At the Crossroads
July 6, 2008
David Brubacher
Text:
Deuteronomy 4:1-6
Mark 10:46-52
Introduction: I was clearly of being at a crossroad in my life. Early that Sunday morning we gathered on the north east side of the Sea of Galilee for biblical reflection. Our Bat Kol study group (the same program with which Michele Rizoli and Marilyn Zehr are currently studying) gathered at the top of the cliff where a herd of pigs is believed to have jumped into the Sea after they became possessed by a legion of demons cast out of a man by Jesus. Later we held our Sunday worship on a boat while on the way to the ancient town of Capernaum. As I walked the places where Jesus walked I was looking for a sign. Should I continue in my role as the executive staff person of Mennonite Church Eastern Canada? After the service, as we neared Capernaum, I was in conversation with one of the directors of Bat Kol. In his story I found a direction. I would resign from my role, a decision I announced later that year.
As a denomination, the Mennonite Church is also at a crossroad of sorts. Next week we will be gathering in Winnipeg as delegates from across Canada and the USA. For four days we will discern and study under the theme “At the Crossroads: Promise and Peril.” The crossroads being named is the determination of a faithful response to God’s call in a world increasingly challenged by militarism, ecological concerns and a diverse faith society. Will we heed God’s call and turn from our current ways or continue straight ahead convinced we are on the right path?
In keeping with our summer theme, “Monday Faith” I need to confess to you that conferences are something of a passion for me. People like myself sometimes describe ourselves as conference junkies. I love attending church conferences for the interaction with people. More significantly I believe in the role of denominational bodies to assist congregations in the ministries to which God is calling them. I believe we can do more for the sake of God’s kingdom together than we can alone.
For the thirty years that I have been in ministry, I have always served on denominational boards and committees. I believe in the importance of organizational structures and connections to get things done. In the case of the church, I believe denominational structures are crucial for moving the church’s mission forward. Denominational bodies provide resources for congregational ministry and serve as a channel for congregations to direct spiritual and material resources beyond ourselves. As with our gathering in Winnipeg this week denominational bodies also provide a context to discern God’s voice.
My passion for working within denominational structures has grown out of two realizations. Even as a teenager I recognized my gift and interest in leadership. Using my gifts in denominational leadership became a significant part of understanding my call to ministry. For six years that sense of call lead me to serving in the executive staff role with MCEC. So you can see why I am looking forward to being part of the denominational gathering in Winnipeg next week. I just hope there the chairs are reasonably comfortable. I am honoured to represent TUMC as a delegate.
The scriptures read this morning have been well chosen to guide us in discernment as we stand at our current crossroads of global proportion. As Mennonites we have often washed our hands concerning militarism. Increasingly we are becoming aware that being pacifists and not participating in the military does not keep us from being tangled in the web of militarism. Many of the military initiatives of the western world today are to maintain and protect interests in which we share. Access to oil in such places as the Middle East is a central motivation for current military initiatives. Until we divest ourselves of our petroleum crazed lifestyles we will be implicated in this web of militarism.
Concerns for the environment are of equal proportion. There is much rhetoric about embracing more “green” practices. But a new study suggesting Canada ranks second to last among G8 countries when it comes to addressing global warming suggests that we have not yet moved beyond rhetoric. As people of faith who belief the earth is God’s creation, we should of all people understand that caring for the creation is part of our God-given mandate.
Being a society of diverse religious faith is a third issue of consideration. Our increasing interaction with people of differing religious faiths is one result of globalization. People of different religions have become our neighbours. Through global communication networks we have a virtual affiliation with people in many different parts of the world. The reality of today is that we are a multi-faith society. How shall we live as Christians when ours is no longer the only religious voice? I believe the question on each issue is one of sustainability. We in the western world have used our wealth and power to maintain our position based on the reasoning that our social, political, economic and religious systems are to be desired above all others. Even if that were true, it is now evident that these systems are not sustainable. Our scriptures today show another way.
In Deuteronomy 4 we meet God’s people near the end of 40 years in the wilderness. They are at a crossroad. They have come to the Promised Land but they have not yet entered. Moses has been telling the people how they have been led by God’s grace. Yes, along the way they had also experienced God’s judgment but here they are at the very edge of God’s promise. How will they live so that it will go well for them in the land, was the question.
With chapter 4 Moses begins to lay out the guiding principles for living successfully in this land of promise. Moses called the people to obey the statutes of God as summarized in the Ten Commandments. Woven within the call to obedience is the motivational refrain, “… so that it will go well for you in the land.” It strikes me that “things going well in the land,” is about sustainability. We might ask if things are going well in our land. Are we content with the shape of our world? The question brings us to our crossroad. Will we continue straight ahead? Or will we heed God’s voice and alter our path?
