The Problem with Miracles

WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
June 25th 2006

Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
“The Problem with Miracles”
Mark 4:35-41

I have a problem with the stories in the bible where Jesus performs miracles. It is not that I doubt their validity. You see, the problem with miracles is that they allow us to be observers instead of participants in the journey of faith. Each time Jesus performs a miracle it is easy to be spectators who are amazed by the action but see little which connects with our lives. This problem is magnified because of our society which has made a fine art of being passive observers of life. We have been trained to watch, listen, evaluate, occasionally clap but we never get too personally involved.
So when Jesus performs a miracle in the gospel stories, we are already programmed to do the same. We are able to sit back and be in awe of Jesus. “Look how amazing he is!” “Who is this that even the wind and sea obey him?” The problem with all of this – with being a passive observer in life – is that Jesus expects more from disciples.
When evening had come, Jesus invites the disciples to journey over the sea. As they leave the crowd behind them, they also leave behind so much more. The invitation to journey to the other side is scary because Jesus calls them to leave what is familiar and go into the land of the gentiles. The land of the gentiles is the land of the unclean people. It is a place where – it was commonly believed – people who are not included in the love of God lived. To accept this invitation to cross over to the other side means that the journey of discipleship will lead into unknown places where good religious people are just not found. However, despite all of this, the disciples journey with Jesus believing he is worthy of their trust.
On this journey to the land of the gentiles, a great storm arises. Most of the disciples are well seasoned fishermen. So, we know that if they are afraid it is no ordinary storm; it is a storm of epic proportions. Faced with what looks like certain death, the disciples turn to Jesus. And Jesus is fast asleep! Teacher, (they say) don’t you care that we are about to die? It seems they are shocked that Jesus was able to sleep through one of the biggest storms they had ever seen.
Immediately after being awoken, Jesus speaks to the wind and sea. What he said is literally translated: “be silent – be muzzled.” Instead of reading “Peace, be still,” it is more accurate to say that Jesus tells the storm to: “shut up!” It is only after the storm subsides and the sea becomes a smooth as glass that Jesus challenges the disciples. “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith!?” Despite harsh words, Jesus does not abandon the disciples in their time of fear. He simply challenges them as they grow on the journey of faith.
By this point in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus has only begun his ministry. Only recently has he called the disciples. Shortly after they begin following Jesus they see him being restrained by his family, accused of being out of his mind by the crowd, and hearing Jesus referred to as a demon by the religious leadership. After this great storm on the sea, the disciples must begin to understand that following Jesus is not a promise of safety and security. This is not a very reassuring picture for those of us who might want to follow in this way.
Throughout his life and ministry, Jesus uses the word peace. In our society, peace is a word which carries a great deal of baggage. Much, if not all, of this baggage has little to do with the peace of Jesus Christ. There are many promises of peace in our world. There promises of peace through war without end. There are promises of peace through security screening and boarder walls. There are promises of peace through the latest technology or fashion or even in a new relationship. However, all these promises of peace are not what the peace of Jesus is all about. The peace promised by Jesus is not a promise that there will be no storms in life. It is promise of peace despite the storms of life.
The invitation to discipleship can often place us right in the midst of the greatest storms in this life. It is not a promise of physical, emotional or even financial success. However, we are promised that on this journey we do not go alone. Even when we doubt, we will not be abandoned. And, even if it seems that Jesus is asleep at the back of the boat of life, we are never alone. That is the good news of this passage.
There are a two lingering issues that arise in this passage. The first has to do with Jesus’ gentile mission. When the disciples encounter a storm of epic proportions just as they journey beyond the bounds of their traditional religious comfort zone is no accident. It is an encounter with the powers and principalities of the religious establishment of Jesus day. Jesus tried to show that God loved all people, even the gentiles. He also invited all who would seek to follow to do the same. This storm is a reminder that the community of the faithful will encounter storms as they seek to share the great good news that all people are loved by God.
As we seek to follow Jesus in our time we must always ask ourselves; who are the gentiles today? Who are the people or groups which the religious community has traditionally seen as outside of God’s love? These are dangerous questions with often scary answers. It can be scary because disciples on this mission today will face the hostility that the disciples did on that sea.
The other lingering issue is what to do with miracles. We must be careful when faced with the miracle stories of Jesus. We can stand with the disciples praising Jesus as spectators in the life of faith. If this is all we do then we will never move beyond our fascination with the amazing power of Jesus. Ultimately this is the way of escape and the way of fear. However, we need not fear, we need not stand as spectators.
When Jesus calls us to follow – he calls us to face the storms of life confident we will never face them alone. However, we are not called to be spiritual superheroes because there will be times of doubt. But even in those moments of doubt and fear we are not alone. Despite our fear and doubt God does not abandon us. Our call is to move from being spectator of miracles to participants on the stormy journey of faith. Amen.

