I’m always
intrigued when people tell me the Bible is boring. Now I’ll admit that reading
the Bible from beginning to end in the published order is not a good idea. Most
people bog down somewhere in Leviticus or Deuteronomy. Some people get tired of
all that high falutin’ spiritual jargon when they get to John’s Gospel. And some
of those letter writers could have used a good editor.
I’m fascinated
by all the excuses, well; let’s call them “reasons” for not reading the Bible.
I mean, if there is ever a collection full of drama, cheaters, liars, murderers,
mysteries, nakedness, sex, and politics, it’s the Bible!
Take this
morning’s story of the beheading of John the Baptist. Here’s what you get, if
you know the whole story:
· John the Baptist: an unkempt loud mouth who runs
around in camel skins, eats locust and honey trail mix, goes out of his way to offend
almost everyone he meets, and calls out government officials for their personal
and political sins.
· Herod: a mixed up guy who can’t decide if he’s Jewish
or not, marries his brother’s wife, and lets his daughter dance naked in front
of a bunch of guys at a party.
· A young girl: not old enough to make a decision on her
own, dancing naked, or at best in sheer veils, leaving little to any man’s
imagination except what they wanted to do if they could get closer to her.
· A woman: Ticked off for being called out for her
behavior, she demands a gruesome gift from her husband: the head of John the
Baptist.
I could go on, but you heard the
story. The whole story seems more like a television docudrama. The story is
neither covered up to be less shocking or to make it prettier. No matter how
you hear it, it’s nearly impossible to deny the impulsiveness, violence and
self-centeredness of most of the characters in the story. IS this the good news
of Jesus Christ?
If you want the
good news here, you have to work for it. You have to look farther than one
snippet or one story. You have to look at the sweep of the story and how it
relates to the whole story of the life of Christ.
John the
Baptist was one of the good guys. He preached repentance, baptized those who
came to him, watched for the coming of the Messiah, and when the Messiah did
come, John stepped aside. He said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”[1]
But John made one fatal mistake, and it’s the one all the good guys (and gals)
seem to make. They can’t keep their mouths shut. They just have to say the
truth out loud, even when the truth is about the people in power. That’s where
John made his mistake. He told the truth about what kind of guy Herod was, and
by implication, so was Herodias. That was all it took. Herodias had a grudge
against John. And Herod was foolish enough to give in to his impulses when he
was delighted by a dance, and too ashamed of how he’d look to his colleagues if
he went back on his word. And off went John’s head.
Remember what
happened to Jesus? He spent a lot of time critiquing the guys in power. He
spoke against hunger, injustice and oppression. And he didn’t just speak; he
acted. He looked at what was wrong and did something about it. Hunger? Take
what you have – five loaves, two fish – and feed a few thousand. Injustice?
Heal those who are the least of society: women who bleed, children who die,
lepers, cast offs, and kids. Oppression? Get in the face of those doing the
oppressing and tell it like it is and how it should be. And Jesus was
crucified.
This is what happens to the good guys
and gals, at least the ones willing to speak the truth to those in power.
It’s fitting, I
think, to talk about this particular scripture in terms of what will happen in
the future at St Alban’s. Sometimes even people in a congregation tell us
whatever it is we want to do its impossible. There are too many people who need
a meal. Children aren’t important because the issue is greater than they are. There
is no way we should try to talk back to power when we’re part of the system of
power.
Now here’s what
I wonder. In a few short years, St Alban’s is coming up on 100 years. We have
nearly a hundred years of stories here. Nearly a hundred years of worshiping
and singing, learning and teaching, giving and receiving, eating and feeding, and
maybe occasionally telling the truth to those in power and suffering for it.
We’ve had nearly one hundred years of
doing our best to live out the life of Christ together, regardless of what
happens to the good guys and gals. So what about the next hundred? What will
people say about St Alban’s one hundred years from now?
It’s pretty
easy to keep worshiping and singing, learning and teaching, eating and feeding.
Not quite as easy to think about giving so others will receive. Not quite so
easy to think about telling the truth to people in power and being willing to stand
firm for it, no matter what. These are the things we need to keep on doing if
we want to honor our history and live into the future as the Episcopal branch
of the Jesus Movement. If we want to continue as good guys and gals: worshiping
and singing, learning and teaching, eating and feeding.
These are the things we’ll want to do
more of: giving so others will receive both here at St Alban’s and outside
these walls, and telling the truth to those in power and being willing to stand
firm in that truth, no matter what.
Doing those things, my fellow and gal
members of the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement, is how we’ll write the
Gospel of St Alban’s for the future.
Scripture is the story of God working
in people’s lives. The Bible is a living document, not a closed book. Who is to
say we’re not writing scripture here?
Maybe one hundred years from now,
someone, somewhere, will open a Bible and read “The Holy Gospel of our Lord
Jesus Christ as it happened at St Alban’s.” And the sweep of that story and how
it relates to the whole story of the life of Christ will be what they read. It
will be the story of how we became the best God wants us to be, no matter how
shocking and violent the world was around us, and no matter how many people
said it couldn’t be done, and no matter how many times we spoke the truth to
those in power and stood firm in the truth. AMEN.
The
Rev Nicolette Papanek
©2018
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