Shema Israel

Proper 26B; Deut. 6:1-9; Mark 12:28-34 St. Paul’s, Smithfield 11/4/2018

Jim Melnyk: “Shema Israel”

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,

And with all your soul,

And with all your might.

And these words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart;

And you shall teach them diligently to your children,

And shall talk of them when you sit in your house,

And when you walk by the way,

And when you lie down,

And when you rise.”

These words are thousands of years old and yet they are powerful words for us even today.  These words, beginning with “Hear O Israel,” came into practice some twenty-five hundred years ago during the reign of Josiah, the king of Judah.  They are known as The Shema – the Hebrew word for “listen, or hear and do, or even accept” (Wikipedia).  The Shema is meant to be said by faithful Jews the first thing every morning and as the last thing they say every night.  We might call it a creedal statement of the Jewish faith – certainly a creedal statement of faith by Jesus and those who follow him.

During the time of Jesus there was no doubt as to the importance of these words which were repeated twice daily by the faithful.

One God.  Unique in relationship with Israel and not a part of a host of other gods.  To be loved with all our heart, soul, and might – or as Jesus says in Mark, with all our strength.  That is, with everything that we are.  Utterly.  With our whole being.  With everything we possess - everything.  There should be nothing of us – no part of us – that isn’t totally involved in a love relationship with our God.  That means we can’t hide any part of ourselves from God.  As we pray together each Sunday, “Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid…” (BCP, 355).

Is there any wonder that Mark records this – that Matthew and Luke, along with Mark, record The Shema as Jesus’ response to the question, “Which commandment is the first of all?”  But of course we all know that there was more to the response by Jesus – he took it a bit further, perhaps as a way of saying what our love for God should look like when experienced in our lives.

Almost in the same breath Jesus adds, “The second is this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.  There is no commandment greater than these.” 

Love your neighbor as yourself.  Jesus is quoting from a section of Leviticus 19 known as The Holiness Code – a code which offers a number of concrete examples of how we are to show love toward our neighbor: “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field to its very border, or gather the gleanings after your harvest.  You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and for the alien: I am the Lord your God.

You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not defraud or oppress your neighbor.  You shall not oppress the alien….You shall love the alien as yourself; I am the Lord your God” (portions of 19:9-34 paraphrased).  Concrete examples of how we are to show love for our neighbor – and concrete examples of who we are to see and treat as our neighbor.

Tying together the commands to love God with every fiber of our being, as found in Deuteronomy, and the command to love our neighbor, as found in Leviticus, was not unheard of during the time Jesus walked this earth.  Certainly the scribe in today’s lesson from Mark is pleased with the way Jesus combined the two commandments; and in Luke’s gospel it’s the scribe, or the lawyer, who actually puts the two commandments together and is then affirmed by Jesus.  These are two of the rare occasions when Jesus and his protagonists end up agreeing with one another – so we can understand the importance of these two commandments from God.  Even so, preaching this love for God and love for neighbor is what led Jesus to the cross.

The Jewish theologian Martin Buber once wrote, “By connecting the two [commandments] Jesus brings to light the Old Testament truth that God and [humanity] are not rivals.”  He goes on to explain, “Exclusive love to God (“With all your heart”) is, [because of who God is,] inclusive love, ready to accept and include all love.”  Buber is saying that loving our neighbor is an active extension of our loving of God.  He is saying that only in the concrete actions of caring for others can God be seen as the Living God – the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – the God of Sarah, Ruth, and Esther – the God of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Without our concrete love for others our love for God becomes empty and cold – something we seek to possess like one possesses an idol.

This past Sunday evening hundreds of faithful people gathered together at Beth Meyer Synagogue in Raleigh as part of a Vigil on behalf of those injured and killed at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.  The murderer – the religious terrorist who pulled the trigger – used the Gospel of John as his rationale for purposely seeking out and killing Jews.  There is absolutely no theological justification for his actions – and there is no way one can tie such hatred and violence to any teachings of Jesus, let alone to the Great Commandment.

But there we were: Eight area rabbis; an Episcopal Bishop (our own Sam Rodman) along with several Episcopal priests, deacons and lay people; Baptist, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, Methodist, and non-denominational ministers and lay people; three Imams from local mosques, the mayor of Raleigh; the Governor, and more; all gathered together in vigil – all sharing one another’s grief – all naming our hurt and our anger – all recognizing our common bond as people created in the image and likeness of God – and all claiming our hope for a future where such vigils are no longer necessary.  I suspect almost every one of us present wondered at some point about the possibility of our gathering being targeted by violence – but we each believed that remaining separate, and remaining silent, was far worse than any threat of death.

