Sunday Worship including the Sacrament of Holy Communion ~ June 6 at 10:30 am
Join us this Sunday as we consider Jesus' question of how large our family really is. The focus text is Mark 3: 20-35 and Rev. Scott will be speaking on the topic of: "Drawing the Circle 215 Times Wider" Scripture will be read by Marshall Henderson and musical leadership is supplied by The Lyric Singers, Betty Nobel & Sharon Prindle-Collins, and Gina Williams. The service will include the Sacrament of Holy Communion.
You are invited to have suitable elements for communion ready before viewing (crackers/bread and juice/wine). We hope you will join in and worship via the website, YouTube Channel, or the 'Zoom Worship Gathering.'
“Drawing the Circle 215 Times Wider”
Mark 3: 20-35 ~ Rev. G. Scott Turnbrook ~ Northwood United Church ~ June 6, 2018
“The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated” was Mark Twain’s response back in 1897 to the misreport of his death. Twain’s cousin had been the one to die and so the confusion began. In Twain’s witty response, history records some version of this exaggeration of his demise. Twain is not the only one to have his had his death misreported. Clerical errors, fraud, and misidentification have each resulted in exaggerations of the death of actors, terrorists, musicians, and world leaders. “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated” they will all later say! Looking back in history, the first one for whom this exaggeration occurred was the devil. The great trick that the devil played upon the modern world was causing us to believe that he is dead and gone.
Let’s be honest…How many of us found ourselves turning up our intellectual noses at the text this morning? A text containing Satan, Beelzebub, and the devil. Perhaps it even caused a few people to turn off their computer! We don’t entertain a lot of conversation around the presence of supernatural entities in modern times, do we? So, our reservations are certainly understandable. However, some of the evidence of his existence in modern time may cause us to take a second look. Perhaps the presence of evil is more alive and well than we would like to believe? Perhaps there is more of a cosmic battle of good and evil than we would like to acknowledge? Perhaps the world we live in today contains the presence of darkness and evil, of Satan and Beelzebub, of the Devil. Perhaps the greatest trick played was the exaggeration of the death of Satan.
We might think of the gospel stories of Jesus and the devil. At the end of all of the tempting, did Jesus defeat the devil and vanish him? The conclusion of all the gospel versions of Jesus’ temptation is “the devil left him”. The devil was not killed; the devil was not banished to hell; the devil simply left and has been waiting in the wings…ever since! “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated”, the Devil might say. I am going to suggest this morning that we need to hear these words from the dark forces because the less we acknowledge them, the more powerful they become. So, we can turn up our modern-day noses at this text, thinking it to be a 1st Century outdated concept, much like Egyptian wooden pegs or bowling-pin shaped mallets. Or, I would like to suggest, we can see the text shining light on the presence of evil and darkness, Beelzebub and Satan…a presence that is alive and powerful today.
So…how does the devil look? Apart from some Hallowe’en revelers who like to dress up like him, Satan will likely not arrive with horns, a cape, and a red tail. Yet, the power of darkness and evil will come with a seductive demon-like power. It will be a power that is actively opposing the compassionate, reconciling love of God. The forces and configurations of power that capture us, that take us over, and cause us to hurt ourselves, to hurt others, to hurt God. We have all seen examples of this at work, haven’t we? We might think of the power of might / the power of force: the belief that weapons and war bring us closer to peace and security. The statue of Isaiah’s vision of swords being beaten into ploughshares sits in front of the United Nations as the collective and ongoing work towards peace that continues. Or, we might think of the power of patriarchy: a power which tells guides men to dominate women. That men gain power from oppressing force over women. And we continue to fight against this in a world which still has such a profound gender gap. We might think of the power of materialism: a power which yearns to overcome us all. It preaches that money gives us life, having more, getting more, consuming more…is the source of power.
And as we consider these dark powers at work: the power of might; the power of patriarchy; the power of materialism, we become increasingly aware of that darkness and evil is, indeed, alive in the world today. Any reports of its demise have been greatly exaggerated…and allow it to further grow. There is another form of dark power alive in the world that have caused flags to be lowered this past week, tears to be shed, and considerations for our relationship with our First Nations brothers and sisters. That darkness is the power of race: it is the power which tells us to believe that one group is superior over another simply because of their skin color or cultural heritage. 9 days ago, a startling finding was revealed: the remains of 215 children buried on the grounds of the Kamloops Residential School. There had always been the unsolved question of the missing children from the Residential Schools in the years gone past. Can you imagine the hearts of parents who only know their children as “missing” for so many years? No closure for them…no funeral…how would they begin to heal? The unthinkable actions that informed our operating of Residential Schools across the country became even more darkened as a radar tool revealed a mass grave of 215 children. This will begin work which should have been done ages ago. When we think about the countless person-hours that are spent to find a missing hiker, how did this never occur in the case of these missing children we wonder? This will spurn on the long-overdue investigation into other Residential Schools. Our flags will fly at half-mast for a long time as we ~ NOW ~ do the right thing. And move away from darkness and evil…and begin to correct our course and begin to move towards God’s light that shines justice.
