THE VITAL LANGUAGE OF GOD'S LOVE

"John said to Jesus, 'Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.' And Jesus said, 'Do not stop him. . .'"  - Mark 9:38

Years ago, driving through eastern Kansas I passed under a railroad bridge and painted crudely in big bright letters high upon the rusty steel bridge were the words "Jesus Saves."  I winced.

To be honest, I winced because the sign reminded me of a type of Christian expression that is different from mine; a kind of pulpit pounding, hell-fire and brimstone, emotionalism. I winced because that is not my expression, my way, my style, not me!

In our Gospel John came running back to Jesus wincing because he and a few of the others had heard and seen someone, outside of their little circle, preaching and doing great things in Jesus' name. Whoever they were, they were probably not doing it the way that the disciples did it, so the disciples winced!  It was the same thing in our Old Testament passage for today. God's people, freed from the slavery of Egypt, now found themselves in the wilderness. Already tiring of their new found freedom, they were complaining about the hardships of freedom in the wilderness.

They sounded like a group of young people I took back-packing years ago who after two days were fed up with trail mix and freeze dried foods:  "If we only had quarter-pounders with cheese and fries or the sausage and pepperoni pizzas with extra cheese we used to eat in Denver!”

We remember the fish… cucumbers… melons… leeks… onions and garlic in Egypt.  Our strength is dried up and there is nothing… except this (lousy) manna to eat!" 

They sound similar, don’t they?  

It's amazing how they romanticized their former slavery forgetting the oppression, suffering, and pain.  They starting picking on Moses, and he became so frustrated he starting whining to God saying, “Why did you stick me with these people?”  But God had a plan.  God told Moses to appoint seventy elders to share the leadership.

The day arrived for a kind of service of ordination for the seventy.  But while this orderly ceremony was taking place inside the tabernacle, something disorderly was going on back at the camp. Two others, Eldad and Medad, began to speak God's word outside the tabernacle.

A young man, seeing them, winced.  Like a tattling child, he ran and told Moses and the others, "Eldad and Medad are speaking God's word outside the tabernacle!"  The inner circle of leaders winced, and they wanted Moses to muzzle them and shut them up! It was unthinkable to them that another voice would be conducting a service outside the tabernacle simultaneous with the service inside the tabernacle. But Moses' answer was similar to Jesus' answer, saying, “I wish all the people would speak God's Word!"

Moses' and Jesus' answers are enlightened and say at least two important things!

FIRST, God raises-up a great diversity of people to speak God's word, because there is a great diversity of needs and issues; in each time; in each place; with each people. I believe we must learn not to wince at anything that looks different and sounds different from our own tradition, experience, style and theology.

When I was a pastor in Kansas City we had a pulpit exchange with an African Methodist Episcopal congregation. That experience taught me how the Holy Spirit works powerfully and profoundly in our diversity, and that our unity is not found in our sameness of expression, style, or even theology, but in the person of Jesus Christ. I will have to admit that after I experienced 3 hours of their emotional and spontaneous worship, I must say it seemed very subdued in my Lutheran congregation the next week. The part I liked the most was the responsive dialog from the congregation during the preaching of sermon. I quickly became comfortable with it!  At least I knew somebody was listening. As I stood before my congregation the next week, a part of me was hoping to hear a few encouraging "Amens!" rise up from the congregation.

"And the congregation said," “Amen!’" (Hold up "Amen" Placard)

God's voice in this world is incredibly diverse. When God's speaks in different languages, different expressions, diverse theologies, different styles, often Christian people have committed the sin of John and the disciples, of Joshua and the elders. I call it the sin of WINCING: "Lord, aren't you going to stop them!"  And even though Moses and Jesus say "No,” we sometimes do the dirty work of muzzling, excluding and condescending anyway!

All around the globe, especially in the last 30 years, there have been new Christian voices speaking out: Christian peoples who have been, for the most part, the outsiders politically and economically; the poor and powerless. They are Christian voices that speak of God's solidarity with those who find themselves as outsiders and on the margins.  The voices are coming from the poor of Latin America; the suffering and marginal peoples of Asia; from Native American people and others, speaking from the context of racism and exclusion; from women all over the world who have been the victims of domination and injustice.

These voices focus on the Biblical belief that God hears the cries of God's people; that God shares in their suffering; that God works and wills for deliverance just as God was active in the deliverance of the Israelites from their bondage in Egypt!  When we hear those voices, what do we do?  Do we wince? Do we ignore? Do we write them off?  Do we exclude them and push them aside?  If we were to run to Jesus wincing what would he say?  Perhaps he would say "No, do not stop them!"

And that leads me to the SECOND thing!  We learn from these passages that God uses people who will dare to change, people who will dare respond to the need around them with a NEW LANGUAGE OF LOVE when the old language no longer is relevant and no longer works.

Much to the shock and surprise of some parents, their son was found to be using drugs, and the family found themselves in therapy. At one very intense point during a session, the young man, choking back tears and great emotion said, "I've never been sure if you really love me and want me!"  At first, the parents got defensive speaking about all the things they had given him, and how ungrateful he was.  But as the sessions unfolded they discovered how the VITAL LANGUAGE OF THEIR LOVE had been inadequate to the needs of their son! They had provided their son many things, but had not communicated the VITAL LANGUAGE OF LOVE that could embrace his heart, free him as a person, assure him that he was cherished and treasured!

We are called to speak a VITAL LANGUAGE OF GOD’S LOVE. The message of these passages is that if we allow anything to get in the way: tradition, prejudice, style, fear, apathy, theology, anything we stand under the judgment of God. As Jesus said, "It would be better if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea." 

But the good news promise of today's Gospel is that God will raise up voices to speak the VITAL LANGUAGE OF GOD'S LOVE to a world and to peoples who need to hear and be empowered by that message! The good news also is that we are invited to be a part of that great chorus of voices. We are called to both listen to the new voices and then to better learn ourselves to speak A VITAL LANGUAGE OF GOD'S LOVE; a language that declares freedom from any form of slavery; that empowers people to stand up and affirm their uniqueness; a language that declares that all people are children of God, loved by the crucified and risen Christ!

Today is World Communion Sunday. Today Christians all over the world will announce that through a sip of wine and morsel of bread -- God is!  From jammed into a little building in Liberia, Namibia, or Tanzania to those gathered in a white-framed church in rural Minnesota, to a cathedral in Europe, to a home church in Central America, to a congregation in a native village in rural Alaska, to a church in St. Petersburg, Russia, we all will quote Jesus saying in our native tongues, "This is my body, my blood shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sins."

It's our Lord that brings us together. We come together, not because we have so much in common, or are alike, or think the same or even believe exactly the same, but because it's our Lord who brings us together blood brothers and sisters, linked by the blood of Jesus Christ.  It's the only power in the universe that can bring such a fragmented world together.

The Vital Language of God's Love takes many forms, even the form of sloppy letters profanely painted on a rail bridge in eastern Kansas. But if you think about it, it is no more profane than a man hanging, bleeding, and dying on a cross in a public place simply because he was in love with the world. So come all of you! Everyone is welcome to this meal! Mutter your "Amen" and get ready to sing!

Let the congregation say, "AMEN!"