Subversive Gardening

WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
June 11th 2006

Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
“Subversive Gardening”
Mark 4:26-32
Today’s passage is part of what is often called the “kingdom discourses.” This is the part of the gospel where Jesus is often sayings things like: The kingdom of God is like… Whenever Jesus speaks in this way we can be sure he is teaching with a double meaning. It is expected that each parable conveys deeper meanings which are not always easily understandable.
When Jesus talks about this mustard shrub being a place where “birds of the air can make nests in its shade,” it is safe to assume he is not simply talking about birds and nests. In fact, we know that Jesus is drawing on images from the scriptures. The image of a great tree where birds are able to make their nests in the shade is a reference to the great kingdoms of the world. The use of the image of a mighty cedar tree is a way of talking about the power and might of these kingdoms or world powers.
So when Jesus talks about the kingdom of God being a place where the birds may nest in the shade it is meant to make connections with these other passages of scripture. However, one must ask what comparisons are expected. After all, Jesus is not talking about a cedar tree; he is talking about a mustard seed. It seems that Jesus is busy transforming some familiar images to create new meaning.
In the world of the New Testament the black mustard seed was a plant which did not receive the sort of respect given the mighty cedar trees of Lebanon. Mustard after all, was a weed. It was pervasive; extremely difficult to get rid of and once established would grow uncontrollably. In traditional law, the mustard seed was forbidden from being planted or sown. The mustard plant grows to about three to four feet in height. As such it would have been difficult for one, let alone many, making a nest in its shade. It is this small, unwanted and unglamorous weed which Jesus uses to show the way of the kingdom of God. It begs the question: What is he doing? And, what does it mean?
The kingdom of God is like a weed that no one wants and no one can control? This is not a very positive image of the kingdom, at least at the beginning. The kingdom of God begins with a small unwanted weed but grows in such a way that it will do what is only expected from the mighty cedars, or nations of the world. Each time Jesus speaks about the kingdom of God he is always subverting and challenging the dominant thinking of the day. God takes what is small and insignificant and disrespected in our world to bring glory and healing and good news. Jesus proclaims this boldly and unapologetically.
Many times the teaching of this passage has been divorced from its context and history. It is often used to emphasize that God will take small things to do great things. Such interpretations have given rise to the ever increasing voices of the self-help gospel where we are called to claim our diving power of expand our territory or claiming the riches God has set aside for you. It has become the foundation for the prosperity gospel where if you just have enough faith God will bless you with material goods, health and maybe even help you loose that extra ten pounds. While faith in God can (and does) certainly make a difference in peoples lives, this common distortion is off the mark when it comes to this passage.
Another way this passage, and other kingdom discourses, have been abused is to equate the kingdom of God with the kingdoms and countries of the world. This sort of thinking has been connected with the empires of this world from Rome, to Britain and other western European colonial powers. There is even some talk about the rise of the United States as God’s empire. While that last one may seem like an exaggeration, it is an idea that has gained a great deal of popularity. Whatever you may believe about these new developments one thing is clear. Any nation or empire which confuses itself with, or sees itself as an extension of, the kingdom of God is not only dangerous but simply unbiblical.