Central to the message shared by leaders from all faiths was the Great Commandment.  We heard the call to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor from all three great religions of the Book – core commandments of all three faiths.  We hunger for hearts of stone to become hearts of flesh – even as the prophet Ezekiel promised.

Rabbi Ariel Edery offered a prayer for action, part of which reads, “We cannot merely pray to you, O God, to root out prejudice and hatred; for you have already given us eyes to see the good in all people, if we would only look for it…. Therefore we pray to you instead, O God,

For strength and determination;

For wisdom and will power;

To do and not just to pray, to become instead of to wish;

That our land may be safe, and that our lives may be blessed.

Rabbi Edery’s prayer should sound familiar to us.  We have offered a similar prayer every Sunday for the past several weeks and we will hear it again today.  “Open our eyes to see your hand at work in the world about us.  Deliver us from the presumption of coming to this Table for solace only, and not for strength; for pardon only, and not for renewal.  Let the grace of this Holy Communion make us one body, one spirit in Christ, that we may worthily serve the world in Christ’s name.”

My prayer last Sunday, and every day since, is that the people of this nation – the people of this world – will ask God for the wisdom, the courage, and the will, to move beyond simply offering our thoughts and prayers when these tragedies of violence and hatred occur.  That we will seek the wisdom, the courage, and the will to act – to change how we live, move, and have our being with one another in this world.  Otherwise there will just continue to be more Pulse Nightclubs, more Sandy Hook and Parkland schools, more Tree of Life Synagogues – because thoughts and prayers won’t stand in the way of hate.  It takes concrete actions of love and support – concrete acts of wisdom and courage – of both word and deed – to make a difference.

When we put into practice our deep and abiding love for God; coupled with our love for one another – our love for our neighbor – our love for the alien who resides among us – then we may see a world bending itself toward the dream of God – then we may hear our Lord say to us, “You, my sisters and brothers, you are not far from the kingdom of God.”

 

Claiming the Power of Servanthood

Proper 24, Year B; Mark 10:35-45; St. Paul’s, Smithfield, NC – 10/21/2018

Jim Melnyk, “Claiming the Power of Servanthood”

Have you ever said something and, even before you finished your sentence, known you should have kept your mouth shut?  The last word hasn’t finished reverberating in the room and your brain says, “Oh, I wish I hadn’t said that!”  And then another part of your brain says, “Aw, what in the world were you thinking?”  But by the time you think it; it’s too late. 

James and John knew what it was like to make that mistake.

“Teacher,” they say to Jesus, “We want you to do whatever we ask of you.”  What a set up! Ever try that with your parents?  Jesus, much to his credit, responds, “What do you want me to do for you?”  I’m afraid I would have answered differently – I rarely respond so graciously to such manipulative questions.  Obviously, this incident of glory seeking doesn’t reflect well on the disciples James and John.  The Sons of Thunder, as they’re known about the region, come across with more of a selfish whine than a rumble on this one.  Worse than that, they don’t even realize what they’re asking of Jesus – in spite of all Jesus has been telling them since Peter had acclaimed him as the Christ.

Remember that ever since Peter’s confession, Jesus has tried to teach his disciples that the way of Messiah is sacrifice, not sovereignty; and that the deliverance to be sought was not so much freedom from Roman rule, but from the power of evil.  Jesus has been trying to point out that such a battle can’t be won by ladder climbing, power brokering, or the amassing of wealth.  The power of evil finds its ultimate defeat at the hands of faithful people serving one another with the compassion and love of God held firmly in their hearts, and the justice and mercy of God as the foundation of their souls. 

This kind of attitude by Jesus doesn’t seem to make sense to his disciples.  It’s one of the primary things that has Rome, Herod, the Sadducees, and the Pharisees both perplexed and anxious.  But then again, even knowing the story centuries later, actions that embody words like compassion, mercy, justice, and love still make little sense to those who seek status, authority, and power.  The goal we are taught from day one is to get ahead and to stay ahead.  We learn as kids in games like King of the Hill and Dodge Ball.  Flinch and they’ve got you.  “Don’t let them see you sweat!”  It’s the world’s M.O., and most of the world seems to have it down pretty pat.  We play to win…we play for keeps…take no prisoners…we’re number one!  It’s the American way.  At least that’s what Madison Avenue and much of Corporate America would have us believe.

