The Gospel Reading
Mark 6:30-34, 53-56
The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, "Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while." For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.
The Sermon
Jesus
is clearly recognized in this passage from Mark as a wise man and a
compassionate healer. He wants to feed his sheep with his presence
and restore them to health both physically and spiritually. The
words and works of Jesus inspire us even today, two thousand years
later.
I have
to tell you though that I find it troubling that the bible has been
used to mislead people and to justify actions that seem so clearly
wrong to me. It seems like people take passages from the bible,
especially the old testament, as a source to justify their
prejudices.
What I
love about our denomination is the analogy we use of the three
legged stool. One leg stands for tradition. A second leg represents
scripture and the third stands for reason. Without any one of these
legs, the stool will not stand.
This
three legged stool approach to faith makes so much sense to me. It
allows me to reflect on stories such as Noah and the flood and see
the message behind the story. There is no evidence of a flood ever
taking place. It would have been literally impossible to put every
creature two by two on a giant boat. Even if you could, every
species would be seriously impaired by such a limited gene pool.
But,
stories such as this carry with them a very important message about
having a relationship with our creator. Many parts of the bible were
intended for the culture in which they were written and it is
important to keep that in mind when studying scripture. I have a
relative who once told me that she and her family are Christians and
they believe in the real words of the bible. That probable isn't
exactly what she said but what I heard was that every word in the
bible had to be followed to the letter. I frankly do not believe any
denomination actually follows the words in the old testament and new
testament word for word.
Here
are some examples of what you will find in the Bible. 1st
Corinthians Ch. 14 “It is shameful for women to speak in church.”
Lev. 11-7 Eating pork and shellfish is an abomination. Lev. 19 The
Lord says to Moses, you shall not let your animals breed with a
different kind; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed;
nor shall you put on a different garment made with two different
materials. (So, I guess we all need to check our clothing labels and
remove all clothes that are cotton polyester blend.)
Lev. Ch.
20 If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the
adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death. Lev. Ch. 21 A priest
shall marry only a woman who is a virgin.
Deuteronomy
Ch. 21 If someone has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not
obey his father and mother, who does not heed them when they
discipline him, then his father and mother shall take hold of him and
take him to the elders of his town at the gate of that place. They
shall say to the elders of his town, “This son of ours is stubborn
and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a glutton and a
drunkard.” Then all the men of the town shall stone him to death.
Ch. 22 If a man meets a virgin who is not engaged and seizes her and
lies with her, and they are caught in the act, the man who lay with
her shall give fifty shekels of silver to the young woman's father
and she shall marry him. (I wonder how the young woman feels about
that.)
This is
only a sample of what can be found in the bible and unfortunately the
bible has been used to justify slavery, not giving the vote to women
and limiting the rights of those with a different sexual orientation.
When I
was ordained a priest, I was asked if I believed the bible contained
all that was necessary to salvation and I said I did. I still believe
that. There is so much in the old and new testament that inspires me
and guides me on my spiritual journey. Today's Psalm reading is
beautifully written when it says, “you are my Father, my God and
the rock of my salvation.”
When
Paul writes of love in first Corinthians there are very few people
who are not emotionally moved by his prose.
I
believe that my salvation is in both the old and new testaments. I
am also grateful that God has given you and me discerning minds. May
we use them prayerfully on our spiritual journey.
We must
never lose sight of our Christianity. We are
followers of Jesus and we follow his teachings. In the short time
that he was physically on this planet he said some pretty amazing
things. When confronted about working on the Sabbath he said the
Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. When ask about
paying taxes, he said, “ive to Caesar the things that are Caesars,
give to God the things that are God's.” When he saw a woman who
was accused of adultery and was about to be stoned he said, "let he who
is without sin cast the first stone." Jesus was amazing and I'm a follower.
Amen
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