Have We Forgotten
Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 and Ephesians 2:14-22
We often talk about peace. We pray for peace. And we anxiously await peace to come. So why don’t we have peace?
We are living in a world today where division is more popular than unity. Now I can remember growing up and having arguments with my siblings, my friends at school, arguments that occurred between folks at church; however, there were never arguments that I remember where forgiveness could not come in and restore relationships.
For some reason, today we have decided to put up dividers between this group and that group.
Although, when I look at the dividers of our history, I read about country against country and nations being developed. I read about people being placed on reservations in order for others to have more land for themselves and feel safer in their own environments. I read about people who were enslaved and separated from society.
Yet, in the middle of all of this chaos, somewhere along the way, many barriers have been torn down. Many have realized that those that were placed aside, those held in chains, were not the threat that perhaps we once thought, and in fact, many are assets to our country and other countries.
It seems we sometimes do not learn from our history. It seems as we move through life, we but up more barriers to divide. We find other reasons to not like a group or to not accept a group for who they are and how they live in society, and today these barriers, these divisive issues separate us rather than bring us together.
Let’s pause a moment and consider, what would peace look like to us if we could have it right now? Would you consider peace a world without weapons? Would you consider peace a world without certain people? I wonder if we start eliminating things and people in order that we might have peace, would we end up with just ourselves on a deserted island.
The truth is, peace is not in our world, it is in Jesus. Not because he separates people apart from each other, but precisely the opposite! Jesus breaks down dividing walls and hostilities between us.
When Jesus came, he abolished the commandments and the laws of old so that he might create one new humanity to make peace for all those who are near and far.
When Christ died on the cross, it wasn’t to divide those left behind, rather he died on the cross so that he could reconcile all people to God putting to death hostility.
When we are judging other people for the way they look or the way they live, we have surely forgotten that Jesus came to break those barriers. Jesus came to proclaim peace for all people. And the “all” does mean all…everyone both near and far.
Paul clearly tells us in our scripture today that we are no longer strangers and aliens, but citizens with the saints. We are citizens with the household of God. And how is this possible?
Because Jesus is the cornerstone.
Jesus, our cornerstone, whose words and actions have been reinforced by the prophets and the apostles. What words do we hear from the prophets and the apostles? The answer is that we are one in the body of Christ, and we are one through the Spirit of our Abba Father God.
It is through Christ that we are joined together, and when we are joined together, we grow into a holy temple in the Lord. We are built together through a bond of spirituality into a dwelling place for God. The more we are together, the more we have understanding of each other, the more we have communication with one other, the bigger the dwelling place for God. And the more we are together, the stronger we are in creating a world that lives in peace.
It is Jesus who came to remove the barriers between the Jews and the Gentiles. Jesus, sent by God, to be the cornerstone to build something greater than what had been built through the laws and commandments.
I’m afraid, in today’s world, we have listened to other voices that have not been delivered through the Spirit of our Father God. We have listened to people who have told us who we should and should not like, who we should and should not accept. Perhaps we have listened to those who have called others evil without investigating for ourselves who a person really is and what their intentions might be. We have not looked into the heart of people to know them, to know their spirit that dwells within them.
God gave us a gift of discernment. When we listen to other people, and we don’t do the work, when we don’t investigate for ourselves, when we don’t listen for the spirit of the other people we are so quick to condemn, we are being lazy and not using our gift of discernment.
When we don’t stop to understand people and their ways, we hamper the ability for the Gospel to grow. Taking the time to understand someone requires we listen to the words they are saying, and not the words someone else is saying about them. Being open-minded, we can understand a person, and we can love a person, even when we do not agree with them. It is also important to recognize people can change in their life’s journey in the way they once thought or acted to where they are currently.
I’m afraid in today’s world, disagreement has become a breaking point between relationships rather than an understanding point between relationships.
The next time you are in a group of people or a person that you are not comfortable with, just pause to say a prayer, “Jesus, is your Spirit within this person or these people?” “Jesus, this person is different from me. These people look different from me, and they act different from me, but they also are children of God.”
I don’t know about you, however, even when I feel a little friction between me and someone I am around, I look for the good they are trying to do. I consider their character and how they interact with other people. Do I see Christ in them? Do I see actions of Christ in and around them? Are we stopping long enough to pray and seek wisdom through discernment, or are we just taking the word of another that we are hearing in the gossip and headlines as truth?
I’m sure many of you remember a song by Mac Davis. Mr. Davis was an excellent songwriter, and he captures truth in this song he wrote, “Stop and Smell The Roses.” Some of the lyrics went something like this:
“Where are you going in such a hurry
Don’t you think it’s time you realized
There’s a whole lot more to life than work and worry
The sweetest things in life are free
And there right before your eyes
Did you ever take a walk through the forest
Stop and dream a while among the trees
Well you can look up through the leaves right straight to heaven
You can hear the voice of God in every breeze
You got to Stop and Smell the roses
You’ve got to count your blessings everyday
You’re gonna find your way to heaven is a rough and rocky road
If you don’t Stop and Smell the roses along the way.”
Even when the disciples had worked all day, Jesus said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” Jesus was instructing them to rest because he knew rest was what they needed.
The disciples had been working so hard that they didn’t even have time to eat. I’m sure we have been there at some point where we are working to get that one more thing done to the point we work right through lunch, or we have lunch in the car between Point A and Point B because we don’t have time to stop and eat lunch.
Yet, Jesus instructs us to take time to be by ourselves and to rest. In that rest, we open ourselves for a time to reflect, to listen to the voice of God, and to discern with wisdom how we can be more open minded to those who are different from us and those less fortunate than us. When we stop to listen, we might hear God’s voice from those who have ideas to help the greater good.
We’ve all heard the phrase, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” and then we do. We judge rather than waiting to listen to the voice of God to remind us to open ourselves to people and ways that will help grow the Gospel rather than constrict it.
Have we forgotten all those people Jesus met along his journey? Have we forgotten those in the Bible who, although a bit quirky, led kingdoms through God’s direction, even with all the imperfections of their humanness.
My prayer today is that we remember Jesus is the cornerstone of peace. Jesus is the beginning of what joins us together. The beginning of how we can stop and have conversations and discover how we might have more in common with strangers so they become friends. Let us stop long enough so that we can listen with our own ears straight from those people who are different from us, and discern if Jesus is in the midst so that we can continue to grow the Gospel both near and far.
(Silent Reflection)
[PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE and THE LORD’S PRAYER]
God of Jesus Christ and our God, we are no longer strangers and aliens, but citizens with the saints of the commonwealth of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Let us not forget that Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of this foundation. We pray for those who have been called or elected as leaders, that they may be guided by your voice, and that we take time to stop and discern for ourselves where we see compassion for your people from their words and actions. We pray for leaders in the church that they faithfully tend to your people and not scatter those entrusted to them. We pray for those who are poor and in need of assistance, and for ourselves that we may tenderly care for them. We pray for the victims of war and other forms of violence, that we may be good news for them both in word and in deed. We pray for the sick and pause now to remember all those who have asked for our prayers___________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________We pray for all these and those who are spiritually hungry, that we may be a message of compassion. Today we pray especially for children who have been and are being abused, that we are quick to recognize and take care for them and build systems of accountability. Good Shepherd, Lord of Righteousness, bring us together through the cross of Christ and break down the dividing walls between us. Be our peace, and by your Holy Spirit renew our citizenship in your kingdom as we join together in the prayer Jesus taught the disciples….Our Father, who art in Heaven…..Amen.