Large Stones in our Shoes
This sermon can be listened to here
Gate Pa – Year B 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time,
Readings:
Psalm 1 Samuel 2:1-10 (Hannah’s Prayer)
First Reading: 1 Samuel 1:4-20
Second Reading:
Hebrews
10:11-14, 19-25
Gospel: Mark 13:1-8
What I want
to say:
I want to explore how are faith gets colonised by
large stones – large stone like making our churches great again, or making
America great again, or making Britain great? What captures our imagination? I
wonder what Mark’s Jesus is inviting us to let go of, and what might shape our
imagination as we enter into another advent?
What I want to happen:
I want people to reflect
on that they give their allegiances to, and what they might be invited to let
go of?
The Sermon
1. Introduction:
This is our last
reading in Mark’s gospel for 2 years.
We farewell that
snappy to the point no mucking around style
I could learn a
thing or two from him.
We finish with
this wonderful reading
Most commentators
suggest Mark written around 70 CE
-
year Romans razed Jerusalem
o including destroying temple
-
eventually
building a new Roman city on ruins
-
even
for gentile Christians like those Mark writing to (tell that because he keeps
having to explain stuff that would have been common knowledge amongst Jewish
Christians)
-
->
cataclysmic
Temple symbol
God’s presence amongst God’s people
God’s power and authority
even for little
sect within Judaism – followed Jesus the Messiah
-
important
symbol that God was in control
-
that
God is winning
Depending on
exactly Mark wrote his gospel
it was either
about to be destroyed, was being destroyed or had been destroyed
-
that
potent symbol was gone
-
the
loss seemed insurmountable
that coupled with
rise of persecution against Christians
raised
all kinds of questions for every Christian community
-
did
they get it wrong?
-
is
God present?
-
have
they given their allegiance to the wrong God?
-
was
the Jesus story really good news?
-
for
some is this the awaited end?
Kind of like our
time
-
world
is deeply trouble and uncertain
-
church
is no longer at the centre or even important
-
dismissed
by many as irrelevant at best
-
by
too many others as both homophobic and full of abusers
-
no
idea how to respond
-
some
questions are the same – slightly different
o where did we get it wrong?
o how is God present?
o how is the Jesus story really good news in
these times?
o for some - is this the end?
è passage for us
2. Large Stones
begins with a disciple
admiring the large stones and magnificence of temple
where warning
bells should start ringing
remember when
went on tour Durham cathedral many years ago
Dean said that he
wished that he could say it was built for glory of God
in reality built
smack on top Anglo-Saxon church as statement that Normans were here to stay
-
symbol
Norman power and authority
same true of that
temple
how do we
remember it?
-
Herod’s
temple
-
symbol
of his power and generosity
-
2000
years later still called Herod’s temple
That is the
problem – we as people of faith are like that disciple
blinded by the
images of power and magnificence
read Mark
straight through would have just read the story of widow how gave all she had
to live on
-
temple
was built on and operated on abject poverty many faithful
-
leaders
made peace with Rome, with Herod and his sons and successors
-
Temple
had become hated symbol of oppression
-
of
collusion
-
of
impoverishment
Many read this
story, like story Ruth reading last few weeks as story of protest against what
Temple had become
Promise that
those structures
magnificent as
they are
will fall
ways of collusion
with powerful and wealthy
expense of poor
and outcast
not the way of
God
3. Other Large Stones
Not just temple
is it?
history of
Christianity is littered with similar stories
right back to
Emperor Constantine
while in America
Bonnie and I went to Museum of African American History
shocked at
particularly vile form slavery invented by British
unlike catholic
European powers – followed catholic teaching that Black Africans had souls
therefore buy
freedom and take part economic, social and cultural life colonies
British colony
Virginia defined Black Africans as slaves for life
with no hope of
ever being free.
defined them as
less than human
sowed roots of
what is still being played out in USA today
British empire
and its wealth was built on the back of this form of slavery
and I wonder how
that attitude was implemented across the British Empire
to be honest
deeply
distressing to know that Church England too often played central role in defending
and implementing that attitude
-
fought
Wilberforce’s attempts to outlaw slavery
last week
remembered end of WWI
where over
100,000 men went from here to defend interests British Empire
churches too
often prayed assuming that God was on “our side”
God was using the
British Empire to spread God’s civilisation
important
to keep Britain Great
all this lead to
rise Hitler in Germany
supported by
German Lutheran church
because he was God’s
instrument making Germany great again
reclaim
rightful position in world
in USA sizable
group evangelical Christians supporting serial adulterer and misogynist
deeply
flawed and unrepentant
see him as God’s
instrument in making America great again
reclaim
place in world as greatest force good world ever seen. (not my words)
Jesus words about
large stone are as true about each of these as they were for the temple
keep ignoring the
warning
they keep coming
true
4. Church
couple of weeks
ago at clergy school we explored how maps we used for leading church no longer
work
how we are like
Lewis and Clark
thought they were
finding water routs across USA
instead found
Rocky Mountains
maps and
assumptions no longer worked
if they had held
on to their assumptions
their large stones
they would have
gone nowhere
wonder how large
stones of our supposed past blind us to our new world
we still too
often remember days full Sunday schools
-
lots
young people in youth groups
-
churches
were full
-
people
had lots time to volunteer
-
when
we as church were important
-
and
we played significant role in society
-
hard
to let go of that past
o never that good
-
came
up against that last week with AAW
o grown out of Mothers Union and Young Wives
o once significant force in life of parishes and
wider church
o trouble is,
o when cling to those large stone
o that past
o we don’t ask what is needed now
that is the
question
what is needed
now?
5. Conclusion
how are we like
that disciple
-
blinded
by the magnificent and large
-
in
our society
-
in
our past as a church
how are we like
Andrew, Peter, James and John
-
uncertain
and unsure
-
not
sure what is going on
as we leave this
year and enter into Advent
-
what
do we need to let go of
-
what
is God inviting us to instead?
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