Miracles On The Margins

“Miracles On The Margins”

Sermon for MCC New Haven

August 17, 2014

Rev. Brian Hutchison, M.Div.

Matthew 15:21-28

A Reading from Where The Edge Gathers

by Bishop Yvette Flunder:

“In its effort to be inclusive the church often reaches out carefully to the margin. Radical inclusivity demands that we reach out to the farthest margin, intentionally, to give a clear message of welcome to everyone. Radical inclusivity recognizes, values, loves, and celebrates people on the margin. Jesus was himself from the edge of society with a ministry to those who were considered least. Jesus’ public ministry and associations were primarily with the poor, weak, outcast, foreigners, and prostitutes. Radical inclusivity practices and celebrates the Christian community outside of the dominant culture, believing that the realm of God includes the margins of society and is a perfect place for ministry. Marginalized people, now as in the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry, respond to a community of openness and inclusivity, where other people from the edge gather. Such an atmosphere welcomes people to feel safer to be who they are.”

         The human family has always been diverse. Each continent, region, nation, city, and town has its own traditions and worldviews that have evolved over the millennia. But no matter where a person may live at any given time and place, the human spirit always seeks to belong. We find easy belonging with those who are most like ourselves. As the saying goes, “Birds of a feather flock together.” In the United States today, we may have moved legally past slavery and so-called “separate but equal” Jim Crow Laws, but we are still a divided nation. We still follow our instinct to group with others like ourselves in order to feel normal. It takes an extra effort to break through those barriers of identity to create diverse community.

         We have seen this past week in Ferguson, Missouri how people are still struggling with issues of race and class. At face value, it appears to be a struggle between Black and White folks, something this nation knows all too well. Last Saturday around noon, 18-year-old Michael Brown was walking down the street with a friend and was confronted by a police officer. The details of the encounter are still being debated, but the fact we know is that the officer shot and killed Michael. Following news of the event, protests began in the streets, which led to riots and looting.

         This is not an isolated incident; police quarrel with people of color all the time. Poverty has led to crime (as it often does), which leads to conflict. Michael’s death was a watershed moment for the Ferguson community. The Black community’s frustration with police has overflowed. Those who are entrusted with protecting the people are now viewed as oppressors, as agents of injustice.

         Moderator of Metropolitan Community Churches, Rev. Elder Dr. Nancy Wilson responded to this tragic event with a call to continue fighting against racism. She urges us to not only examine our own consciences around our own prejudices, but also to take action in the form of nonviolent resistance and open dialogue. Rev. Nancy writes, “It is time for us to rise up -- not in violence but in creative non-violent action, which pulls back the curtain on the inherent violence of racism and race-based policing. We remember the words of Jesus and the words of almost every angel in the Bible who upset people's lives: "Fear not!" You can do this!

Be creative! Today, there are Freedom Schools springing up across this country. Be part of it! Today, there are foster homes in our churches that are opening up to the children crossing the border. Learn Spanish! Put yourself on the path of change. Speak out! Say "Hello" to someone who appears different from you. Start small, but think BIG! Organize! Start where you are. Work as a team. Just start!

Build a new heaven and a new earth. Use the power in your hands to build a better world that is full of creativity, love, learning, and fullness of life for all our children. Build this world with open hands so that the world belongs to everyone.”

         This kind of action is what it means to be church. We meet each Sunday to worship God with song and study and sacrament, but these are only symbols of how we are called to act in our broken world.

         Ironically in this week’s Gospel passage, we find an inter-racial dialogue. Jesus was a Jew and he encountered a syrophoenician woman on the road. She is not given a name in any of the Gospels, but we know that she is from a Gentile nation that did not worship the God of Israel. Jesus encounters her in the district of Tyre and Sidon. The name Tyre means “rock” and Sidon means “fishing.” So Jesus was not stuck between a rock and a hard place, but rather between a rock and a fish… As strange as this sounds, the choice between a rock and a fish has meaning for us.

         The syrophoenician woman’s daughter was ill and somehow she had heard that Jesus had the ability to heal. So she begs Jesus to help her daughter. The literal translation from Greek is that she “squawks” at him. She is making a ruckus, being annoying even. She is persistent in her protest. She will not leave until she receives her blessing.

