Monday, June 11, 2018

Never Call the Good Bad

Never Call the Good Bad 
Psalm 130; Mark 3:20-35 

The sermon this morning takes us to edge of theological considerations that seem acceptable for a Sunday morning sermon. In the past this congregation has appreciated the fact that we do at times talk about the hard news in the world, and the hard news in the scripture. So, even though I have some misgivings, I am going forward with this “hard teaching” from the gospel. 
The gospel of Mark does not usually spend very many words on any specific event. We have often noted that in Mark’s gospel, Jesus is the man of action. He does or says something, and then immediately, he begins something new. 
The portion of Chapter 3 we have this morning is uncharacteristically full of theology, disputed teachings, and outright controversy. When I was checking my favorite commentaries for help on this passage, the usually reserved and middle of the road “The Interpreter’s Bible” from the mid-1950’s, characterized the passage in verse 29 with this assertion;  “With all reverence, a list of ‘sayings of Jesus’ could be assembled under the startling heading, “Things I wish Jesus had never said.” 
Most of the things that would be included in this list are passages that are taken out of context to support cruelty instead of compassion. “The poor will always be with you, “ has been misappropriated to deny compassion for the poor. Today we consider the “Unforgivable Sin.” 
Here is the setting. Jesus went to a remote place for prayer and instruction with his closest disciples. The twelve apostles are named, and given authority to preach and command evil spirits. When they return, there is a crush of people, demanding attention for their illnesses. The press of the crowds is so intense, Jesus and the disciples cannot even find time to eat. His family and friends tried to drag Jesus to safety from the crowd. 
There are scribes from Jerusalem among the throng, checking out the holy man, seeking violations of the Law and the spirit of the Law. The scribes say, he is possessed by Beelzebub, gets his authority to cast out demons from the chief of demons. 
So first let us grab a hold of the name “Beelzebub” or “Beelzebul.” The ancient Aramaic word “Ba-al” means god. The Philistines honored a “god of the flies,” that ‘sounds like’ Beelzebub. There was also a Beelzebul, Lord of the Mansion. The history of English translations seems to alternate between which title is printed. The Greek text appears like Beelzebul to me. 
In Christian usage, Beelzebub is appropriated as symbolic of Satan, posing as the ultimate leader of the forces of evil. The personification of Satan as purely evil instead of the tempter, is a transformation that took place in the culture between the time of the Old Testament and the New Testament. These images from the culture are used in the New Testament without challenge, even though Old Testament texts never make this association. 
Jesus does not quibble with the learned men of the Temple, about the obvious conflict between making associations that are not justified by the Law of Moses. Mark quotes Jesus as shifting the language to ‘Satan.’ He accepts their challenge, and defeats it with simple logic, “Why on earth would a bad spirit defeat his own forces?” 
The commentaries then attribute the intense circumstances as building up the intensity of the Christ. Jesus calls out those who would blaspheme against the Holy Spirit, in order to flatter themselves. And for embellishment, says that those who call good evil, commit a sin that is eternal, or cannot be forgiven. 
Jesus is a good guy. Jesus has great compassion for the poor and those in distress. Jesus goes to great lengths to relieve people of their suffering, without demanding a profession of faith or evidence of their conversion. The passage today says that there are limits to the ‘niceness’ of Jesus. There is a line in the sand that you shall not cross. 
This is surprisingly hard for the theologian in me. I believe that God loves all of creation, and invites all of humanity into a relationship with the good and generous God, that ought to result in good and generous humans. I do not believe that each human needs to accept Jesus of Nazareth in order to be filled with God’s grace. I do believe that humans are capable of filling their conscious lives with selfish and aggressive behaviors that can keep God’s grace at arms length. 
Living without grace in one’s life, makes all of life a struggle, and often results in a particular kind of isolation. Men of evil intentions are drawn to the orbits of other evil men out of a desire for a mutual admiration society. Still, it is a lonely and unsatisfying existence. 
Living outside of God’s grace is a shame, and a sin, a measure of separation from God. It is a sin that is challenged by the intrusion of grace every day, and subject to prompt reconciliation. Think of the penitent thief on the cross with Jesus. The compassion of God, so clearly expressed by Jesus is very real and very pervasive. 
What Jesus calls an eternal sin, is more than ignoring God’s grace. What Jesus confronts here is denying the reality of God’s grace, to the extent that we glorify evil. When we glorify evil, we are walking a thin line, as reported in a few select New Testament texts, including this one. 
The thought that a person could knowingly be so committed to evil that they would deny all that is good, is hard for me to accept. My personal range of experiences includes people making bad choices. I am learning about systemic injustice and how it is a convenient way for otherwise good people to be “tricked” into continuing violent systems. 
I have at different times been willing to accept blanket condemnation of “evil monsters” who commit atrocities. But I realize that I do not know these historical figures personally. I have no idea what went through their minds. I cannot imagine the chain of events that began as blaming the Jews of Europe as the source of social upheavals, and resulted in millions of people arrested, confined and slaughtered. Can that all get rightly attributed to one man? Can a system become so committed to evil that otherwise good people are “tricked” into accepting such extraordinary violence as “good?” 
So what does Jesus and the evangelist Mark want us to learn today? My commentary suggested that there is such a thing as an “Unforgivable Sin,” but it rarely occurs. The commentary suggests it is important for you and I to know that even “nice” Jesus will only cover sin up to a limit. It is possible to really and truly get on God’s bad side. 
This is a sobering thought. The practical theologian in me suggests we think of it like this. Because there is an ultimate boundary where love and forgiveness cannot reach, we are required to take responsibility to nurture our relationship with God. 
Because God works in the world through our lives, it becomes more important than ever, that our lives express God’s love and available forgiveness in a public way. We avoid the temptation to threaten people with damnation, that is not Christlike. We recognize the nature of God’s love is invitation. So we continue to develop our ability to invite, and develop more and better ways to promote inclusion. 
The challenge is more real today than ever before. After years of counting on the Supreme Court to set boundaries to prevent the infringement on the freedoms of each citizen, set against the waves of cruelty that can pass through the populace like a flu virus, we are forced by the court of today to make our welcome and determined sense of inclusion more visible. The culture is in a cycle that accepts violence against those we might see as “others” - justified. We counter that best by standing up for what we believe. 
This is how we change the world for good. We teach and preach the true compassionate community, and trust that the antidote to rejection of God and all goodness will emerge in the subtext. Just because it is rare, does not make the ultimate sin - the rejection of goodness inherent in God’s creation, any less of a threat. Just as our active, and productive mortal lives are short, compels us to do what we can, whenever we can, with all of the gifts we have been given, to defeat evil with compassion and forgiveness. 

As we pass through this time of widespread anxiety, we live with visible hope and faith in our good and generous God. May God bless us in our earnest desire to live with love, and honor the simple glory of a relationship with God, Amen. 

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