The Importance of Questions (Mark 12:28-34)

We all ask questions and they began early in our lives. As a two-year-old, our favourite question was probably “Why?” or “What's that?” As our language skills developed, so would the complexity of our questions.

I remember as a young and newly ordained clergy person, I was expected to look after the Parish Youth Group. It was fun (most of the time) and full of energy and life! Once they had settled down in our lounge towards the end of the evening, the questions started. They usually began with a simple ‘Why?’ and often involved deeply profound issues of faith and life. Sometimes they were not interested in my answers; they seemed more concerned their question had a potential answer.

We have all asked that same question “Why” at various points of our life – especially in moments of tragedy or challenge. Answers given are usually temporary, and more often than not they open doorways to new questions.

If it is of any comfort, the Hebrew Scriptures are full of questions. Judaism was, and still is a religion where questions are more important than answers. As the fameous Rabbi, Abraham Joshua Heschel once said:

“We are closer to God when we are asking questions than when we think we have the answers”1

This principle is highlighted at the most important Jewish festival of Pesach (Passover) when the youngest member at the table is prompted to ask four questions that all begin with: “Why?”. This simple introduction to asking questions is continually reinforced in Jewish learning and spirituality. All the heroes of their faith frequently questioned God and the greater the prophet, the more challenging their questions..2 Questions were also valued in Judaism because they approached Sacred Scripture, and life in general, as an ‘open-ended text’ where their lives and the story of their faith was continually unfolding in the here-and-now, creating an ever new narrative between themselves and the Divine. Instinctively they knew they were partners with God and so were not afraid to ask God 'Why' in the face of uncertainty and disaster.

Our Gospel reading for this Sunday (Mark 12:28-34) comes from a section in Mark's Gospel where several Jewish leaders questioned Jesus on matters of faith and practice. It is important to remember the author was not attempting to write history. The four discussions would have taken much longer than the few descriptive verses provided. This was because in Judaism, scripture was regarded as an open text that invited discussion and the original inspiration was still present, hidden within the sacred text, waiting to come alive to inspire the heart and mind of anyone willing to spend the time and effort. An approach that gave new meaning to the saying of Jesus:

“Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.”3

With this brief introduction, we return to the question asked by the Scribe: “Which commandment is the first of all?”A reasonable question because Judaism had identified 613 commandments in their Scriptures. Jesus' response: 'We are to love God and love one's neighbour?’ was an orthodox response and one the Scribe would have seen as appropriate as they began a Rabbinic debate that probably lasted the whole afternoon and allowed the written text to become a living word within them..4 However, as Christianity began to take root and flourish within a non-Semitic world, it gradually lost this art of open inquiry. Instead, matters of faith became increasingly prescribed and dictated by the leadership of the developing Church hierarchy.

One thing I have observed as I have researched and written this blog is the wisdom the Scribe was seeking was not the product of thought. Rather, Spiritual awakening involves waking up from the dream of thoughts, of realising that there is nothing for us to do or know except to be present and give whatever is unfolding our full attention – with that recognition comes the inner realisation that God is in all things and all things are in God.

Kia mau te rongo me te pai ki a koe i to haerenga

May you find peace and good will on your journey.

Phil

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1https://forward.com/scribe/367003/passover-and-the-jewish-art-of-questioning-everything/

2https://lessons.myjli.com/why/index.php/2016/11/30/the-art-of-asking-questions/

3 Matthew 7:7

4Rabbinic Judaism had four approaches to biblical exegesis: (1) "surface" ("straight") or the literal (direct) meaning (2) "hints" or the deep (allegoric: hidden or symbolic) meaning beyond just the literal sense. (3) the comparative (midrashic) meaning, as given through similar occurrences. (4) "secret" ("mystery") or the esoteric/mystical meaning, as given through inspiration or revelation.

What Do We Do in the Face of a Crisis? (Mark 10:46-52)

This Sunday we have another story where Jesus asks the question: “What do you want me to do for you?” Last Sunday, it was two cousins who ask Jesus for special privileges so they might share in his glory, little realising the 'glory' Jesus was referring to was the cross, and the 'glory' they would receive was the privilege of martyrdom for James, and incarceration and a lingering death for John.