When Jesus speaks about the kingdom of God he is contrasting how God works with how the kingdoms of the world work. In this passage, Jesus is making some very clear political statements. The kingdom with which Jesus’ hearers would have been most familiar would have been Rome. However, Jesus had to be extremely careful given the volatile times in which he lived. He was not advocating open rebellion, but was clearly challenging the prevailing notions about the great Roman Empire. So Jesus is participating in some subversive gardening which requires deep engagement with his teaching. However, as the church throughout the ages grew closer to the empires of the world, it has had to domesticate this rather unsettling piece of scripture. As a result these, and other passages, are interpreted as a cute story about a tiny mustard seed with some self-help implications.
Jesus is very clearly contrasting and challenging the bold and arrogant claims of the worlds’ Kingdoms. With this strange mustard weed, Jesus shows that God’s kingdom has nothing to do with human ingenuity, and the use of human greatness and power. We know that the kingdoms of the world, the mighty cedars trees, know the ways of pomp and circumstance, they know the ways of big things and mighty ideas, and they know the ways of shock and awe. This mustard seed image of the kingdom of God- works to challenge any notion that the Kingdom of God will ever be proclaimed through the ways of the empires of this world. The kingdom of God is born out of weakness. It is small, unwanted and even can even be an illegal tiny seed. The kingdom of God is nothing more than a pesky unwanted weed.
As odd as it might seem, Jesus proclaims this message as a word of encouragement. It is meant to give hope to his followers who live in a world which is hostile to this sort of message. It is meant to instill hope and patience in a world where the message of power, domination, hate, violence and death seem to reign supreme. Jesus says: The time is coming when this will indeed end. However, this message is not only about endurance it includes so much more.
This passage is also a word of calling to the Christian community. It is a message which says those communities which seek to follow me are called to be like pesky mustard weeds. In other words, Christian communities are meant to grow and be a place where people may come and be nurtured for the journey of life. Being this sort of community is possible even if you are small and unwanted or insignificant in the eyes of the world. It is a call to provide shade to those seeking refuge from the world and encouragement to continue on the journey.
In our community it can be easy to become hyper focused on the ways we do not believe we measure up. It is easy to become hyper-focused on the way things used to be – the reality of our history and the way our memory re-creates our history. It is easy to become focused on the many details which need our attention. And, it is easy to become overly-concerned about the size of our community. This is completely understandable. Given our cultural baggage regarding what makes a successful church it is easy to fall prey to this way of thinking. Our passage from this morning is a reminder that the messages of our culture do not have the last word on what makes a healthy and growing congregation.
A few weeks ago my own unacknowledged bondage to this cultural baggage became apparent. It was during a lunch meeting I had with our Executive Presbyter Paul Reiter. During lunch I gave a run-down of all our church was involved with. I showed him what was happening with Better Family Life, Genesis House, and Bread of Recovery. We talked about the work and ministry of Union Communion Ministries. I showed him the children’s room and the vision to transform it into a truly welcoming space. I made sure to drive him around the area and showed him the community garden and the many things which are happening. And I even shared with him about the new people who have joined our community over the last few months and years. As I shared with him everything that is happening in our community of faith I found myself energized by our story.
It occurred to me that despite the fact we do not fit with much of our cultural baggage of what it means to do church we are indeed growing like a weed. Have you ever found yourself caught in the day-to-day stuff or bound by that cultural baggage? I want to invite you to take a step back and find an opportunity to share the story of Westminster. Tell the story of how we are growing like a weed for the kingdom of God. It is my prayer that God turn each one of us into a subversive gardener, sowing the great good news that God is still at work in the world and in this community providing shade, hospitality, and growth for all people. Amen.

Even Presbyterians Must be Born-Again?

WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
June 11th 2006
Trinity Sunday

Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
“Even Presbyterians must be Born-Again?”
John 3:1-17

Nicodemus is a compelling witness to the radical transformation possible in Jesus Christ. His radical transformation is a true born-again experience. While Presbyterians do not usually talk about being born-again or conversion experience, it is language with which we ought to become more familiar. I believe a better understanding of Nicodemus’ witness could help even Presbyterians claim, with authenticity, born-again status.
Nicodemus is a fascinating character. He is a member of the Pharisees. (It was a Jewish sect known for its strict religious observances as well as having notable political clout.) Nicodemus is not only a Pharisee; he is a leader, a real ‘mover and shaker’ in the religious community. He was the sort of person one might imagine having private prayer and strategy session with the President. Nicodemus is a man who has great religious and political power and authority.
The way Nicodemus approaches Jesus is quite illuminating. Unlike everyone else, Nicodemus visits Jesus at night. It is a risky and arrogant act. It is a risky act because if word got out that the leader of the Pharisees acknowledges that Jesus is from God Jesus reputation would grow in ways the powerful could not risk. It is an arrogant act because Nicodemus assumes he is entitled to a private audience with Jesus. It should come as no surprise since this is the way the powerful work; at night, behind closed doors, behind the scenes, arrogantly trying to control anyone who might be a threat to their well ordered world.
Nicodemus’ plan and agenda become quickly evident. He intends to find out exactly how Jesus is doing all these signs, wonders and healings. It is possible that if Nicodemus can figure out how Jesus is doing these things than the power of this troublesome preacher can be nullified. He speaks to Jesus saying: “We know that you are from God since no one could do what you do apart from God.” Nicodemus is not speaking only for himself. He comes as the representative and leader of the Pharisees. However, this powerbroker, with his well devised plan is about to have the very foundations of his faith and understanding of the world shaken to the core.
When Jesus speaks he radically alters Nicodemus’s plan for this encounter. “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” No one, Jesus says, can see or understand or perceive the ways of the kingdom of God without being born from above. Nicodemus is so rattled and his imagination is so limited that he wants to know if Jesus expects him to crawl back into his mother’s womb.
Jesus language about being born again or born from above can be rather confounding. It is no wonder the W H Auden said: “it is hard to be a Christian if you are not something of a poet.” Jesus speaks in ways that often require a willingness to be comfortable in and with the ways of ambiguity and metaphor. This is something for which Nicodemus is unprepared.
Nicodemus wants to know how. He is desperate to know the step-by-step process for attaining birth from above. Nicodemus knows the way the world works. He understands so much yet despite this Nicodemus is unable to understand Jesus teaching. Since Jesus does not fit into the well ordered world of the Pharisees, he must be dismissed as irrelevant and ridiculous. However, this is a problem since Nicodemus and the Pharisees have already acknowledged that Jesus is from God. So what is to be done?
After Jesus finishes speaking, Nicodemus is silent. It appears that he leaves this encounter with Jesus without saying another word. He is so dumbfounded that there is nothing left to say. However, this is not the last we hear and see of Nicodemus.
A few chapters later (chapter seven verse fifty) Nicodemus comes on the scene again. This time it is not an encounter with Jesus. It turns out that the Pharisees are meeting trying to devise a plan to rid themselves of this troublemaker Jesus. During this meeting Nicodemus speaks to challenge this budding injustice. He reminds those gathered that it is not lawful to condemn anyone who has been given the opportunity to speak in their own defense.
The response to Nicodemus words is powerful. Instead of acknowledging the truth of his statement they simply say: “Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you?” Nicodemus speaks an inconvenient truth. As a result, the other power brokers quickly seek to dismiss him by defaming his character. Nicodemus quickly learns the price for speaking truth to power. However, it also shows that his late night encounter with Jesus has had an impact.
The last time Nicodemus appears in the Gospel of John is at the crucifixion of Jesus. When Nicodemus last appears, he says nothing. However his actions speak loudly. This leader of the Pharisees joins with Joseph of Arimathea in wrapping the body of Jesus, anointing it with oil and lovingly placing his body in the tomb. It is an act of a true disciple. This leader of the Pharisees is now doing a job often left to the lowest class in society. No longer is Nicodemus asking how. Instead he lovingly cares for the body of the one who altered his whole world in a late night meeting.
In our modern world there is a great misconception about what it means to be ‘born-again.’ For many, it is the idea that we make a one time decision to follow Jesus. While I know this can be powerfully important in people’s lives, I believe minimizes the all encompassing nature of Jesus teaching regarding being born from above. Jesus use of the birth metaphor is no accident. It is meant to emphasis the work of the Spirit and not our mental assent. After all, we did not choose to be born in the first place what would make us think we could choose a second birth? Being born again is a gift. It is a gift to see-perceive and understand the world in new ways. Being born again is about living differently each day as a result of an ongoing encounter with the work and person of Jesus.
Anytime we fall into the belief that we have the ability in ourselves to fully comprehend our world we have fallen into the trap of Nicodemus arrogance. If we begin to think we have it all figured out – our lives – the way the world works – the church – theology – faith – God – then we must be reminded that we have fallen into the trap of arrogance. The life and witness of Nicodemus serves as a powerful reminder that our call is to see-perceive and understand the world in new ways. But it does not end their. As a result of this gift, this new perception, we are called to live our lives in ways that give witness to this life changing reality.
I can think of no more amazing witness to the world than to hear how an arrogant religious and political leader was transformed into a silent, humble care-giver of the crucified Jesus. It should challenge all of us in those moments of self assured arrogance to become humble servants of the crucified Jesus. This is what it means to be born again. So the next time someone asks if you are born again you can answer: Yes, everyday. Amen.

