First Reading: Genesis 3:8-15
8[Adam and Eve] heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10He said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” 11He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.” 13Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.” 14The Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this,
cursed are you among all animals
and among all wild creatures;
upon your belly you shall go,
and dust you shall eat
all the days of your life.
15I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will strike your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
Psalm: Psalm 130
1Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord;
2O Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.
3If you were to keep watch over sins,
O Lord, who could stand?
4Yet with you is forgiveness,
in order that you may be feared.
5I wait for you, O Lord; my soul waits;
in your word is my hope.
6My soul waits for the Lord more than those who keep watch for the morning, more than those who keep watch for the morning.
7O Israel, wait for the Lord, for with the Lord there is steadfast love;
with the Lord there is plenteous redemption.
8For the Lord shall redeem Israel from all their sins.
Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 4:13–5:1
13Just as we have the same spirit of faith that is in accordance with scripture—“I believed, and so I spoke”—we also believe, and so we speak, 14because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus, and will bring us with you into his presence. 15Yes, everything is for your sake, so that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
16So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. 17For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, 18because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.
5:1For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
Gospel: Mark 3:20-35
[Jesus went home;] 20and the crowd came together again, so that [Jesus and the disciples] could not even eat. 21When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.” 22And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.” 23And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. 27But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered.
28“Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; 29but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”—30for they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
31Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. 32A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you.” 33And he replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
CHILDREN’S SERMON:
How many of us remember the 1972 commercial for the Hall of Fame, “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing!” I looked it up because I was curious what he ate. Do you remember? Was it the pie, or a hamburger, or the bag of potato chips? I remembered the famous line but I did not remember the commercial. The commercial shows Ralph sitting on the edge of the bed holding his head and groaning, “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing.” His wife, in bed with back to us, agrees that he did. He moans again, “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing.” The wife says that actually she ate it. He moans again “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing.” The wife says, “Take two Alka Seltzer, Ralph.” Scene returns to Ralph sitting on the edge of the bed smiling. Wife asks if he took Alka Seltzer. Ralph grins, “The whole thing.”
Let’s pray: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in your sight, my Rock and my Redeemer.
SERMON
Last week we started the Pentecost journey with Nicodemus who went to Jesus by night with his questions. Jesus told Nicodemus that the journey of faith starts with rebirth. God is like the wind and we look to God even as the Israelites looked to the snake lifted up on the pole in the wilderness, and they were saved. Nicodemus came by night but our text today talks about three other types of people watching Jesus who came by day. Perhaps we will recognize these people in our world or in ourselves. Like Ralph, we know we have a problem. We feel like something is wrong and we go to Jesus but it could be something we ate or perhaps something we bought into from our world that has left us all kerfluffled. Then again it could be like Ralph’s spouse or our friend who ate something that is upsetting our lives. What does spiritual Alka Seltzer look like?
In our text Mark talks about three types of people coming in “the crowd” to Jesus. Some say, “He has gone out of his mind.” Others say, ’He has Beelzebul.” But then there are those who consider Jesus part of their family and are trying to help him, ”Your mother and your brothers and your sisters are outside.” What are you looking for as you come to church today? Perhaps you are like the first group, looking for a good church service but not serious about applying the crazy, illogical things the Jesus preaches. But then you might be like the Scribes realizing faith brings power over evil, illness, and temptation but the source of faith’s power is your question. Others work hard to protect Jesus and the church from the strain of dealing with all the odd people coming for help. Church is our family and we want to be comfortable in those relationships. Family acts in a certain way. None of the three are looking for Alka Seltzer, spiritual peace.
Rubbernecking: “He has gone out of his mind.”
