BProp19

Proverbs 1:20-33; Psalm 19; James 3:1-12; Mark 8:27-38

September 13, 2009

 

“Who do people say that I am,” asks Jesus.

Elijah, John the Baptist, a prophet, a rabbi, a healer, a revolutionist,

a political enemy, a reformer, the Messiah

 

We could ask the same question of other more contemporary people.

 

Who do we say President Obama is?

During his speech last week we could see standing ovation

and people remaining seated firmly in their seats with their hands in their laps.

We could see smiles and laughter and we could see frowns, looks of disdain and irritation.

We heard people cheering him and people booing him and calling him a liar.

 

Who did we say Michael Jackson was?

A kook, a musical genius, Peter Pan, a child molester.

 

We could go on to compare how the Jews and the Palestinians view the land they each would claim.

 

We could ask the same of someone closer to home.

Who do two brothers say their father is?

Dad always worked hard and provided for our family.

He was never home and wasn’t interested in our lives.

Dad was always fair.

No he wasn’t. You got the car and the help with college.

Where was it when it was my turn?

 

And we might agree with President Lincoln:

A house divided will not stand.

 

These divisions are not so difficult to see and name

when we are talking about how two different sides see an individual person.

But James and Jesus take it to a deeper level.

They are both talking today about the inner divisions

that exist within a person and the harm this can cause.

 

When the house divided is in here. [point to heart]

 

James uses the tongue,

that bit in the mouth of a horse that can guide the horse’s direction,

that small rudder that steer a ship,

that small fire and can set a forest ablaze.

 

The great harm that can come with the tongue is divided.

Like a spring that pours forth both fresh and brackish water.

Like a fig tree that yields olives.

A grapevine that yields figs.

In other words, this is not the way the tongue is supposed to function.

As Jesus said earlier in Mark:

It is not what goes into your mouth that defiles it,

but the things that come out are what defile.

And, of course, what he means is that what we say reveals our true nature.

 

When we say conflicting things about a person what’s going on inside us?

 

We say to one person about another:

Oh yes, I would recommend her for the job. She’d be great!

And yet, in different company:

Hmmm, I really don’t think she can handle it.

Believe me, I’ve worked with her before.

 

What’s going on inside this spring that is trying

to pour forth fresh and brackish water?

 

Peter did it more than once.

You are the Messiah – but, no don’t say you must suffer.

I will go anywhere with you, he says to Jesus.

To a girl outside during Jesus’ trial – Peter says 3 times – I don’t know him.

 

Jesus tells Peter that the division is between divine things and human things.

And that when we are divided between the two,

It is not God that is guiding us, but the one that thrives on divided houses.

 

Jesus was one, completely one – undivided – uncompromising.

What came from him in every thought, word, and action

had the deepest integrity, the clearest likeness, the perfect image

of divine things – of God’s consistent, undivided, uncompromising love.

 

The single main characteristic of those we call saints,

Are the ones in whom we see this same one-mindedness/singleheartedness.

We call them martyrs when not even the threat of death

could cause them to become divided, or conflicted,

or two-faced, or split tongued.

 

Watch your thoughts, for they become words.

Watch your words, for they become actions.

Watch your actions, for they become habits.

Watch your habits, for they become character.

Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny. [Ghandi]

 

Jesus:

It’s what comes out of your mouth that can defile you,

Not what goes into your mouth.

 

We may think we can say one thing and mean another.

But, in the end, we are fooling ourselves.

 

There is something very powerful, very holy,

and yes, sometimes very sacrificial

about a life lived with such clarity and devotion.

 

Bi-partisan politics and international peace negotiations

are good steps in the right direction.

But it’s pretty clear that it is within each of our own selves

that the essential work must take place.

Thank God that Jesus so fully and finally showed us

the fusion between the earthly and the divine.

What complete submission and union with the

divine mind and heart of God can look like.

So powerful, so complete, that we can join ourselves to that unity

and allow its power to work in our lives.

 

We might think we can handle a divided house within our selves.

But a divided self, a divided tongue, a divided heart

will only lead to larger divisions.

It is the singlehearted, the pure in heart,

Seeking, hungering, thirsting, to house only the divine

That will be able to join in Christ’s power to restore, reconcile,

and heal the divisions that permeate our world.