The Rev. Jeff Hammond Proper 5b 2015
In today’s Gospel
•
We hear of
A confrontation
•
Early in Jesus ministry
But it’s not with
•
Jesus enemies
Jesus has made
•
Some noise
With some healings
•
And miracles…
Which you’d think
•
Would make
•
His family proud
But instead
•
His family and
The religious
•
Authorities are
Desperately trying
•
To reel him in
This testy
•
Encounter is
Juxtaposed
•
With a
Pronouncement
•
About what
It means to follow
•
God’s will
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The Rev. Jeff Hammond Proper 5b 2015
So today I want
•
To address
This new
•
Definition of family
•
Jesus proposes
And to consider
•
What it has
To do with
•
God’s will for
•
Our lives.
First this
•
Encounter with
Jesus’ family and
•
The religious leaders
To whom Jesus
•
Had previously
•
Always deferred
What a
•
Complete disaster!
As he’s trying
•
To eat a meal
•
Jesus is besieged
By people
•
who either are
•
Patronizing him
Or talking
•
Behind his back,
With Everybody
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The Rev. Jeff Hammond Proper 5b 2015
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Questioning
•
His authority
“He’s gone
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Out of his mind,”
“He’s possessed…”
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They say.
The claim is made
•
That his spirit is
•
Unclean.
What’s going
•
On here?
Actually
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Nothing really
•
Out of the ordinary
Here’s what
•
I’m talking about:
We all come from
•
Somewhere
No matter
•
The nature of our
Family of origin or
•
Where came from
There were roles
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People were
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Expected to play
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The Rev. Jeff Hammond Proper 5b 2015 For instance
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Most families have
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A black sheep
Some people carry the
•
Peacemaker label,
There’s…
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The Smart One;
There’s
•
The Joker
The Religious One;
•
The Rebel,
The Prodigal
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And so on.
We all were slotted
•
Somewhere
And expectations
•
Come with
•
Each of these roles.
But what happens
•
When say
The Black Sheep
•
Or the Prodigal
Suddenly
•
Becomes the
•
Religious one?
The delicate
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The Rev. Jeff Hammond Proper 5b 2015
•
System is shaken
The other players
•
Then face a choice:
They can
•
Either scramble
To put the person
•
Back in
•
“Their place,”
Or they can adjust to
•
A new paradigm.
Which one
•
Do folks
•
Usually choose?
Fear of
•
The new
•
Usually wins out,
Change upsets
•
The status quo,
And puts personal
•
Relationships
•
In jeopardy.
Case in point:
•
The event
•
Chronicled here
Look I don’t know
•
What role
Jesus filled
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The Rev. Jeff Hammond Proper 5b 2015
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For those
•
Close to him as
He grew
•
Into manhood
But we can assume
•
Messiah was
Not the role
•
That his family or
Hometown friends
•
Had him
•
Pegged.
This unsettling
•
Story about Jesus’
Relationship with
•
His family and religion
Tells us that
•
Sometimes
Our allegiances can
•
Stand firmly
In the way of
•
Of our doing as
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God intended
It takes a strong person
•
To stand up
•
For what is right
In this regard
•
I bring to
The fore the
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The Rev. Jeff Hammond Proper 5b 2015
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Book and movie
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To Kill Mockingbird
Both book
•
And movie
Figured big in my
•
Moral development
So it was a
•
Great joy to
Watch Graham as
•
He engulfed himself
In the story with
•
His 7th grade class.
TKaM is set in
•
A small southern town
•
In the 1940’s.
It is there Atticus Finch
•
Lives with his
•
Two children,
Doing his best
•
To raise them alone
•
While practicing law.
Atticus’ is a
•
Larger than life figure
Whose emotional
•
Intelligence and kindness,
Made him a
•
Beloved figure in his
•
Tightknit community.
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The Rev. Jeff Hammond Proper 5b 2015 You could say
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He filled the role of
•
Dignified statesman
But the Finch’s life
•
And the town’s
Serenity is
•
Shattered by an
Alleged rape of
•
A white woman by
•
A black man.
A trial is scheduled
•
The Judge asking
Atticus to defend
•
The accused.
No doubt aware of
•
The negative
Consequences of his
•
Accepting the case
•
Atticus agrees.
