Sermon by The Very Rev Chris Yaw, 11/10/2024
Centering Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, may your will be done, through me.
After my son's final water polo match of the season, the players from both teams formed lines - then went through the ritual of congratulating each other as they walked by - in that universal, post-game athletic ceremony called 'the handshake line.'
I was sitting in the stands with my youngest, my 5-year-old, who asked, "What are they doing?"
I said, "They're shaking hands - they do it after every match - the winning team and the losing team acknowledge their competition by shaking hands."
He said, "Why would they do that? The other team is the enemy!"
I said, "They shake hands to put the game into perspective - that the other team is not the enemy - just the opponent - and when all is said and done, they want to remember that they're friends."
"Oh," said the 5-year-old, summing up: "I don't ever want to play water polo!"
And, once again, out of the mouth of babes we hear the words we adults won't say.
It's hard - after a well-fought, close, and competitive match-up - which always tempts us to see the other side as the enemy and not the opponent - that we have a hard time going through that handshake line - that we show respect and are sportsmanship.
Of course, I'm talking about Tuesday's election - which is so much more than any game -
So that, for many people, it will take time to walk down the handshake line.
There have been harsh words, threats, and very coarse insults.
People have been gravely offended, lit up and ticked off.
It took years - decades - for the U.S. to shake hands with Japan after World War II -
Some people never did. Because we know that the deeper the investment, the wound - the harder - and longer - it is to shake it off.
And when that match-up is like our elections - which basically begin the day after the last one ended - it's a long game - and it's a long time - for us to form our opinions - to pass judgments - to get grounded in our positions - we can't just flip a switch to adjust our attitudes -
No - getting used to a new normal is not flipping a switch - it's adjusting a dimmer - turning the dial - which some people will do quickly and others will do very slowly - if at all.
And so we come to church - some to deeply mourn - others to celebrate and give thanks - and still others to do a bit of both - because they're just happy it's over.
And if you came to church to put these things into perspective - then you know that is what the church's job is - to look to Jesus for perspective - to his teaching and example: How did Jesus handle victory? How did Jesus handle defeat? How are we to make our way through uncharted waters - about which some of us are at excited and at peace - and some are scared to death?
I think we can get some clues from our Gospel this morning as we consider what Jesus has to say about those hypocritical religious people and that an impoverished widow with barely a cent to her name...
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We are in the Book of Mark - we have two stories that seem to be related but most likely did not come one after the other from the original author -- who begins with Jesus teaching those around him to 'Beware of the scribes!' these are religious leaders. They are men in a patriarchal society. They have respectable positions in society. They have power. They have education. They have fancy clothes and plenty to eat. In the game of life, they are winners.
However, the Scribes also have a problem. They're very poor at winning. They handle their favored position badly. They are selfish. They are prideful. They are cruel to widows. They see themselves as entitled and deserving.
Life has given them so much - but they don't see it - they are bad winners - and behave accordingly. After all - how are winners supposed to behave?
Look at Jesus when he won - following the Resurrection - and the biggest victory the world has ever known.
Jesus had triumphed over death, obeyed his Father to the end - seen his body transformed, and now makes appearances to his disciples - to those who had followed him for 3 years - but in the end betrayed and abandoned him. They were willing to go most of the way - but when the going got tough, they hit the road! When the authorities came to them in the Garden of Gethsemane - with their soldiers and swords - the disciples took off - and left Jesus to fend for himself.
And what does Jesus, the winner, do as he now confronts them? There he is - appearing in a locked, upper room; on the road to Emaus; and at the seaside making a fish breakfast:
We notice that Jesus does not gloat, taunt, or rip into these disciples - He does not insult, complain, or hold a grudge!
In fact, his first words are, "Peace be with you!"
Jesus is kind, forgiving, and willing to put the past behind -
As he urges them to get on with things - to keep at the mission that they had abandoned and failed at.
And now, having been treated like this by the winner who knew how to win - they do so with an abandon that made Christianity grow to a size and at a speed that no other religion has ever matched.