First Jesus just ignores her, but then when the disciples ask Jesus to send her away, he responds to her. He does not ask her to go away. Instead, he says something blatantly disrespectful and derogatory. He says that God’s blessings are for God’s Jewish children, not for “dogs” like her. It was common in that time for Jewish authorities to call other races “dogs.” Jews did not keep dogs for pets in that time. Dogs were just scavengers on the streets that were accepted as an annoying part of life.

         Surprisingly, the woman does not slap Jesus across the face as many of us might do if we were called a slur. Instead, she challenges Jesus. She essentially says, “I may be a dog to you, but even the dogs get the leftovers from the table.” Her words stop Jesus in his tracks. Her bold act of faith changed Jesus’ mind. Not only did he heal the woman’s daughter; from that point forward Jesus would not withhold blessing from non-Jews.

         We don’t like seeing Jesus in this light because we are told that Jesus was perfect, sinless, and always did the right thing. But if there is ever an incidence of Jesus sinning, it is in the racism he showed in this passage. Jesus was a man who embodied the Divine Presence so much in his life that we call him The Anointed One of God, Christ, Messiah. But he was still a man. As we all do, Jesus grew up in a specific place and time. He grew up learning racism from his own people. His first reaction to the syrophoenician woman came from the way he had been socialized. But the miracle moment came when Jesus’ fear of the other (xenophobia) turned into love of the other. The two had a “Namaste” moment when she saw God in him and he saw God in her. It changed Jesus for the rest of his life. And it ultimately changed how the Christian church would embrace both Jews and Gentiles.

         Jesus had the choice between the rock- the seemingly solid knowledge of who should interact with whom, and the fish- casting out the net of the Gospel far and wide to include everyone. Jesus chose inclusivity over exclusivity; he chose love over racism.

         Bishop Yvette Flunder is the founder of the Fellowship of Affirming Ministries and is also an ordained minister in MCC. She wrote a wonderful book called Where the Edge Gathers and that is where our first reading today is from. Bishop Flunder helped to start a church in San Francisco called City of Refuge United Church of Christ. Coming from the Pentecostal tradition, she had a vision that queer folks of color needed a place for Christian worship, community, and service. City of Refuge has since bloomed into several vibrant communities.

The secret to their success is not making an exclusive group of LGBT people of color. Rather, their success is rooted in the value of what Bishop Flunder calls “radical inclusivity.” She saw the demographics of the queer people of the South of Market district of San Francisco: transgender women, sex workers, people struggling with addiction, and people living in poverty. Instead of creating an “us vs. them” community of the wealthy and more “normal” against the more marginalized, City of Refuge was created as a place where all marginalized people have access to all opportunities in the church.

Bishop Flunder did not shy away from the most marginalized. Instead, as Jesus did, she empowered them to have purpose in community. The result is a true reflection of what Jesus called the Kin-dom of God: diverse peoples working together to share the Unconditional Love of God.

We can learn a lot from Bishop Flunder’s vision of radical inclusivity. Instead of focusing on ministering with a wide range of people, we can be tempted to attract only those who can give a large tithe. We can be tempted to flock together and be content with having only one or two species of bird. But God’s call is so much larger than that. God calls us to boldly face the uncomfortable realities of racism and classism. We need to own the fact that in the words of the puppet musical Avenue Q, “Everyone’s a little bit racist sometimes!” We have all grown up in a racist society, so it is a part of us. But that does not mean that we cannot make progress on the road to healing. Jesus was transformed when he faced diversity, so in the Way of Christ, may we be ever transformed as well. We choose radical inclusivity! And so it is. Amen.

The Voice of Truth

“The Voice of Truth”

Sermon for MCC New Haven

August 10, 2014

Rev. Brian Hutchison, M.Div.

Romans 10:5-15

Matthew 14:22-33

         It may be August, but this week, A Charlie Brown Christmas from 1965 came to mind for me. Has everyone seen it before? There is a scene where Charlie Brown goes to see Lucy for “psychiatric help” at a booth she has set up. Lucy requests five cents in payment- in advance of course. Then, she begins trying to diagnose him. She says,

“Lucy: Are you afraid of responsibility? If you are, then you have hypengyophobia.

