Sermon by The Very Rev Chris Yaw, based on John 21:1-19
Not long ago, Chuck Peterson was released from prison at San Quentin, California.
When he got home, he called an old friend who was overjoyed to hear from him. And he asked the newly freed prisoner, “What's the best part of being out of prison?"
The answer was as sincere as it was immediate, as Chuck said, "The best part of being on the outside is wearing pants with pockets."
Apparently, the trousers supplied at San Quentin don't have pockets. Authorities are worried about inmates carrying shivs or other weapons. There's great emphasis on the safety of prisoners and of the prison community, that means that nobody's pants have pockets.
This made an impression upon Chuck as he reflected on his new life of freedom, his new lease on life, his fresh start, he began to ponder the metaphorical meaning of going through life with a new pair of pockets, being careful of what we carry, being mindful of that which we keep closest to us.
In this season of Easter, of newness, of resurrection, of new life, of new beginnings, we do well to ponder the things that we keep in our pockets - the things we keep close to us. We do well to ask ourselves what kinds of things do we keep closest to us in order to live the kinds of lives we want to live?
And so we look to Jesus, the most famous person we know who did not have pockets - and ponder what he kept close to himself.
And four things that strike me - and that make up my sermon - are these four things:
What Jesus kept close to himself was scripture, prayer, Godly friendships, and a preoccupation with compassion as it related to the needs of the suffering.
As Easter brings newness into our lives, a chance to begin again, to look at habits, lifestyles, and the way we move through the world following Jesus - how can we consider anew scripture, prayer, the influences we allow to come close to us, and the deep and real needs of the suffering?
— (put on prayer stuff)
In order to answer this, I went to see the Rabbi - Rabbi Starr over at Congregation Shaarey Zedek - so that we could have a conversation about observant Jews in the first century - in Jesus’ day.
What would their prayer lives have looked like - and how would Jews like Jesus have woven scripture into their days?
After all, Jesus, an observant, and committed Jew, would have learned what he knew about scripture and prayer from his rabbis, family, and the teaching of the day.
So, regarding scripture - Rabbi Starr shared with me this verse from Deuteronomy 11:18 that has to do with the regard Jews have for our sacred text - and the ways they sought, and still seek, to keep God’s word at the center of their lives.
Deuteronomy 11:18 says:
"You shall put these words of mine in your heart and soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and fix them as an emblem on your forehead."
What I’m wearing here would have been something Jesus would have worn in order to live into that verse.
And I was keen to ask the Rabbi’s permission to use these items to teach you all - which he quickly gave - knowing that we are not attempting to co-opt his cultural tradition, rather to learn from it - to shed light on what Jesus’s life would have looked like.
These are called phylacteries. And they are a set of small black leather boxes with leather straps on them that contain scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from Torah.
Phylacteries, also known by their Hebrew name of Tefillin, are worn 6 days a week by Adult Jews during weekday morning prayers, not on the Sabbath as that day is clothed in prayer on its own. In some communities tefillin are only worn by men, but the more liberal Jewish denominations allow women to do so.
The head tefillin is worn on my forehead, between my eyes, at the hairline, the leather straps are allowed to simply dangle - they are to fulfill the Torah’s instructions to maintain a continuous ’sign’ and remembrance of the Exodus as they were originally worn all day, from Sunrise to Sunset. Here’s the scripture verse:
Exodus 13:9
"It shall serve for you as a sign on your hand and as a reminder on your forehead, so that the teaching of the Lord may be on your lips; for with a strong hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt."
The arm Tefillin is worn on my non-dominant arm, and wrapped around my arm, with the strap going around my hand and middle finger.
Wearing Tefillin goes back at least 2,000 years, with archaeologists finding these items in Jewish places of prayer, including the Qumran community, best known as the home of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
And we hear Jesus talk about the ostentatious wearing of Tefillin by the Pharisees in Matthew 23, when he warns against wearing our religion for show - and not for sincere communion with the Divine.
Rabbi Starr says the point is to live into what is probably the best known of the Deuteronomic commands - that’s:
Deuteronomy 6:4-8
Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead.
Here we see the devotion, the love, the yearning for union with God that you and I share with our Jewish brothers and sisters - indeed with Jesus - as these commands are taken quite literally - in search of what we too want - which is ways to bind scripture to our lives - to fill our pockets with God’s word.
How are we making space in our lives for God’s Word?
What needs to move out of the way so that Scripture can play a more central role?
How can we put Scripture in our pockets?
-----------------------
After my introduction to the ways Jesus would have interacted with Scripture, Rabbi Starr and I spoke about the ways Jesus would have understood prayer.
And he loaned me this prayer shawl, known as a Tallit, and he pointed me to yet another Bible verse from Torah - this one in:
Numbers 15:38-39
"Speak to the Israelites and tell them to make fringes on the corners of their garments throughout their generations and to put a blue cord on the fringe at each corner. You have the fringe so that, when you see it, you will remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them, and not follow the lust of your own heart and your own eyes."