Without a Multicultural Future... We Don't Have a Future...

WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
June 4th 2006
Pentecost Sunday
Communion Meditation
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
“Without a Multicultural Future… We Don’t Have a Future…”
Ezekiel 37-1-14; Acts 2:1-21

I recently heard Jin S. Kim pastor of the Church of All Nations in Minnesota make this claim about the church: “If we don’t have a multicultural future then we don’t have a future.” He was not speaking only about his congregation or even those gathered at the Multicultural Church Conference in Orlando. He was speaking to the entire denomination. While this may seem bold it is really quite simple and makes good sense. The simple truth is that our children and grandchildren live in a multicultural world. If they find the church unresponsive and unwilling to embrace this reality, they will undoubtedly find another church or leave the church all together.
However, self preservation is not the reason to embrace a multicultural future. The most compelling reason has nothing to do with political correctness or jumping on the latest trend. Instead, it is built into the very foundation, the very creation of the Christian church. Pentecost, a Jewish festival which comes fifty days after Easter, is the day that Christians celebrate the birth of the church. At the heart of the Pentecost event lies the key to understanding the radical and often unfulfilled call which is the foundation of the church. However, before we get to the passage from Acts, I believe the passage from Ezekiel has just as much to say about the future.
The vision that God gives to Ezekiel is not given to other people. He alone is given this vision to share. It is not a pleasant picture and it is not welcome in the company of priest and prophets who only spin the news so everyone will live in blissful ignorance. However, just because this vision is not seen and embraced by all, it does not lessen the validity of the vision.
Ezekiel finds himself in a valley full of human remains – it is a vision of genocide. We are told these bones are dry – they have been dead for a long time. This is a vision where hope for new life has long since disappeared. However, it is in the middle of this hopeless, lifeless place where God shares a ridiculous vision. Life will return. It is not a vision brought about by human planning or strategy but by God alone.
The promise of new life is rather disruptive. The Spirit of God makes its presence known with a great noise. New life and change does not come easy and can seem chaotic. In fact, despite the fact that death reigns and hope has all but gone this valley of dry bones is a quiet serene place. But God acts to turn this living death into new life and hope, even if it disrupts the status quo.
It is clear that God does not trust that Ezekiel is able to grasp the meaning of this vision. So God makes the meaning abundantly clear. These dry bones represent despair of God’s people. The people have no hope, no vision and no trust that God will act in the midst of death. God sends Ezekiel to the people with this message. God says: Tell them that I will put my Spirit in them and bring hope and life where despair and death once ruled. When the Spirit makes its presence known nothing will ever be the same. (Share Columbia Presidential Innaugural story)
So it was with the day of Pentecost. All the folks in the religious community were gathered in one place. It was a time of chaos and uncertainty. The religious community was rather divided. The Pharisees were desperately trying to cling to tradition and orthodoxy. The Sadducees were seeking to be more relevant to the culture in which they found themselves. And on top of this division you had this small sect of people claiming that messiah had come. Yet despite their divisions, despite there deep disagreements, they were still worshiping together. In the midst of this Pentecost celebration, a violent wind began to howl. God was once again at work bringing new life and hope where despair and division were the order of the day. The Spirit brought changes for which so few were prepared. Nothing would ever be the same again.