Deuteronomy 4 is a call to embrace the laws of the Lord as the source of life. The laws of God are considered to be humane with regard to treatment of the natural order, in that it seeks justice and impartiality in all cases, and in that it makes concern for the powerless and the disadvantaged the primary criterion for a just society. In these things the law of God is understood to point to a higher righteousness.
As I consider the direction of God’s law I wonder if we are not going in the opposite direction. Stated crassly it may be said that western society is bent on the preservation of self at the expense of others. The way of God’s law seems to suggest that it will go will for us when we assure it will go well for the other. Moses concludes, “… for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who when they hear these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!’” With respect to militarism, the environment and relating to people of differing religions, are we there yet? In looking at myself I realize how far I still have to go to be known as a wise and discerning person.
Our New Testament text from Mark 10 offers some perspective on the setting of an internal spiritual compass to guide us on the way. Jesus was part of a large throng of people making their way to Jerusalem for the celebration of the Jewish Passover. The people who gathered around Jesus hung on every word he spoke and marveled at his miracles. As Mark tells the story we get the impression the disciples who were seeing and hearing it all were the last to fully grasp what was going on. Are we much different today? The story has meaning on two levels: within the text itself and within its placement in the larger narrative of Mark’s gospel. At first glance this is one of the many healing stories while Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem.
They were just making their way through Jericho when a blind man, a beggar named Bartimaeus called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” As was often the case, the disciples tried to keep the man quiet so that he would not interfere with what they thought was important. But the man’s persistence gained Jesus’ attention. The scene had a familiar cast of characters: Jesus, the twelve, a huge crowd and a person in need. What is unusual in Mark’s telling of the story is that the person Jesus heals is named. Mark seems to be drawing attention to the meaning of the name more than the identity of the person. Bartimaeus means “son of honour.” Mark sets in stark contrast the meaning of the name and the occupation of the person. Bartimaeus, son of honour, a beggar, lived daily with the shame of his condition yet he bestowed on Jesus the title of honour, Son of David, while the disciples were slow to grasp the identity of Jesus and the full meaning of his ministry. Before the story is over, the man is healed, his honour is fully restored and he follows Jesus on the way to dishonour and shame – the cross.
Throughout Mark’s gospel Jesus always tells those he has healed to quiet. Not this time. Clearly Jesus’ ministry has come to something of a crossroad. Before long Jesus himself is telling the Jewish court that he is the Christ, the expected Messiah. The events which were about to unfold in Jerusalem would reveal the meaning of what was earlier to be kept secret.
What are we to make of this text with respect to the issues we will be considering in Winnipeg? One thing that is telling is the comparison between Bartimaeus’ answer to Jesus’ question in this text and the disciples answer to the same question in the section just before. Both times Jesus’ question was, “What do you want me to do for you”
The blind man said, “My teacher, let me see again.”
Jesus answered, “Go, your faith has made you well.”
The disciples on the other hand, came to Jesus asking that he meet their demand. Again Jesus asked, “What is it you want me to do for you?” Two of the disciples asked that they could sit one on his right and the other on his left when he came to his place of glory.
It strikes me that in the petitions we bring to Jesus are more often like the disciples than the blind man. Like the disciples we are concerned with strengthening our position of power and privilege; not so much with coming to see that we might be a part of the problem. Things will go well for us in the land when we learn to love those we see as enemy rather than going to war against them, when we learn to live in a way that sustains the environment and when we learn to truly embrace those of a different religious ideology as equal. Then we will be on the way to becoming as a wise and discerning people worthy of the respect of others.
Looking at the cast of characters it is clear that there is no room for a sense of superiority. The man whom the disciples tried to keep silent so as not to distract from their triumphant parade is the one who had it right. How often do we try to silence those whom we see as distractions? Perhaps these are prophetic voices speaking from the margins of society and edges of faith speaking a truth from God. I would consider the Geez magazine as one such instrument.
Finally, the twelve, the insiders, they were with Jesus day in and day out. They knew about Jesus coming passion. They had heard it all yet they heard nothing. They had seen it a
ll yet they were blind. The fitting conclusion that is often drawn from this text is that the blind come to see and the seeing become blind.
Conclusion: In conclusion, I invite you to join me in praying for the assembly next week. As we discern the life and death issues before us may our eyes be opened to see. I look forward to sharing some of the things I will have learned in two more sermons this summer reflecting further interests of mine: relevant faith and a consideration of my work in carpentry as paradigm for co-creating with God. Amen.