Notice the blue on the Tallit - and remember that the Israeli flag has blue stripes as well - this is where it’s from.
Now, there are certain specifications for the Tallit - some from scripture, some from Rabbinic tradition. It must be rectangular - in order to have corners - and on each of the four corners is an intricate set of knots - and guess how many knots are on each corner? - 613 - which is the number of commands God gives the Israelites in Torah.
Around the head band are more Hebrew letters. It’s a blessing that reads:
"Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us to enwrap ourselves with fringed tassels."
The Tallit is to be worn 7 days a week, especially on Sabbath, which is a day of rest that certainly includes prayer.
It is often given as a gift at weddings.
And at the time of death, among some Jews, Tallit is also used to drape the dead upon burial.
We find hints of its use in the Christian scriptures, Matthew 6:6 says this:
Matthew 6:6
“…whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you."
This text alludes to a prayer closet - and if I arrange the tallit like this, I can create my own prayer closet, where I can commune with God - and use my shawl for deeper devotion.
Praying like this is something Jesus would have done - clothing himself, cloaking himself, in an attitude of continuous conversation with God.
When we look at how Jesus might have prayed, can we ask:
How’s our prayer life going?
What does our prayer closet look like?
How can we put prayer in our pockets?
---------------------
A third item we see that Jesus kept close to him had to do with relationships -
We see that Jesus was intentional about the company he kept.
He called people - and most of them said yes - and they followed him.
These folks, men and women, were seeking after the things he sought after - healing, hope, love, and a sincere desire to discern and do God’s will in the world.
These friends of Jesus made up an attentive audience to his teachings and obedient disciples who went off and attempted to do the things he taught them.
We notice that the one person Jesus called who did not follow him, the rich young ruler in Matthew 19, did so because he was not interested in what Jesus was offering, and was more interested in his possessions.
This is not to say that possessions are bad - or that people who try to sell them to us or enjoy them with us are evil - rather it is to say that the job of our possessions is to point us to God.
Every article of clothing, square foot of property, every page of a book, every scene of a movie are intended to point us to the Sacred. The complexity, glory, and awesome breadth of creation was made for God and made to point us toward God.
Researchers say that we are the sum total of the 5 or 6 people who are closest to us. We find that true in Jesus’ circle - as his band of disciples learned, slowly but surely, how best to imitate their master.
And it gives you and me something to ponder as we ask:
What are the main influences we’ve chosen for our lives?
Are these something we want to move away from or closer to?
What kinds of friendships, habits, preoccupations, and influences do we want to put into our pockets?
---------------
In ancient Greek mythology there's the story about two characters, Hyacinth and Apollo.
Apollo, best known as the god of the sun, had found a best friend and perhaps lover in Hyacinth. The stories of their exploits and their jolly times together are many. But on one particular day, as they went out to play an ancient athletic game together, which involved throwing a discus, Apollo let launch a disc with his superhuman strength that ended up accidentally hitting Hyacinth and delivering a fatal wound.
Apollo ran to his side and picked him up as Hyacinth lay bleeding. Unable to save him, he comforted him, caressing him in his arms, showing deep love and compassion.
As drops of Hyacinth's blood fell to the soil, so goes the myth, they sprouted into flowers, purple flowers that are ever so fragrance, that we can see especially on this spring day, in our gardens.
This is why many people, like me, when they see a hyacinth, think thoughts of compassion and mercy for the suffering, not just victims, but also perpetrators, as very few humans inflict harm on another, purposefully.
So the last thing I would like us to consider putting in our pockets is a hyacinth, as a reminder of who Jesus was at his core, a compassionate lover who took action to relieve the suffering. In fact, it seems that never did a day go by when Jesus was not concerned with the suffering of others, the hungry, the sick, the disabled, those on the margins, and the victims of injustice.
Compassion has been called a spiritual exercise that is able to draw as closer to God.
In fact, when I think of all you, our beloved Saint David's congregation, with its hard work for Ukraine on Friday, it's constant opening our doors to others, like our wedding yesterday, these are Acts of Charity and compassion that form and mold us into our best selves. Sure they include prayer and obedience to scripture, but it's in these very visceral acts that many of us experience the risen Christ.
So what about compassion?
How compassionate are we?
In what ways do we allow compassion to make our decision and give us direction in how we spend our time and money?
In what ways are we feeling directed to put a hyacinth in our pockets?
-------
Friends, as we look to Jesus in this Easter season, the most famous person we know who did not have pockets - we ponder what he kept close to himself.
And four things that strike me - these four things:
scripture, prayer, Godly influences, and his compassion as he considered the needs of the suffering.
May we keep close to us, the same things Jesus kept close to him.
Amen.