Charlie Brown: I don't think that's quite it.

Lucy: How about cats? If you're afraid of cats, you have ailurophasia.

Charlie Brown: Well, sort of, but I'm not sure.

Lucy: Are you afraid of staircases? If you are, then you have climacaphobia. Maybe you have thalassophobia. This is fear of the ocean, or gephyrobia, which is the fear of crossing bridges. Or maybe you have pantophobia. Do you think you have pantophobia?

Charlie Brown: What's pantophobia?

Lucy: The fear of everything.

Charlie Brown: THAT'S IT!”

Does anyone here have a phobia? I have a fear of heights and a fear of complete darkness. Anyone else?

In today’s Gospel reading, it may seem that as Lucy may suggest, that Peter has thalassophobia- fear of the ocean. But no, it was not the fear of the ocean or even aquaphobia- the fear of water or drowning that was the problem. I don’t want to belittle the reality of phobias because they are very real for people. They cause real trauma in peoples lives. I am not a psychiatric professional, so please don’t take anything I say today as psychiatric advice. But there is spiritual truth in the way that phobias are treated professionally. A common treatment is called Prolonged Exposure Therapy. In this therapy, people are slowly exposed to the thing they are afraid of over time. So if you have arachnophobia (the fear of spiders), a therapist may bring you a tiny spider in a cage. Over weeks or months, s/he would work you up to a tarantula to pet.

Again, I am not a psychiatric professional, but I would unofficially diagnose Peter with a fear of trusting people (unofficially known as pistanthrophobia). So maybe Peter needed an exercise in trust. It was very late at night, between 3 and 6am when Jesus came down from his prayers on the mountain and found the boat with the disciples far from land. A storm was brewing and the winds had picked up. So like you do, he walked on top of the water toward the boat. Hold on… what? I know Jesus is called the Son of God and all, but walking on water? That’s just showing off! What ever happened to humility? He couldn’t have waited until the storm let up and the disciples sailed back to shore?

People have put theories out about how Jesus walked on water, from the density of the water in that particular sea to using reeds on his feet to walk across. They miss the point completely. I don’t care if Jesus literally walked on water or not. A magic trick is not going to make me believe the gospel. But the truth behind this story does.

Jesus had sent the disciples ahead of him, just as the risen Christ would later send the disciples out into the world without his bodily presence. Inevitably, things around them became difficult. We have some storms in our lives, amen? We even name those storms after our exes: Tropical Storm Trina, Hurricane Henry, Tornado Trudy… The winds pick up and your life starts to rock back and forth. The electric bill hits the left side, the mortgage payment hits the right side, the wave of health problems washes over the port, the rain of depression falls down on you from the sky. You’re in the midst of it and think, “Am I on Noah’s Ark??”

Life can sometimes feel this way, overwhelmed by everything around us. But Jesus comes in the midst of the storm to deliver us. When the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water, they were now not only afraid of the storm, but also afraid of the ghost coming toward them. But Jesus gives them the affirmation they need: “Take courage, it’s me; don’t be afraid.” In the midst of our storms, Christ comes to us in the form of other people. It may be a friend or family member, a true psychiatric professional, or even a stranger. Their words may not calm the storm around you, but their words and presence give you enough courage to reach out for help.

The next part of the story is where it gets tricky. It wasn’t Jesus’ idea for Peter to try walking on water. Peter gets that bright idea himself. So he starts walking out on the water, but as soon as he notices how bad the storm is, he starts sinking. It’s actually kind of comical. Jesus had given Simon the name “Peter” (Petros), meaning “rock” or “stone” in Greek. So as rocks do, Peter sank. Sometimes we step out in faith, either giving ourselves too much responsibility or giving God too much responsibility. We can’t bear the storm alone, so we need God to help us through. But we also can’t sit back doing nothing and allow God to do all the work. Our faith journey is a two-way connection; it is a relationship. We co-create our lives with God.