When the Spirit makes its presence known, at that Pentecost celebration, something amazing happens. The good news of Jesus is heard in the native languages of all the people gathered for worship. This is amazing because it serves no practical purpose. After all, these pilgrims would have been multi-lingual. It was not necessary for the gospel to be heard in the native tongues of the people gathered. This leads us to ask: What is going on? This scene makes two simple points. The first is that in the Christian faith it is not necessary to give up ones culture to be a faithful follower. And secondly it means that no one culture holds a special place in God’s eyes. While this may seem simple, one only has to make a quick journey through the history of the Christian church to know we need to be reminded of these simple truths over and over again. (Could say something about colonialism historically and the struggle between the conservative and liberal church in Kenya.)
The first Pentecost for the followers of Jesus is a rather scary scene. The worship service becomes chaotic and frankly lacks proper decorum! However, the Spirit does not seem to care. Simply put, this new thing from God is a threat to the traditional order. Those challenged by this vision dismiss what is happening: Are they drunk? Don’t they understand how things work? That is not the right way to worship!
Instead of ignoring the grumbling, Peter invites those who doubt not to dismiss this new reality so easily. Instead, Peter invites them back into the stories of their faith. He reclaims the scriptural roots to explain this new thing. Quoting from the prophet Joel, he shows how the Spirit of God is at work bringing new life to all people. God is planting visions and dreams that bring hope and life to the dry dead bones of the old ways. The arguments of the past have become irrelevant. Everything has changed.
Faced with these two stark visions of the work of the Spirit, we must ask ourselves where we might place ourselves in the visions. Will we, when faced with God’s vision of a truly multicultural community, stand on the sidelines and dismiss it as a drunken stupor? Or will we be moved by this new reality in ways that touch the core of our very being. The truth is that this is a challenging and difficult call which, depending on the day, can find us at both ends of this spectrum. Because of that, our call is to challenge each other on those days when we find ourselves dismissing this vision as ridiculous. Like Peter, we have to hold one another accountable and say: It is not alcohol but the Spirit of God at work.
While Westminster is the most diverse church in our Presbytery, we must still work to fully live out this vision. We are still at work trying to provide worship that is authentically multicultural and reformed. However, we must never become discouraged. God is doing a new thing and we are called to be witnesses to this new truly Pentecostal church.
I want to end with two thoughts – or cautions for our community. 1) When the Spirit is at work making its presence known, it can be disruptive and even seem chaotic. New life does not come quietly. It can be disruptive and scary. However we know that God is the one who will bring new life to dry bones. 2) The second is connected to the first. The church must always be careful not to confuse serenity and peace with the absence of life found the valley of the dry bones. The noisy disruptive life found in the spirit of God can and will bring new life.
I believe Pastor Jin Kim is right, not only for the denomination, but for Westminster. Our future is multicultural or there is no future. That is why last month the session voted to create a worship task force which will seek to understand how we might more fully live into our vision. The task force has five goals which are as follows: 1) Learn what is meant by “Reformed Worship.” 2) Learn about the process of worship planning. 3) Propose ways to help communicate the purposes of worship (the whole and its parts) to the congregation. 4) Evaluate our current worship practices through the lens of evangelism – “How visitor friendly is our worship?” And, 5) Propose and demonstrate ways to continue to live out the vision of a multicultural/racial community in the context of worship. While some of you will be asked to serve on this task force we will all be part of this process of discernment and understanding. As we begin this new phase in our journey of faith May God grant us the wisdom, courage and the Spirit to live into the vision – in our lives, in our homes, in our business, and yes even in our worship. Amen.