This is one of those sermons where I wish you could have been there for the journey. There was a lot of ping-ponging or bouncing back and forth between questions, research, amazing finds and personal growth. The journey started with a reading of the Gospel. I was moving along through it and I hit the part where Jesus says, “ if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.” Oh yeah that was used by Abraham Lincoln in a famous speech dealing with our nations division over slavery. This quote gets reused and featured a lot to support arguments and a sort of all for one and one for all teambuilding tool. The thing that hit me though was accidentally reading with fresh eyes or maybe hearing with fresh ears like I didn’t have 52 years worth of the commentary of others guiding or influencing my reading. *** In Sundays and Seasons, the publication where we get, graphics, sermon helps, videos and a host of other helpful resources, the representational graphic was a divided house falling over. Ok, here’s my problem. From Jesus’ mouth, It’s the devil’s house. So much has been said surrounding that one quote. It sounds nice, but it’s Satan’s house, a house Jesus is personally invested in toppling. The quote is used to point out that the devil isn’t stupid *** but that the logic and thinking of his accusers is questionable. So this is not the main point. Next, for my first reading I had not noticed the chapter and verse. I just concluded that it was later on in Jesus’ ministry because people were so stirred up. I then looked back at the top. Wrong, this is chapter three. What on earth has Jesus been up to in three measly chapters to have everyone wanting him dead and thinking he’s possessed? I think David Lose answered that question best. David wrote, “And all he’s done so far is announce the coming kingdom of God, call some disciples, cast out a demon or two, *** and heal a bunch of sick people. Of course, one of those disciples was a tax collector, he cast out the demon and did much of his healing work on the Sabbath, and he wasn’t put off in the least when approached by a leper. Which means that his vision of the coming kingdom of God was rooted in a profound inclusivity that would let neither religious law nor social custom prevent him from reaching those in need with the abundant life he came to offer.” End Quote. OK, so Jesus is welcoming the people that the leaders and people fear or hate or are beneath them. Jesus is making the wrong connections in their eyes and extending the kingdom of God to undesirables and outside of their authority, so they play the demon possession card. That’s when Jesus makes a statement that confuses and gives many Christian’s the shakes to this day and others what they think is *** damnation ammo. Jesus mentions blasphemy against the Holy Spirit as an unpardonable sin. This is not a one off sin or one that is made by mistake. Jesus is dealing with those who are habitually calling God’s extension of grace and love , the connections that God desires to be made, demonic or evil. They are placing God beneath themselves calling God’s agency and will, evil. ***The first lesson goes back pretty much to the beginning where Adam and Eve seek knowledge above and beyond God. They desire the self, self direction, self sufficiency and to establish themselves, their value, or worth on their own. Connection is why we are here, and what we see played out in their story is the first disconnection. ***The original disconnection or sin. So then they don’t come forth and admit guilt or apologize, they run and hide and further disconnect. When confronted, they figuratively set fire to the whole thing. They let the blame fly. It was the woman that YOU gave me. *** So it was God’s fault and the loved one’s fault, flesh and blood, kindred and friend and the blame continued on. Blame is our way of trying to divest ourselves of the fear instead of confronting our vulnerability and being courageous and accepting our responsibility. They made a mistake and hid because the guilt and the guilt quickly translated to shame. They didn’t seek forgiveness. According to the research of Brene Brown, shame is the fear of disconnection. So often we see or think of guilt and shame being the same thing. *** Brown says, “The thing to understand about shame is, it’s not guilt. Shame is a focus on self, guilt is a focus on behavior. Shame is “I am bad.” Guilt is “I did something bad.” How many of you, if you did something that was hurtful to me, would be willing to say, “I’m sorry. I made a mistake?” How many of you would be willing to say that? Guilt: I’m sorry. I made a mistake. Shame: I’m sorry. I am a mistake. There’s a huge difference between shame and guilt. And here’s what you need to know. Shame is highly, highly correlated with addiction, depression, violence, aggression, bullying, suicide, eating disorders. And here’s what you even need to know more. Guilt, inversely correlated with those things. The ability to hold something we’ve done or failed to do up against who we want to be is incredibly adaptive. It’s uncomfortable, but it’s adaptive. “ End Quote. But we see the man and woman avoiding, disconnecting, distrusting, hiding, blaming and denying. There’s a lot of things that go through our minds when we realize we have done something wrong, or hurt someone. I think one of the chief things is, “What if they don’t forgive me?” We find ourselves incredibly vulnerable. See how difficult it is to just apologize? Brown points out that we seek to numb the pain of vulnerability, shame, guilt, rejection, grief and disappointment and we do so in a variety of ways. One way is by trying to make the uncertain, certain. The mystery of faith has become a certainty of moral codes, Thou shalt nots, and those who are in and those who are out. Absolutes that human beings decide or control. This is what we see Jesus caught in the middle of in today’s Gospel. Jesus is embracing the vulnerable and eliminating shame, yet there are those who want the control within themselves to determine an outcome or their own salvation instead of having the faith and courage to open themselves to the vulnerability of relying on and trusting God’s love and grace. We try to make ourselves and our perceived dominion perfect. That’s just the same old throwback to works righteousness or trying to eliminate vulnerability by our own hand. In our inner struggles we tend to make things worse and we hurt and affect others in a war on our own shame and fear. I think, more clearly, the thrust of the serpent’s suggestion was creating that feeling of unworthiness that suggested the man and women needed to control the situation. Sowing mistrust. When they realized they had crossed a line and that it didn’t work out like they had predicted. *** They hide and are convinced of their unworthiness, so they never bother to ask for forgiveness. “Who told you that you were naked? Who said you were unworthy? It wasn’t God and it is not God. All those efforts we make to try to numb the fear and vulnerability, the fig leaves we clutch to cover our feelings of nakedness or unworthiness are a lot like getting a numbing shot at the dentist. ***The dentist is trying to numb your tooth but half your face ends up affected, you bite your tongue and cheek, you can’t talk right, spit runs everywhere and you can end up with stomach problems for a day or so. We can’t just numb the negative. As Brown points out you end up numbing the positive aspects of our lives like joy, happiness and thankfulness. I think people go to church seeking to be freed from the shame in their lives and to be connected and live in that joy. People give up on churches and relationships that insist that they are naked and cultivate and enhance doubt, fear and feelings of unworthiness. Hear the Good News of the Gospel. ***You are worthy and we must have courage in our vulnerability, the courage of the faith in our baptism and that nothing can separate us from the love of God. Nothing. Pastor David Lose points out, “God tells us, ‘You are not naked! You are only naked insofar as you continue to hide from me. And there is no reason to hide.’ God breaks the cycle of “self”-preservation by “clothing” us with Christ (Galatians 3:27). In being clothed with Christ we re-enter the divine presence (Hebrews 10:19-23), realizing our true humanity as God intended it.” End quote. *** By Christ’s authority, your sins are forgiven. So let’s all come out from hiding. Let’s stop the blaming and numbing and live in thankfulness for God’s endless grace, love, and forgiveness and let that thankfulness drive us to share that love, forgiveness, grace and reconciliation with a world that feels naked and alone. Amen.
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