This Sunday's Gospel is almost the opposite of last week's Gospel. Mark 10: 46-52 is about Bartimaeus, a blind beggar who wants to regain his sight. In many ways this is a story about restoring hope to someone who had none; someone who had been relegated to an uncertain future and a life of fear, insecurity and loneliness in a world full of inequality. The Clinical Psychologist and interfaith minister, John C. Robinson, suggests the feelings and life Bartimaeus faced as a blind person is not so far removed from the experience many face in a Covid-world of rising global catastrophe.  Robinson goes on to suggest five dimensions that help when confronted by crisis1. We find them all illustrated within the Gospel story of Bartimaeus:

1. Practical: Bartimaeus presents as a practical person. He used every means at his disposal to captured Jesus attention, and to receive his life-changing healing. He then responds by becoming a follower of Jesus. Robinson suggests the first thing we need to do when faced with a crisis is to be practical. To make sure we have the basics of food, water, shelter, healthcare and safety. We also, need to be like Bartimaeus and be informed on what is happening around us and react accordingly.

2. Psychological: Pandemics can evoke a lot of negative feelings that arise from being isolated from the normal course of our lives. Enforced isolation can breed negative feelings such as fear, depression and hopelessness. The best cure is to ask for help and to be there for others. We see this reflected in the Gospel story. As a blind beggar on the side of the road, Bartimaeus was totally dependent upon the charity of others. Rather than remaining isolated in his blindness, he turns to his neighbours for support.

3. Spiritual: We know nothing of Bartimaeus' faith – except he had heard Jesus could heal people. We all have our personal hopes and beliefs. These give shape to our values and meaning to our life. They may be religious and spiritual beliefs. Or they may be based on our experiences of awe and wonder of the natural world around us. They can include the significant people with whom we share our life. One of the gifts a spirituality can provide, is support, hope and love in times of crisis. It can also give us comfort and new meaning in our struggles – and new hope to face the future.

4. Mystical: Spiritual beliefs often relate to things we have been taught and to our minds. Mystical events relate to first-hand experiences of the sacred in everyday life. Bartimaeus, for example, wasn't content knowing that Jesus had healed people – he desperately wanted to experience healing for himself. We all have had mystical experiences. These may include falling in love, sensing the stillness in a forest or an empty Church, holding our newborn baby for the first time, being stunned by the beauty of a sunset. In all these moments we perceive the boundaries of our life and world are not as fixed and physical as they might appear on the surface. We may have a fleeting sense of an interconnectedness that holds everything together. As Eckhart Toole has observed:

“Underneath the surface appearance, everything is not only connected with everything else,
but also with the Source of all life out of which it came”.2

5. The Wisdom of the Sage: Robinson also suggests:

“We create our most mature self” as we integrate and utilize the practical knowledge
and insight acquired over the years of life experience.
This provides us with not only knowledge and practical and skills,
but also the wisdom of one who can provide meaningful and inspiring leadership.”

We don't know how old Bartimaeus was, but the wisdom he demonstrates is not limited to age. In many ways, the focus in the Gospel story is not the healing of Bartimaeus' physical blindness, but his response to his healing. He leaves everything to follow Jesus just as the other early disciples had done. And it is important to remember that Jesus' life was spent mainly with those who were vulnerable, poor and homeless. In this way, Bartimaeus offers us a more authentic model of what it means to be a follower of Jesus compared to James and John in last week's Gospel. James and John wanted recognition and power. However, they had still had to learn that the Way of Jesus is one of service to others who may be struggling in our communities.

Kia mau te rongo me te pai ki a koe i to haerenga
May you find peace and good will on your journey.

Phil
____________

1https://politicaltheology.com/the-politics-of-discipleship-mark-1046-52/

2https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/2567181-a-new-earth-awakening-to-your-life-s-purpose?page=19

St Francis of Assisi

The 4th of October is the Feast Day of St Francis of Assisi. A well-loved and popular Saint. I wonder what images come to mind when you think of him? Perhaps Pet Services, birdbaths and religious pictures? Certainly, there are many stories about St Francis and his love of animals, birds, fish, cricket, rabbits, bees and even worms. Thomas of Celano, one of the early followers and chroniclers of St Francis, recorded the following about him:

Toward little worms even he glowed with a very great love, for he had read this saying about the Savior (Psalms 22:6): “I am a worm, a no one”. Therefore he picked them up from the road and placed them in a safe place, lest they be crushed by the feet of the passers by."1.

If we find that slightly cute, I wonder if his (and our) affection would extend to other critters such as cockroaches and rodents? Be that as it may, we often have honoured the animals and birds with whom we share our lives at this time of year at an annual Pet Service. However, it is also good to remember that St Francis was more than a lover of animals – he is also a patron of the Ecology, and an inspirational travelling evangelist!