“There’s nothing wrong with the question asked by James and John,” today’s Spin Doctors might say.  “Somebody’s got to sit at the side of Jesus, why not James and John?  Why not us?  Why not me?  They simply didn’t use the proper tact in asking – they just didn’t set the stage properly – they just miss-phrased their thoughts.”  And true, James and John, for all their fumbling, glory-seeking ambition, are faithful followers of Jesus.  They’ve stuck with him through the tough stuff as well as the good.  They just don’t always seem to get what Jesus is trying to teach them.

Three times to this point Jesus has talked about what lies ahead in Jerusalem – the cross and certain death.  It shouldn’t take a rocket scientist to read the faces and body language of the religious and political power brokers of the day – they’re not exactly the leaders of the Jesus Fan Club.  Jesus has already told his disciples to let go of worldly understandings of greatness – remember the rich man from last week’s gospel?  Had James and John truly understood what Jesus had been saying all along, they would never have asked to be at his right and left hand – the places ultimately taken by two criminals who were crucified along with him.

Yet this is the one place in Mark’s gospel where Jesus lays his purpose out for all to understand – his words sound clear as a bell.  The Son of Man has come, “not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  This is where discipleship and Christology meet.  These are the guts of what it means to follow Jesus.  This is the icon of God’s call to each of us.  Can we break with the world’s understanding of power and glory?  In fact it’s easy to imagine that Jesus saw both himself and Israel mirrored in the Isaiah passage about the Suffering Servant we just heard this morning.  Can we find our purpose and power in following Jesus – by living into and by the teachings of this One we call Christ? 

Henri Nouwen once wrote that ever since humanity’s eyes were opened in the garden, the people of God have been tempted to “choose power over love, control over the cross, being a leader over being led” (Christian Century, Oct. 8, 1997).  The church has never been immune to such temptation – and throughout history people who have claimed to be sitting at God’s right hand have orchestrated some of the world’s most dastardly and even deadly deeds. 

The problem, as I see it, stems from the alluring shine of worldly power over and against the simple beauty of servanthood.  Power, as the world sees it, is a bright, shiny bobble.  It glints and gleams in its own precious light and entices us to take it up and use it – often telling us such misuse now will ultimately empower us to do great good later.  You can fudge things a bit – or even fudge them a lot now, because your ultimate goal is good.  After all, hasn’t somebody said somewhere that the end always justifies the means?

Sound familiar?  It reminds me of the great Ring of Power in Tolkien’s epic masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings.  In his story, Tolkien tells of the alluring power carried by the Enemy’s One Ring – a power that can tempt even the greatest leaders of the free world to use it to save – and yet the One Ring has within it a power that would ultimately turn against them and corrupt their hearts to its evil purposes.  The Ring has a power that almost wins the day, as it seeks to control and abuse all that stand in the way of its dread Master.

Yet there is another power in Tolkien’s epic story.  Faithful people from many lands stand together against the Enemy’s assault – rejecting the power of the One Ring.  Together they claim the power of both friendship and servanthood.  Friendship and Servanthood both have a power that comes from one’s willingness to stand alongside one’s neighbor so that he or she might find honor and dignity, respect and peace, in the face of the world’s corruption.  Such power and authority has a quieter, alluring call of its own, and one must seek with courage to find its power coursing through one’s veins.  As the wizard Gandalf recounts, “It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay.  Small acts of kindness and love” (The Hobbit, theatrical version of the story).

Where the world seeks power over others; the power of servanthood honors human dignity.  Where the world seeks to corrupt and control; the power of servanthood seeks to transform and make new.  Where the world seeks power over others, servanthood seeks power shared with one another.  Where the world builds barriers of all sorts, servanthood reaches out.

It might make us mindful of the work we do as a parish with Habitat for Humanity, where we team up to work side-by-side with a family, building their new home together – something we’ll have the opportunity to do twice in Selma in early in 2019.  We are called, as children of God and followers of Jesus, ever and always to embrace the transforming power of servanthood – making ourselves available to others in response to the One who laid down his life for us.

Jesus asks James and John, “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink?”  We must ask ourselves, “Do we know what we’re claiming for ourselves when we take the name Christian?  Do we know what we’re truly asking for when we seek to follow Jesus?”  The cup, which we in essence drink, is the cup of servanthood – it’s the cup that awakens us to what it truly means to live our lives “in Christ.”  A cup that opens us to the transforming power of God’s love – and which ultimately calls us to see one another, and to see all our neighbors, as God’s beloved – and we, like Christ, are called to give our lives for the life of this world.  For we, the people of God, are each created in the very likeness of the Living God – and we are created not to be served but to serve – and to be Christ’s presence in this world.  Amen.