The text before us contains an inquiry about who one’s family is. It begins and ends with this consideration. Beginning as a simple dinner-table gathering. Mid-sentence, in fact… “and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat”. Yet, at the conclusion of the reading, the family is not together in the home…they are separated. Jesus on the inside of the house; his mother and brothers on the outside. The crowd calls to Jesus alerting him about his mother and brothers asking for him. And then Jesus asks this profound question that we address in this morning’s inquiry: “Who are my mother and brothers?” And looking at the whole crowd who was sitting with him, he broadens the definition of family: “Here…Here are my mother and brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” The dark powers of evil would have us limit our understanding of family…who we are ‘supposed’ to love and care for. (and, of course, we are to care for our family) However, Jesus wants to draw the circle wider and he broadens our boundaries of who is to receive that ‘family-like care’. Who was sitting with Jesus at that moment? Well, we don’t quite know, do we? In the past, Jesus had welcomed the outcast, the tax collectors, the sinners…so any one from that group could have been among him. Jesus’ family today might be the rejected poor and homeless…here are my sisters and brothers. His family today might be the LGBTQ2+ community…here are my sisters and brothers. And as we think of our First Nation Brothers and sisters, and the tragedy we continue to take in…here are my sisters and brothers teaches Jesus. Draw the circle wide, draw it wider still, let this be our song, no one stands alone, standing side by side, draw the circle wide. Seeking healing craving justice. Tears of loss and cries of pain. Many children now are resting. Strong in memory.
I wonder what this will prompt us to do in the future? I have seen more orange shirts worn than ever before. Orange shirts, orange scarves, orange ribbons pinned on lapels. This is a time to shine light on the dark ways of evil and move towards God’s light of justice. Archbishop Desmond Tutu is remembered as saying: “goodness is stronger than hate.” And our witness today is an opportunity to prove him right. Goodness will be witnessed as we, more than ever, deeply examine our position of privilege, and consider how we might live into a society that breaks down walls, rather than reinforcing them. There is an abundance of growing resources on privilege: racial, financial, cultural privilege. We must ~ NOW ~ do the work of opening our eyes to the evils that cause separation, that breed hatred, that force brokenness. Ted Talks, Zoom courses, new books and journals all are coming out to help us in this quest towards the light. How will you prove that goodness is stronger than hate?
Shall we allow the exaggeration of the death of darkness continue? Or shall we draw the circle wide and allow God’s light to shine us towards freedom, reconciliation and healing. Who is my mother and brothers? They asked of Jesus. And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” Amen.
“Drawing the Circle 215 Times Wider”
Mark 3: 20-35 ~ Rev. G. Scott Turnbrook ~ Northwood United Church ~ June 6, 2018
“The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated” was Mark Twain’s response back in 1897 to the misreport of his death. Twain’s cousin had been the one to die and so the confusion began. In Twain’s witty response, history records some version of this exaggeration of his demise. Twain is not the only one to have his had his death misreported. Clerical errors, fraud, and misidentification have each resulted in exaggerations of the death of actors, terrorists, musicians, and world leaders. “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated” they will all later say! Looking back in history, the first one for whom this exaggeration occurred was the devil. The great trick that the devil played upon the modern world was causing us to believe that he is dead and gone.
Let’s be honest…How many of us found ourselves turning up our intellectual noses at the text this morning? A text containing Satan, Beelzebub, and the devil. Perhaps it even caused a few people to turn off their computer! We don’t entertain a lot of conversation around the presence of supernatural entities in modern times, do we? So, our reservations are certainly understandable. However, some of the evidence of his existence in modern time may cause us to take a second look. Perhaps the presence of evil is more alive and well than we would like to believe? Perhaps there is more of a cosmic battle of good and evil than we would like to acknowledge? Perhaps the world we live in today contains the presence of darkness and evil, of Satan and Beelzebub, of the Devil. Perhaps the greatest trick played was the exaggeration of the death of Satan.
We might think of the gospel stories of Jesus and the devil. At the end of all of the tempting, did Jesus defeat the devil and vanish him? The conclusion of all the gospel versions of Jesus’ temptation is “the devil left him”. The devil was not killed; the devil was not banished to hell; the devil simply left and has been waiting in the wings…ever since! “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated”, the Devil might say. I am going to suggest this morning that we need to hear these words from the dark forces because the less we acknowledge them, the more powerful they become. So, we can turn up our modern-day noses at this text, thinking it to be a 1st Century outdated concept, much like Egyptian wooden pegs or bowling-pin shaped mallets. Or, I would like to suggest, we can see the text shining light on the presence of evil and darkness, Beelzebub and Satan…a presence that is alive and powerful today.
