George A. Mason Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost Wilshire Baptist Church 30 September 2018 Dallas, Texas In One Peace Mark 9:38-50 I have a confession to make. I don t like it when Christians I disagree with about things I care about turn out to agree with me about other things I care about. I would rather they be wrong about everything so that I could dismiss them as agents of Satan and get on with being my selfrighteous self. I ve told you about the pastors meeting I attended recently in Dallas. We were there because of the shooting of an unarmed black man named Botham Jean in his own apartment by a white woman who is an off-duty police officer. Everyone in the room including the white clergy was there because they believe that racism, white supremacy and even implicit bias that lead to racial inequality and injustice are wrong and contrary to our Christian faith. You d think I d think that was a good thing; but I m telling you, it was disorienting. Several of them are pastors of churches much larger than ours. And I m sure you know that this has nothing to do with how I feel about them. I am completely above feeling any jealousy of anyone else. Right. But some of these pastors also take an approach to the gospel and the church that differ significantly from my views some are more authoritarian, some more charismatic, some more something it s always something when I get to judging, don t you know?! I suspect some in that room have judged me and our church, too, given our LGBT inclusion decision. But there they were anyway, brothers in a common cause; we were all together finding our way in the name of Jesus. Jesus! I could just about hear Jesus saying to me, George, whoever is not against us is for us. I hate it when Jesus says things like that to me. Of course, I like it when Jesus says things like that to other Christians about me. This is nothing new for the church. Look at the disciples in our text from Mark s Gospel. They re annoyed to see someone casting out demons in Jesus name. They try to stop him because he wasn t following Jesus in their tribe. They forget 1
what we often still forget that the church is about the mission of Jesus, not about the church. Jesus tells them not to stop the man, for whoever is not against us is for us. We may expect Jesus to say, Whoever isn t for me is against me. And he did say that in Matthew s Gospel. But the devil s in the details; in this case literally. You see, demons were involved in both cases. Matthew s account has Jesus casting out demons and the Pharisees accusing him of casting them out by the power of Beelzebub. Jesus says that Satan can t cast out Satan, so if demons are being cast out, it must be by the power of God. When you attribute the power of the Spirit to Satan instead, you can t be with Jesus and must be working against him. In our text, someone is casting out demons in Jesus name. His only fault was that he didn t check first with the disciples to get his official exorcist authorization card. Demons still need casting out in our day, people. We can t turn this church into a cotillion class. Social graces are nice, but the demonic must be confronted with the power of the gospel and the passion of disciples. Anything that divides humanity against itself is demonic. Anything that diminishes the image of God in another human being is demonic. Anything that robs people of their God-given right to freedom and doesn t allow them to flourish alongside others is demonic. Demonic power works through impersonation. It masks itself as legitimate, perverting the truth just subtly enough so that if a person isn t spiritually discerning, he or she might mistake it for gospel truth. The demon of racism hides within the hearts of white people, using language of virtue and nobility, faith and manners, law and order. But underneath it is the demonic and twisted notion of white superiority and privilege. Black people can t fix that, white people; that s on us. Racism is demonic, and it needs casting out. But how? Martin Luther King, Jr., said: Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. So when we find sisters and brothers who are fighting against racism and seeking justice for people of 2
color, we have to see them as allies, not enemies, even if their methods differ from ours. We have to join Jesus and say whether we like it or not whoever is not against us is for us. When a spirit of rivalry dwells within us, it causes division and thwarts the work of God. In fact, it plays right into the hands of the Evil One, who is the author of rivalry and division. The Devil wants to tear us to pieces; Jesus wants us to pick up the pieces and live in one peace (p-e-a-c-e). It feels as if every week brings a new crisis for us in our cities or our country. Thursday seemed like one of the lowest points in our nation s collective psyche. Judge Brett Kavanaugh has been nominated to be a Supreme Court justice. Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testified that he sexually assaulted her when she was 15 and he 17. It was heartwrenching to hear her account of the incident and to have to reckon with her 100 percent certainty that he was the one who attacked and humiliated her. He then exploded with a passionate defense, virulent assertions of political motives, and tearful denials that he ever was or is the kind of person who would do such things as he is accused of. What a tragedy. What a mess. So much has been said about this incident, and so much of what has been said has torn us to pieces instead of leading us to one peace. Jesus is calling the church to be salt and to teach our world what it looks like to live in one peace. It takes humility and discipline to refuse to join the partisan rivalries that allow demonic forces to tear us apart. Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh have been made into icons for our ideologies rather than individuals to be judged on their own merits. Democrats all fall in line one way and Republicans another. Partisan agendas however honorable and sincere color our ability to judge fairly. Part of the work of the demonic is to obscure individuality by turning persons into groups. But do any of us want to be judged that way? Don t we all want a fair treatment as individuals? Next, if the church is to do as Jesus said and be salt in the world, living in peace with one another, that position never involves being complicit with cover-ups that allow injustice to 3