I think back to when I first learnt of Francis. I was a university student at a time when we had no internal assessments and no semesters. One could happily enjoy a good social life for the first half of the year before studying madly the last two months before sitting the final exam. So it was that a local vicar who knew my parents took me under his wing. I recall sitting in his Elizabethan sitting room in a dark, damp, old-worldly vicarage. He was puffing away on his pipe as he told me about a poor little rich man from Assisi, who also as a teenager, lived a wild and carefree life. What appealed to me then, and has stayed with me, was Francis radical, wholehearted determination to follow the way of Jesus. Francis was inspired to change his life and make a difference in a world where extremes of wealth, hypocrisy, and poverty existed. I also learnt about other people, closer to my generation, who had been inspired by St Francis to make a difference. People like Douglas Downs, an Anglican Priest, inspired by the life of St Francis of Assisi, move out from the comfort of his home in England to live and worked amongst the thousands of homeless men who lived on the roads during the post-war depression. They had no work, no skills, no social security, no hope and no one wanted them. Then a friend, inspired by the example of Douglas, offered the use of his farm in Dorset as a place of refuge. Douglas believed every person had a skill to offer. If they were willing to help on the farm, he would provide food and lodging, and help them find their special talent, develop it, then send them on their way with a reference and new hope for the future. Douglas' secret was similar to that of St Francis of Assisi. Both “Could see the light of God in others.” One of the brothers later wrote these words about St Francis:

It was this love that opened Francis's eyes to the truth of God in creation. Everything spoke of the love of God. All of creation became faces of God - the world became the temple of God as everything reflected God's power, wisdom and goodness. This led Francis to live in relatedness and to share all he was and had with all things – for all things were his brothers and sisters because they shared with him the same beginnings, the same incarnation of God. But we are unable to see this until we first are able to see God's goodness within us – this is the path to transformation.

The Gospel Reading for the coming Sunday (Mark 10:2-16) tells us of another young man who met Jesus on the road. This time it was not in the form of a leper as St Francis did. It was face to face in person. He wanted to find meaning in his life. But unlike Francis, he wasn't prepared to let go of the material things that gave his comfortable life meaning and purpose. And that one thing made the difference.

Francis could see beyond the superficial boundaries of life and see with clarity that every person is created after the image and likeness of God. And when we too are able to see people as Francis did, we will also see them for who they truly are – images of God.

Kia mau te rongo me te pai ki a koe i to haerenga

May you find peace and good will on your journey.

Phil

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1Thomas of Celano, First life of St. Francis.

When Relationships Go Wrong (Mark 10:2-16)

There is a romantic side to most people when entering into a committed relationship. They imagine their marriage will last forever. Yet last year (2020), 7,707 couples were granted divorces in New Zealand.1 I mention this because the Gospel reading for this Sunday (3 October) discusses the sensitive topic of divorce (Mark 10:2-16).

One of the joys of Parish ministry is the delight of meeting with couples and the privilege of taking their wedding service. However, it also provides cause for reflection, when later I discover the excitement and commitment promised on that day did not survive the challenges that lay ahead for them. This situation is not new, as we learn from this Sunday Gospel reading. Divorce was a critical issue when Jesus lived as it was in the 7th century BCE when the Deuteronomic Code was composed. However, it is clear from the Gospel reading, the Jewish authorities were not interested in divorce per se. They wanted to see whose side Jesus supported. Was it legal for a man to divorce his wife? They knew the law – but did Jesus agree with it? Jesus wisely sidesteps their question. Instead, he points to the hope that most couples hold when making their commitment to each other. They trust that their relationship will last.

In contrast to the academic and critical game-playing of the Pharisees, Jesus was more interested in the dignity all people have in the sight of God. Especially women and children who had few rights under Jewish law. A man, for example, could divorce his wife for almost any contrived reason, leaving her and the children destitute with little or no support. Jesus reminds his disciples it is not by age or social standing, nor by learning or skillful argument that we enter God's domain. Rather, it is through an openness of heart and mind that allows us to see and experience the presence of the Divine in each moment of our life. And to draw on that divine support to help us face and often resolve the issues life throws at us. In the process, we discover that the eyes, mind and wisdom of the Divine, are already dwelling within us.