So…how does the devil look? Apart from some Hallowe’en revelers who like to dress up like him, Satan will likely not arrive with horns, a cape, and a red tail. Yet, the power of darkness and evil will come with a seductive demon-like power. It will be a power that is actively opposing the compassionate, reconciling love of God. The forces and configurations of power that capture us, that take us over, and cause us to hurt ourselves, to hurt others, to hurt God. We have all seen examples of this at work, haven’t we? We might think of the power of might / the power of force: the belief that weapons and war bring us closer to peace and security. The statue of Isaiah’s vision of swords being beaten into ploughshares sits in front of the United Nations as the collective and ongoing work towards peace that continues. Or, we might think of the power of patriarchy: a power which tells guides men to dominate women. That men gain power from oppressing force over women. And we continue to fight against this in a world which still has such a profound gender gap. We might think of the power of materialism: a power which yearns to overcome us all. It preaches that money gives us life, having more, getting more, consuming more…is the source of power.
And as we consider these dark powers at work: the power of might; the power of patriarchy; the power of materialism, we become increasingly aware of that darkness and evil is, indeed, alive in the world today. Any reports of its demise have been greatly exaggerated…and allow it to further grow. There is another form of dark power alive in the world that have caused flags to be lowered this past week, tears to be shed, and considerations for our relationship with our First Nations brothers and sisters. That darkness is the power of race: it is the power which tells us to believe that one group is superior over another simply because of their skin color or cultural heritage. 9 days ago, a startling finding was revealed: the remains of 215 children buried on the grounds of the Kamloops Residential School. There had always been the unsolved question of the missing children from the Residential Schools in the years gone past. Can you imagine the hearts of parents who only know their children as “missing” for so many years? No closure for them…no funeral…how would they begin to heal? The unthinkable actions that informed our operating of Residential Schools across the country became even more darkened as a radar tool revealed a mass grave of 215 children. This will begin work which should have been done ages ago. When we think about the countless person-hours that are spent to find a missing hiker, how did this never occur in the case of these missing children we wonder? This will spurn on the long-overdue investigation into other Residential Schools. Our flags will fly at half-mast for a long time as we ~ NOW ~ do the right thing. And move away from darkness and evil…and begin to correct our course and begin to move towards God’s light that shines justice.
The text before us contains an inquiry about who one’s family is. It begins and ends with this consideration. Beginning as a simple dinner-table gathering. Mid-sentence, in fact… “and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat”. Yet, at the conclusion of the reading, the family is not together in the home…they are separated. Jesus on the inside of the house; his mother and brothers on the outside. The crowd calls to Jesus alerting him about his mother and brothers asking for him. And then Jesus asks this profound question that we address in this morning’s inquiry: “Who are my mother and brothers?” And looking at the whole crowd who was sitting with him, he broadens the definition of family: “Here…Here are my mother and brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” The dark powers of evil would have us limit our understanding of family…who we are ‘supposed’ to love and care for. (and, of course, we are to care for our family) However, Jesus wants to draw the circle wider and he broadens our boundaries of who is to receive that ‘family-like care’. Who was sitting with Jesus at that moment? Well, we don’t quite know, do we? In the past, Jesus had welcomed the outcast, the tax collectors, the sinners…so any one from that group could have been among him. Jesus’ family today might be the rejected poor and homeless…here are my sisters and brothers. His family today might be the LGBTQ2+ community…here are my sisters and brothers. And as we think of our First Nation Brothers and sisters, and the tragedy we continue to take in…here are my sisters and brothers teaches Jesus. Draw the circle wide, draw it wider still, let this be our song, no one stands alone, standing side by side, draw the circle wide. Seeking healing craving justice. Tears of loss and cries of pain. Many children now are resting. Strong in memory.
I wonder what this will prompt us to do in the future? I have seen more orange shirts worn than ever before. Orange shirts, orange scarves, orange ribbons pinned on lapels. This is a time to shine light on the dark ways of evil and move towards God’s light of justice. Archbishop Desmond Tutu is remembered as saying: “goodness is stronger than hate.” And our witness today is an opportunity to prove him right. Goodness will be witnessed as we, more than ever, deeply examine our position of privilege, and consider how we might live into a society that breaks down walls, rather than reinforcing them. There is an abundance of growing resources on privilege: racial, financial, cultural privilege. We must ~ NOW ~ do the work of opening our eyes to the evils that cause separation, that breed hatred, that force brokenness. Ted Talks, Zoom courses, new books and journals all are coming out to help us in this quest towards the light. How will you prove that goodness is stronger than hate?
Shall we allow the exaggeration of the death of darkness continue? Or shall we draw the circle wide and allow God’s light to shine us towards freedom, reconciliation and healing. Who is my mother and brothers? They asked of Jesus. And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” Amen.