stand. Peace is not about one side winning and then demanding that the other side be quiet and calm. It is about letting the sunshine of truth clear the fog of competing claims as best we can. I am hoping that we are on our way to that outcome in the next week with the investigation that has begun. If we don t get further clarity, though, we will at least have sought it. God knows, and God will judge. The truth has a way of coming out eventually. But the church can also speak to the moment in a larger way. When Dr. Ford testified to having been sexually assaulted, millions of American women felt that she was speaking for them, too. And right or wrong, the fact that she was going to be judged by a majority party on the Senate Judiciary Committee that is composed entirely of white men, was further traumatizing for those millions all over again. When Jesus was raised from the dead on Easter morning, the first witnesses to the resurrection were women. I think God planned it that way for a reason. When the women went to testify to the men, Luke s Gospel (24:11) tells us: these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. Disbelieving women just because they are women is demonic. It is like being assaulted twice, first bodily and then spiritually. And yes, disbelieving a white man because he s a white man is demonic, too. It s just that for most of human history, we have been given the benefit of the doubt to people who look like me in ways that women and people of color have been denied. The gospel is for everybody every time, equally, or it s not the gospel. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that one in three women in America has experienced sexual violence by physical contact in their lives. 1 We can t look away from this fact, people. Women testify that they are reluctant to testify out of fear that they will not be believed, they will be blamed for their own attacks, they will be in greater danger for telling, and their attackers will be protected rather than held accountable. This has to stop, and the church has to demand that it stop. Further, whether Judge 1 https://www.cdc.gov/features/sexualviolenc e/index.html 4
Kavanaugh is innocent or guilty of Dr. Ford s claims, time may tell. But another issue has been raised that we can be clear about: a youth culture of excessive drinking, matched by a view of women as objects of male gratification, is behind many assaults. It s not just young people, of course. And more so, this is a gender problem. Relationships can sometimes be confusing, but no always means no, mutual consent is always to be respected, and force is never, ever acceptable in any relationship. When Jesus talks about putting a stumbling block before little ones, we should hear that as referring to anyone who is vulnerable. He means by that anyone using power over anyone in a weaker position to diminish his or her humanity. His judgment is harsh. This is why he sends us all back to the mirror. He wants us to do self-examination. He uses hyperbole to call on us to cut off our hands or feet or eyes if any of these lead us to stumble. In other words, we should stop judging others and start judging yourself. Have salt in yourselves, Jesus says. That is, pay attention to whether you are doing the work of bringing people into one peace or simply joining the world in tearing each other to pieces. What would that look like? In a crucial college softball game in 2008, with two runners on base and a strike against her, Sara Tucholsky of Western Oregon University did something she had never done before. She hit a home run. But as she started to circle the bases, she missed first base. Realizing what she had done, she started back to tag it, and then something terrible happened. Sara collapsed with a knee injury. She crawled back to first base but couldn t go on. She would have been called out if her teammates tried to help her. The umpire said that a pinch runner could be called in, but the homer would count as a single. Then the members of the opposing Central Washington University team did something that stunned spectators and earned an ESPY award for sportsmanship. Central Washington first baseman Mallory Holtman asked the umpire if she and her teammates could help Sara. The umpire said there was no rule against it. So 5
Holtman and shortstop Liz Wallace put their arms under Sara s legs, and she put her arms over their shoulders. The three players headed around the bases, stopping to let Sara touch each base with her good leg. The three-run homer counted. Here s what s amazing. This act of sportsmanship by the Central Washington team contributed to their own elimination from the playoffs. 2 There was a price for their compassion, but still they did what was right. They didn t let team rivalry take their eyes off the real game. I d say that was pretty salty of them, wouldn t you? That looks like a picture of what being at peace with one another is about. It seems like church. Whoever isn t against us is for us. Amen. 2 https://sermons.com/sermon/can-t-we-alljust-get-along/1373250 6