According to the Internet, “rubbernecking” is when people slow down at an accident to see what is happening. Often a traffic jam is caused by these sight seers or gawkers. The first set of people are coming to Jesus to check out what’s happening. Today we have many options for learning about Jesus. Some people like being able to sit in their pajamas, with a cup of coffee in hand, and watch a well constructed church service with good sermons on social media. If they don’t like what the preacher is saying, they can switch channels. They might be like the people in Jesus’ audience who considered Jesus out of his mind but they came to observe him anyway. It is possible to enjoy being part of something, enjoy reaping the benefits of being present but not let that meeting become life changing. We might call it entertainment. It’s good to be able to tell others that we went and we know what they’re talking about and give our opinion. We want it on our resume but we don’t want to be fanatical. We remain not so committed. We groan about our upset stomach but we don’t know what we want to do about it. When the commercial comes on about where to mail our money, we groan, hold our head and moan, “I can’t believe I watched the whole thing.”
As I ponder the Memorial Day we celebrated Monday, I could not help but reflect on the difference it made for families where a loved one had gone to war and perhaps been killed. Those soldiers changed the whole trajectory of many lives. My father and my son were soldiers and I reap the benefit of their soldier’s commitment to protect my freedoms but I have not had to pay that ultimate price. Many of us lived through the Vietnam era and the social debate around it. Today many watch reports on Ukraine and on the Middle East and are numb. Some threaten to move to Canada but actually they enjoy the benefits of being Americans. Relationship with Jesus is not an observer sport, though. It is not a good show if it fits our schedule. Relationship with Jesus is “eating the whole thing.”
Jesus challenged the norms of his day and ours. When we “eat the whole thing”, we are challenged to change our lifestyle. Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount turned values upside down when he called the “poor in spirit” blessed. The gospels challenge us to share our resources, include the stranger and we are to forgive our enemies and love those who persecute us. Well, we aren’t persecuted that much and forgiveness is what I want to receive, but I do not necessarily want to forgive the guy who cut me off in traffic. We like the idea that Jesus was God and died for our sins but when it comes to our lives, many will scratch their heads and wonder if some of the ideas are “crazy” and meant for a time in the past when Christians were a minority. After all, we think, “I am not a bad sinner like that other person.” We just don’t use that language anymore as it seems judgmental, “crazy.” Curing our spiritual stomach aches includes changing our values and actions. We’ve got to take Alka Seltzer!
Another challenge is that Christianity now has so many different expressions. Perhaps there is a cheaper brand of Alka Seltzer, we ponder. Our arguments among ourselves about who is right about this or that, plus questions about if we should go to this or that church, often leave us confused and uncommitted. For faith to go from entertainment and search to internal life truth is a journey that involves eating the alka seltzer. We can’t sit on the edge of the bed like Ralph holding our heads and our stomaches moaning. We have to go to the medicine cabinet and take the alka seltzer. Commitment to relationship in a world of many choices is hard.
Navigating churches and church services can also leave new people holding their heads and moaning, “I can’t believe I stayed for the whole service.” Challenges for knowing when to sit or stand or where to locate bathrooms often confuse the visitor. Many people are willing to check Jesus out but so much of what is said seems “crazy.” It is a challenge to truly participate in a new church setting. It was true for Jews who turned to Christianity and it is true for us today.
Relationship is not just going to hear Jesus speak but means learning new patterns of interaction. Seeing Jesus as “crazy” can be code for entertaining but not quite me, too hard a life style, to many strange rituals and just foreign. Christianity just doesn’t quite seem to elicit a life-changing commitment. Involvement remains superficial and faith never grows. Jesus is fun to watch and listen to but eating too much can give people a stomach ache.
POWER: ’He has Beelzebul.”
Just being in the ocean, does not make you a fish, right! Just being in church does not make you a Christian. Just purchasing the medicine does not make you well. The second group of people in the audience was the Scribes. They are the “religious people” who were aware of religious power. The scribes saw themselves as the religious experts of Judaism. They were the spiritual elite. They were the holy men who prayed, fasted, and carried out rituals of faith. If anyone represented God, it was them. Hence someone doing miracles and healings must be drawing power from some other source than theirs. They reasoned that Jesus must be in league with Beelzebul, Satan. They were confused about spiritual power and how it is used.
