masters Degree in Urban Planning and volunteered with organizations that served the city in that capacity as well. In 2016 at a Baseball Game she went to the ladies room, looked in the mirror and did not recognize the person looking back at her. In November of that year she was diagnosed with Frontotemporal Lobe Degeneration (FTD). Her life and that of her spouse, Emily Ingalls, changed dramatically. After her early retirement, she and Emily spent time in Paris, France with a friend who was Dean of the American Episcopal Cathedral there. Her friend asked what next? Over the next few months they answered the question by deciding that their ministry would be to travel the country and world sharing their story of “Dementia from the Inside out and Upside Down” for as long as they could. They have been doing this for the past two years, and I was privileged and blessed last week to meet them and hear their story at a Clergy Conference. They are making a difference in the lives of victims of Dementia and their partners/care givers all over the world. They have truly followed Jesus’ command to become last of all and servant of all.

May we use our gifts and privilege to become the servant of all.