This is what winners do - they are kind, forgiving, willing to put the past behind, focused on the mission of shared well-being for all! If you consider Tuesday's election to be a win for you - then this snapshot of "Jesus-as-a-winner" might be one to pay attention to:
Don't gloat. Don't taunt. Don't be prideful, arrogant, and entitled like the Scribes –
He kind, forgiving, and willing to put the past behind. If you've won - win like Jesus.
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Then, we have that woman. That poor woman. She is a widow, meaning her husband had either died or left her - and given the societal norms of the times - this suggests she did not have many options by which to support herself, likely just prostitution or begging, which obviously had not worked out well for her.
She is poor, single, a woman - three strikes - and she's out - or on the outs - with no position or prestige - making her one of life's big losers. Yet, in the midst of all that loss - look at how she behaved!
But first, let's look at Jesus, when he was in a similar position! Remember when Jesus had lost?
It was after the disciples had abandoned and betrayed him - and he stood there homeless and haggard on the judgment seat - before Pontius Pilate, the Roman authority who would decide his fate - And Pilate famously questioned Jesus - as you and I marvel at how this loser behaves.
We notice that Jesus in front of Pilate holds his composure. He does not insult, berate, or complain: "This system's rigged! Why am I here? I don't deserve this!"
Jesus does not shake his fist at Pilate or at God –
But Jesus composure comes from his suspicion that God is not finished. Jesus is a man of faith. Jesus knows he had done the right thing - and was doing the right thing -
And that the God he serves is the real deal - who just MAY not be finished with things -
We know Jesus had memorized many of the Psalms -
Perhaps one of them was Psalm 146 - that we just read/chanted -
Perhaps it was running through Jesus' mind as he stood there silent before Pilate: "Put not your trust in rulers, nor in any child of the earth - "Who keeps promises forever? "Who gives justice to those who are oppressed? "The Lord sets the prisoners free! "The Lord loves the righteous! "The Lord cares for the stranger, sustains the orphan and widow, and frustrates the way of the wicked!"
If you are feeling loss following Tuesday's election, learn from Jesus! Have poise! Don't disparage, insult, berate, or complain! Have faith - put your trust in God - Consider that God is not finished yet! That you have not been abandoned: that the game is not over. Be like that loser, that penniless widow - and have faith - that amidst the world's loss - God is here.
That widow had every reason to be bitter, selfish, and angry at God and the world -
But instead, she had faith. She went to church - she didn't close God out - she opened her heart up –
And she worshipped in the most profound way humans can worship: by giving it all away!
In the world's eyes - she was a loser - But not in God's eyes - who has immortalized her in this story - and perhaps in other ways we'll have to wait to discover - she was a winner. In the world's eyes - Jesus was a loser - but not in God's eyes - God raised him up to glory, giving him victory over death, and the highest esteem one can imagine in this world and in the hereafter.
So friends - no matter where you are following Tuesday - let us have faith in the God who created, sustains, and provides for us - who invites humility when we win - and urges faith when we lose! And all along the way - walks with us to the shining mountaintop and through the darkest valleys - James Baldwin suggests as much through one of my favorite poems called 'Some Days':
Some days worry, some days glad
some days more than make you mad.
Some days, some days, more than shine:
when you see what's coming on down the line!
Some days you say, oh, not me never - !
Some days you say bless God forever.
Some days, you say, curse God, and die and the day comes when you wrestle with that lie.
Some days tussle then some days groan
and some days don't even leave a bone:
Some days you hassle all alone.
I don't know, sister, what I'm saying,
nor do no man, if he don't be praying.
I know that love is the only answer
and the tight-rope lover, the only dancer.
When the lover come off the rope today,
the net which holds him is how we pray,
and not to God's unknown, but to each other - :
the falling mortal is our brother!
Some days leave, some days grieve
some days you almost don't believe.
Some days believe you, some days don't,
some days believe you, and you won't.
Some days worry, some days mad
some days more than make you glad.
Some days, some days, more than shine,
witnesses, coming on down the line!
Amen.