One of the tools I often used with couples to help them access this inner wisdom was the work of a Canadian Psychiatrist, Eric Berne. Initially developed during the 1950s and 1960s, he provided a way to explain, predict and change our patterns of responding to situations. Learnt often unconsciously, they continue to influence how we act, think and feel. Berne divided them into three ego states he called Parent, Adult and Child. Their influence depends on experience. They may provide wisdom, insight, spontaneity and knowledge to face the challenges and decisions that life throws at us, for example. Or their dark side may contain the remembered criticisms and manipulations that taught us the world was not a good or safe place for us. However, Berne's approach reminds us we still have a choice, as hard or delightful as that may be. To quote Aesop's Fables: “Be careful what you wish for, lest it comes true!”

With all this in mind, we consider the human dynamics involved in this week's Gospel reading.The Pharisees come with their childish game and two-edged question to show the crowd how irresponsible (or ignorant) Jesus was and how clever and wise they are, forgetting whenever we point the finger at someone, three fingers always point back at you.  Jesus remains calm. He ignores their barb and responds with his mature insight and wisdom. Later the Disciples question Jesus in quite a different manner to the Pharisees, and the episode concludes with Jesus quoting a curious and often misquoted maxim from Malachi 2:10-17.2 

I say curious, because the author of Malachi compares Judah's covenant with God to a marriage relationship that the people of Judah have broken through their faithlessness and apostasy. Baptism would be our Christian equivalent to this situation rather than marriage. In Baptism, “we are made children of God, members of Christ’s body the Church, and heirs of the Kingdom of God... we enter the new Covenant, and experience the renewing spirit of God. 3. A view supported by the closing paragraph of this Sunday's Gospel when parents bring their children to Jesus and Jesus responds with the wisdom, loving care and blessing that our soul also long for:

“Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs... And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.

Kia mau te rongo me te pai ki a koe i to haerenga
May you find peace and good will on your journey.

Phil

_____

1 https://www.stats.govt.nz/

2 “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her;  and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery” (Mark 10:11-12). This maxim better reflects the legal situation in the Markan Church. It also reflects familiarity with Roman rather than Israelite marriage law.

3 A NZ Prayer Book p 933 https://anglicanprayerbook.nz/925.html

Water & Salt (Mark 9:38-50)

Whoever gives you a cup of water to drink …

will not lose their reward.

Mark 9:41

Water has always been vital to our everyday life and the key to our survival as a human race. For this reason alone, it holds the potential to become a strategic, political and humanitarian issue with its ability to affect world peace1. This is not new. Even the Bible refers to the importance of water 722 times – more often than the core Christian values of faith, hope, prayer, and worship! Matthew 25, for example, suggests we will be held to account based on the way we have used and shared our resources of food, water, clothing and companionship with those in need. So water was already a religious and political issue in Jesus' day.

The part of the world where Jesus lived had little rain for six months of the year. This meant people had to rely on a natural water supply such as the river Jordan or a natural spring. Local dug wells are also mentioned in the Bible. So too are underground cisterns, built beneath the homes of the wealthy, that relied on the spring rains to fill them. In contrast, the poor and destitute had to rely on travelling to a local well. If you have had to carry a bucket full of water, you will know how heavy water is. No wonder the words of Isaiah 55v1 held so much appeal to those who struggled home with their heavy water containers:

Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters;

and you who have no money, come... without cost.

Another thing that interested me about this Sunday's Gospel (Mark 9:38-50) was the reference to another naturally occurring and vital life-giving resource:

“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again?

Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”

We are well aware that water can become polluted and dangerous to drink. Salt also can lose its flavour of 'saltiness' when it is confused or polluted with other similar looking compounds that don't have the same life-giving effect or taste. How does this analogy relate to being at peace with each other?

To help answer that question, I found Mahatma Gandhi's article “What Jesus means to me” helpful. In the article, Gandhi refers to the non-violent protest march against the British imposed salt tax that prohibited Indians from collecting or selling salt. Instead, they had to buy salt at an inflated price from their British rulers. The most affected people were the poorest of the poor. The non-violent Salt March of 1930 began a movement that ultimately led to India gaining independence from British oppression. Similarly, Jesus' reference to both water and salt were highly political comments against the oppression of the poor in his day. To give a cup of water to those in need, free of charge, was a political challenge to those who were oppressing the rights of the poor.

While you might feel this is a misuse of Mark's passage, Mahatma Gandhi often referred to the Sermon on the Mount. Within that collation of sayings, Jesus refers to his listeners as being “the salt of the earth”2. Our purpose, as people of faith, who seek to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, is to make a difference. And just as salt and water are vital to life and good health, Gandhi reminded us that we are not to just listen to what Jesus said, we are to live his words into reality as we bring new life and vitality to the communities in which we live. If, for example, we “loved our neighbour as ourselves” all day and every day, what a different place our world might be. We would then 'live in peace amongst ourselves' as Gandhi – and Jesus – hoped and longed for:

For a bowl of water give a goody meal;

For a kindly greeting bow thou down with zeal;

For a simple penny pay thou back with gold;

If thy life be rescued, life do not withhold.