Peter cries out for help and of course Jesus pulls him back up. Jesus then asks the question, “Why did you doubt?” The word for doubt here in Greek is “distazo,” meaning “indecisive.” So Jesus is asking, “Why can’t you make a decision?” Peter does not give an answer in the text. They return to the boat and the winds stop. The scripture leaves us with the same question: “Why can’t you make a decision?” Why can’t you decide to be happy? Why can’t you decide to be your best self? Why can’t you decide to stop worrying and start trusting that the storm will indeed end?

A Course In Miracles says this (5:III:19): “When [humanity] made the ego, God placed in [each person] the call to joy. This call is so strong that ego always dissolves at its sound. This why you can choose to listen to two voices within you. One you made yourself and that one is not of God. But the other is given you by God Who asks you only listen to it. The Holy Spirit is in you in a very literal sense. [Hers] is the Voice that calls you back to where you were before and will be again.”

Within our storms of struggle, the ego has a lot to say. It may say, “I’ll never make it through this. All of this is too much for me to bear. I deserve this punishment. I need someone to blame for this. Where is God now? I must be weak to be tossed like this.” But as the Course teaches us, the ego is not the only voice we hear. The Presence of Christ, as on the raging sea, is with us through the Holy Spirit within.

The Course continues (24-25), “The Voice for God is always quiet because it speaks for peace. Yet peace is stronger than war because it heals. War is division, not increase. No one gains from strife… The Holy Spirit is your Guide in choosing. [Spirit] is the part of your mind which always speaks for the right choice because [Spirit] speaks for God. [Spirit] is your remaining communication with God, which you can interrupt but cannot destroy.”  Remember that question Jesus asked Peter: “Why can’t you make a decision?” Here we find the answer. We too often listen to the ego instead of listening to the Spirit. We are taught from a young age that to mature and grow up, we need to be independent. We need to do things on our own. “Suck it up; you’re a big boy. Get over it; you’re a big girl.” We hold on to that mentality for life, forgetting that God calls us to be interdependent with others and with God.

We can’t face this world of illusions alone. Some of our troubles are real and others are just in our minds, but even the illusions seem very real to us. So we need the Voice of God in each other and the Voice of God within ourselves to silence the ego and heal our lives. A verse from our passage from Paul’s Letter to the church in Rome reminds us what we need to do in the midst of the storm: “Everyone who calls on the name of God shall be saved.” It doesn’t matter what the trouble is. Just call on the Voice of Truth within and trust that it will deliver you to inner peace and joy.

And also don’t forget- when your winds die down, someone else’s are still raging. As the Apostle Paul says, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” So don’t hide this truth like something that can be stolen from you. Spread the good news: the storm will end, God is here, and wherever God is, all is well. And so it is. Amen.

Wrestling With God

“Wrestling with God”

Sermon for MCC New Haven

August 3, 2014

Rev. Brian Hutchison, M.Div.

Genesis 32:22-31

Matthew 14:13-21

         They wrestled through the night, their bodies clinging close. Two men, divided only by sweat and tears. Neither would let go. They meant too much to each other. Perhaps they feared losing each other. And so they clung until the sun rose. One of them was even injured in the roughness of the wrestling. But he still did not let go. The sun rose and for the first time they saw each other in the light of day. The injured one told the other that he would not let him go unless he told him he was a good man. And so he did, and they parted ways.

         This homoerotic story is from the book of Genesis. Jacob is making his way with his family to a new life over the Jabbok river- a river that means “pouring out” in Hebrew. Jacob is distressed about his life, about the upcoming reunion with his brother Esau whom he had seriously wronged in the past. He doubted what he was doing with his life. So he finds himself wrestling with God in the middle of the night. The scripture does not tell us until the end of the story that it was God he was wrestling. The text tells us that it was a man and then somehow God, and Jewish tradition tells us it was an angel. But regardless of whatever it was, Jacob had some inner wrestling to do.

         Jacob had stolen his brother Esau’s birthright from their father. He knew it was not his to have. So he had to get a blessing of his own. He would not let go of the Divine until he got his blessing. The definition of “blessing” is to call something “good.” Jacob needed affirmation from God that he was indeed a good person. In the wrestling, Jacob is injured at the hip. Legend says he walked with a limp for the rest of his life. Jewish tradition said that no one could see the face of God and live. But the sun came up and Jacob saw the Peniel- the face of God. So he called that place Peniel.