Today we have a similar problem. Going to church to discover who this Jesus is, starts the journey but making faith a powerful dynamic in our lives is a step deeper. For some it is a search for power. Jesus was not just entertaining. He was changing lives. His teaching was life changing as many chose baptism seeking forgiveness. Miracles changed lives. He even raised the dead. Jesus not only talked in a crazy way, he walked the talk and made a difference in the lives of many. Tax collectors became disciples. Prostitutes got saved.
Today we tend to think that as long as the hero accomplishes good by our evaluation, that is all that matters. “Good” is measured by what I want, not what God wants, and I become the judge. My teenagers would say that white magic that does good is not dangerous and is even helpful and good. Many believe the “the end justifies the means.” We love Dumbledor in Harry Potter. Commercials offer us all sorts of products and then in the quick voice at the end divulge that the product could result in death or some other complication for some people. Evil disguised as good is so hard to evaluate. Politicians debates “the right thing to do” all the time now. This argument divests Satan of power and ignores that he is called “the Father of Lies.” This mistake is core to our text today. When we credit Satan with good, we have totally misunderstood God. We look for Santa Claus and a bag of gifts rather than the God of the universe. We have put our faith in the wrong place. Worshiping Satan is not forgivable.
Jesus directly confronts the Scribes. If Jesus is from Satan and undermining the works of Satan then he is defeating himself. Jesus’ ability to caste out evil spirits, heal, and do miracles is based on power that comes from God. God is active and working today. Do not be deceived by imposters! A cheap knock off drug is not the real alka seltzer. Ralph does not buy that his wife “ate the whole thing” because he is the one who is sick.
FAMILY: “Your mother and your brothers and your sisters are outside.”
It seems that there is a third group of people in our text today. That is the birth family and some friends of Jesus who hear him being called crazy or Satanic. They come to rescue him from misrepresentation and exhaustion. They know they are “family” but they have drawn a very tight circle around that definition. I fear many Christians fall into this trap. We are convinced that Jesus must act and do exactly as our group expects and we reject faith found by those who are different. The expressions of Christianity found in so many different denominations and groups while reflecting God’s love for diversity, can lead to an overprotectiveness and a closing of our ears to the experience of others. It might be captured in the phrase “we’ve always done it this way.”
It is easy to become intolerant of new believers who have not matured in their faith. It is easy to be scared of foreign believers who do not do church the way we do. It is easy to settle for “comfortable” rather than seek to be “vital” in our expression of faith. Jesus rejects this “cozy Jesus” or “MY friend Jesus,” stance. Jesus points to the crowds and calls all who believe his family. Faith is not about making me comfortable but is meant to be reaching out to “the other” to create community – the kingdom of God.
Our text today ends with Jesus asking, ““Who are my mother and my brothers?” Who are the people truly in relationship with Jesus? Jesus then, “ looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” As we go through the Pentecost season and we reflect on our relationship with Christ, I pray the Holy Spirit will reach deep within our hearts so that we are not just gawkers or miracle seekers but we become hearers of the Word and better doers of the Word. May we not be powerless followers of rituals but may our lives speak to a faith that impacts our values and gives us power to face the challenges life gives us. And may we be open to the young in faith who are our little siblings, the old who are our elders, and the stranger who comes to be part of our family.
Like Ralph in our opening commercial, we often bemoan our plight in life. It’s been a rough day and we are overwhelmed. Take two Alka Seltzer! Really? Just watching them fizz in the glass on the bedside table, while fun to watch, does not help. Refusing to drink the medicine because it was not prescribed by our doctor but our wife, does not help. It is not until we drink “the whole thing,” until we truly live in relationship with Jesus that we reap the benefits of faith. As we journey through Pentecost season may we have hearts open to drink “the whole thing.”
Let the people of God say, “Amen!”
On the Way to Wonder 