Thus the words and actions of the wise regard;

Every little service tenfold they reward.

But the truly noble know all are one,

And return with gladness good for evil done.3

Kia mau te rongo me te pai ki a koe i to haerenga

May you find peace and goodwill on your journey.

Phil

_______

1 https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20170615-why-hydro-politics-will-shape-the-21st-century

2 Matthew 5:13

3 Gandhi, An Autobiography, 32-33. Penguin Books Ltd. 1915.

Compassion in Response to Violence (Mark 9: 30-37)

September is a significant month for several reasons. This past week we remembered the coordinated terrorist attacks against the United States of America on the 11th of September, 2001. Then on Sunday the 19th of September, the Anglican Communion has Battle of Britain Sunday, to remember the largest and most concentrated attack launched by the Luftwaffe against London on the15th September, 1940. In New Zealand, we also remember Suffrage Day on that same Sunday because we became the first self-governing country where women could vote in parliamentary elections. While we may take that particular battle for equality for granted, we do so in the context of what is unfolding for the women in Afghanistan. They face rising levels of domestic violence, abuse and exploitation under Taliban control.

Violence also forms the backdrop for the Gospel reading this Sunday (Mark 9: 30-37). Jesus contemplates the inevitability of his torture and death because he dared to challenge the religious and State powers for the violence and atrocities they were committing against anyone who challenged them. However, Jesus never returned fear with fear or violence with violence. Instead, he taught a way of personal and social transformation through the practice of radical compassion. Frank Rogers gives us a contemporary and practical illustration of this way of responding in his book, 'Practicing Compassion in a Violent World'.1 Compassion, he says, has a two-way interaction. 

 

“It not only restores the heart of our own humanity

 – its healing care restores the heart of another that has grown hard and cold”

 

To illustrate this, Rogers recounts a story about a man whose wife of 45 years died suddenly in her sleep. The man was grief-stricken. He finally decided he needed to do something. Because his wife loved roses, he would plant a beautiful memorial rose garden in front of his house. You can imagine his horror when he discovered someone had vandalised several of the rose bushes. So he kept watch, and several days later, he saw a local boy from a neighbouring gang stop and slashed another rose bush with a stick. Instinctively the man wanted to return the boy's violence with violence. Then, he realised he had a choice. He knew the family and knew the boy had a bleak future. He could report him to the police – but he decided instead to do something radically proactive. The next time the boy passed, he went out and asked him for his help. He needed someone to keep watch over his roses because someone was damaging them. He also needed help with his vegetable garden and was willing to pay the boy for his time.

The boy did come back, and the damage to the rose bushes stopped. The lad also provided valuable help and companionship for the man. When he was a little older, he started an inner-city youth programme to provide an alternative to gang life.

To do something radically proactive in the face of violence requires courage. It is also a spiritual path. One that begins when we know we are held, healed and empowered by the sacred presence of God's Compassion, irrespective of our failures and imperfections. Choosing to live a compassionate way of life will provide meaning and purpose to our lives. It begins when we allow God's love to flow through us in some practical and proactive way. We will also find ourselves participating in God's healing presence in our world. And the Gospel reading for this Sunday demonstrates this principle in action.

Jesus warned his disciples his life was in danger. Their response was one of fear. What would happen to them? They had left everything to follow him. However, they were afraid to voice those fears to Jesus, so they turned inward and argued with one another. Jesus never told them off or criticised them. He sat down and talked to them about their fears and concerns for the future. Then to illustrate his meaning he pointed to a child playing nearby and said: “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.” Or, to quote a similar Sufi saying:

When the mystery of God is revealed to you,

you will understand that God has always been in you....

Then you will see all your actions to be His actions

and your essence to be His essence....

There is nothing except His Face, and "whithersoever you turn,

there you will see the Face of God."

Kia mau te rongo me te pai ki a koe i to haerenga

May you find peace and good will on your journey.

Phil

___________

1Frank Rogers, Jr. Compassion in Practice: The Way of Jesus,‎ Upper Room Books, 2016 Frank Rogers is Professor of Spiritual Formation and Narrative Pedagogy and the co-director of the Center for Engaged Compassion. His teaching focuses on spiritual formation that is contemplative, creative, and socially liberative.