         We have all had our own wrestles with God. We ask God why bad things happen in the world. We ask God why bad things happen to us when we have not done much wrong. We ask God what the meaning of this life is. And most times, God leads us to live in the questions rather than giving easy answers. That is what our faith is about- living the questions.

         When Jacob wrestled with God, God changed his name to Israel. Jacob means “heel-holder” because he held his twin brother’s heel as they were born. The name Jacob signified who he used to be- someone defined by others, a follower, not a leader. His new name, Israel, means, “God struggled.” This name would be a reminder for him and for the nation of Jewish people named after him that God struggled to show Israel and his people their infinite worth and goodness.

Transgender people often go through a process of changing their names. The old name represents a person that was not fully integrated, someone defined by others by a sex assigned at birth. The new name represents claiming a new life of authenticity. Trans folks of faith often wrestle with God, asking, “Why was I born with this body?” On the other side of the struggle, we in MCC affirm trans people as blessed children of God. We have a beautiful tradition of baptizing them with their new names even if they have been baptized before with a former name. Struggling with God is in MCC’s DNA, but we are a stubborn people and we will not let go without a blessing!

         I think I can safely assume that all of us here have literally wrestled through the night with another person. In our lovemaking, we leave our hearts open and vulnerable. We cling to each other to show our love, or at least to show another affection and make an intimate connection. And when the sun rises, we look over to our bedmate and see the imago dei- the image of God. We may choose to see just another human face, but the reality is that the face of God has bed head and sleep dirt and morning breath. Our consensual lovemaking is not dirty, perverted, sick, or sinful. Rather, it is a holy encounter. In accepting each other’s bodies, we bless them; we call them “good.” We see the face of God… and live.

         The scriptures do not tell us if Jesus ever had sex, but they do tell us that Jesus wrestled with God too. At the beginning of the reading from the Gospel of Matthew today, we immediately hear that Jesus withdraws when he hears that John the Baptist had been beheaded. Jesus had likely grown up with and studied with John in the desert before his public ministry. John was the one who baptized Jesus. John “prepared the way” for Jesus to be Deliverance for the people. And now he was gone, suddenly, just like that.

         Jesus must have been distraught. He may have asked God, “Why did you let my friend get executed?” So instead of reacting violently, he isolated himself. He needed some alone time. But as soon as people heard where Jesus was, they went to him. Instead of sending them away, Jesus redirects his energy with compassion by healing the sick.

         Then evening came and it was dinnertime. By then, thousands are said to have gathered. But not everyone thought to bring dinner. So Jesus demonstrates the power of choosing family by dividing and sharing bread and fish with everyone. It was a miracle because everyone was fed and there were even leftovers. But remember, miracles are not magic; they are changes in perception from fear to love. So the Jews and Gentiles who were afraid to eat with each other were given permission to make one big banquet. When everyone shared what they had in a great lakeside potluck supper, everyone was full. The loving act of sharing and eating together was the true miracle. This event was a snapshot of the Commonwealth of God, a new way of relating to the stranger.

         The Jews present had to wrestle with their understanding of God. They had been taught that Jews were God’s only chosen people and that they should not associate with non-Jews. But Jesus demonstrated that God’s blessing is open to all, that all are truly “good.” In the words of the 23^rd Psalm, “You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies.” But instead of preparing the banquet of bread and fish for just the Jews, he also prepared it for those who were supposed to be enemies. It is that act of transcending boundaries that is at the heart of the Gospel.

The Good News is that we all wrestle with God, and if we hold on long enough, we will be blessed. Jacob would not stop wrestling with God until he knew his inherent goodness. The crowds needed the same affirmation from Jesus. They needed physical food, but they also longed for spiritual food. We too must not let go until we know deep within our hearts and minds that we are blessed. When we wrestle with God, we don’t disrespect God; rather we honor God. So go ahead and wrestle through the darkness. The sun will always rise in the morning. Amen.