Predictably
•
Many in the
•
White community
Which once
•
Feted him, now
Bring scorn and threat
•
To he and
•
His beloved children.
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The Rev. Jeff Hammond Proper 5b 2015 In the context of our
•
Reading today,
Atticus…
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Like Jesus
Has stepped into
•
A new role
And for that
•
He comes under fire
From his
•
Own people
This brings us
•
To Jesus’
Comment about
•
The nature of family
He says:
•
Forget bloodlines
“Whoever does
•
The will of God is
My brother and
•
Sister and mother.”
There it is
•
That expression
•
“The Will of God.”
How do we
•
Know it,
Much less,
•
Do it?
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The Rev. Jeff Hammond Proper 5b 2015 I sure hope you
•
Have not been
Waiting for me
•
To tell you
Specifically
•
What God’s will is
•
For you.
Sorry I can’t tell you
•
God’s will for you
But I can tell you
•
That the will of God is
•
Almost always
A conviction…
•
And a movement
Towards…
•
Something
•
Beyond ourselves
A first hint
•
About whether
Something is
•
Or isn’t the
•
Will of God
If it’s all
•
About you it
Probably isn’t
•
The will of God
Doing God’s will?
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The Rev. Jeff Hammond Proper 5b 2015
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Maybe all I
•
Can tell you is
That God invites
•
Each of us
To step
•
Outside of ourselves
Beyond our wants and
•
Perceived needs,
And if necessary
•
Beyond our
Allegiances to
•
Family and friends
•
Our family of origin,
To leave our
•
Place of comfort,
To open our eyes
•
To the world
•
God has made
And to share
•
What we have
So if you are
•
Trying to
Figure out
•
Gods will for
•
Your life
And you’ve twisted
•
Your brain into
A pretzel trying
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The Rev. Jeff Hammond Proper 5b 2015
•
To figure it out
And you’ve
•
Come up
•
With nothing
Maybe doing
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God’s will is
•
As simple as
Doing the next
•
Right thing.
How can we
•
Know when
We are doing
•
The will of God?
We know
•
We are doing
The will of God
•
By the peace it
•
Brings us
This is not
•
The kind of peace
That manifests itself in
•
Outward success
Outside success
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Usually involves
•
Capitulating
To our
•
Unquenchable desire
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The Rev. Jeff Hammond Proper 5b 2015
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To be liked
Spoiler Alert: Hey…
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Atticus loses
•
The Trial…
What writer
•
Harper Lee and
•
Actor Gregory Peck
So beautifully capture
•
In their
Creations of
•
Atticus is
That despite
•
Apparent failure
Atticus just
•
Exudes…
•
Peace
And it’s not just
•
Any peace…
It is peace born of
•
Humble obedience
Not to
•
The Self, or
•
Conventional Morality
It is a peace
•
We describe
As passing
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The Rev. Jeff Hammond Proper 5b 2015
•
All understanding
Is it strange
•
To gush so
•
About Atticus Finch?
Perhaps…
•
He was not
•
Flesh and blood
He is a fiction
•
Immortalized in
•
Pulp and celluloid
He’s not Moses
•
But he does exist as
•
A beautiful archetype
An archetype
•
Who models
At least for me
•
Faithfulness
To what God’s call
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On a life
•
Might look like
But
•
The To Kill a Mockingbird
Parallel has
•
Its limitations
Real life is
•
So not
•
Hollywood
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The Rev. Jeff Hammond Proper 5b 2015
Doing God’s will
•
Always comes
•
With a cost
Oh but that peace
•
That strange peace
That comes only
•
From doing
•
God’s will…
I want to conclude
•
Reading you a hymn,
A hymn that
•
Some would
•
Call depressing.
It’s one of
•
My favorites
And it gets at
•
What we’re
•
Talking about here.
They cast their nets in Galilee Just off the hills of brown; Such happy, simple fisher folk, Before the Lord came down. Contented, peaceful fishermen, Before they ever knew the peace of God That filled their hearts brimful, And broke them too.
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The Rev. Jeff Hammond Proper 5b 2015 Young John who trimmed the flapping sail, Homeless in Patmos died, Peter, who hauled the teeming net, Head-down was crucified. The peace of God, it is no peace, But strife closed in the sod, Yet let us pray for but one thing – The marvelous peace of God. Amen.
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