“Servant of all” (Mark 9:33-37)

Mark 9:33-37

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Pastor Tom Johnson, September 23, 2018

When Jesus asks his disciples what they were arguing about he already knows. That his way of bring about their conviction. They are silent—speechless. It is embarrassing. With a penetrating question, they realize their foolishness. The disciples were arguing about who was the greatest among them. Even their silence is self-serving. No one wants to be called out for their pride. None of us want to be outed as a self-promoting narcissist. So they don’t say anything at all. Jesus’ question, “What were you arguing about on the way?” teaches us something important. Pride is competition. It’s when we want to be first. It’s when we want to be greatest. If we go down this path of self-promotion, our lives become a turf war. It will become all about proving to others how indispensable we are. We will be a servant either way. We either are a servant to our pride or we are a servant to God and others. Jesus shows us that serving ourselves is actually not good for us. We are not serving or loving ourselves in a healthy way. James says in our Scripture reading, “For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind.” In other words, our pride and self-service will only lead to greater chaos, confusion, evil, and harm to others. Jesus has a gentle way of confronting our pride. He does not call us to stop the nonsense. He gives us a higher call.

“Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” The first step toward greatness—in the Kingdom of God—is to get our eyes off of ourselves. Up until that point each of the disciples were focused on themselves. With a word, Jesus tells them to stop serving self and serve all. Jesus opens the prison doors—the prison of our self-centeredness—he opens the door to the vast world of people out there just waiting to be accepted, loved, and served. All this to say that the wrong kind of self-esteem can blind and paralyze us. It keeps us from answering God’s call to put ourselves last and others first—to become a servant of all. Jesus turns their world upside down when he takes a small child up into his arms. This is what greatness looks like—Jesus welcoming a child into his arms. The child is accepted just as he or she is. The greatness is not in the child. The greatness is in the radical acceptance and radical welcoming heart of Jesus. Jesus says that we are to become servants of all—all. That means God calls us to serve everyone—every human being that he brings across our paths.

Jesus is telling us that one of the greatest ways we can serve one another is to welcome others—to be hospitable to our neighbor all in the name of Jesus. This is what it means to welcome others in Jesus’ name. We do something in Jesus’ name when we do it out of Christ’s love, command, and authority. Our acceptance of others and service to others is not for us—or even for them. It is for the Kingdom of God. It is for the King—Jesus. And we love him and we love others because he first loved us. We know we are not worthy of such love. But he forgives us, accepts us, picks us up, and brings us into strength and protection of his arms. What greater calling can there be but to serve others as Christ has served us? We get to participate in Kingdom ministry. In the name of Jesus, we reach out to others. In the name of Jesus we lift them up. In the name of Jesus we find value in them. In the name of Jesus we embrace others.

Jesus’ profound words remind us that this is how we love God back...by our welcome to others. “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.” The writer of Hebrews reminds us that when we welcome and show hospitality to strangers, we can entertain angels unawares (Hebrews 13:2). In this case, the angel is the Angel of the Lord—Jesus Christ himself. Ultimately we serve God our Creator and heavenly Father.

This world needs to be a kinder place. Jesus looks at the bickering, competition, and his self-serving disciples. And he gives them a new vision—of a world where we serve and treat one another with dignity, selflessness, and love. This is not just an empty call to be nicer. It is a transformation of our worldview and our mission as God’s people. It is a change of heart and of mind. That is what the Scriptures call true repentance. What freedom and joy there is to know how God looks at us and those around us. We are his precious children. He wants us to serve one another whether we are family or strangers...whether we are old or young...whether we are big or small. We are so bound up in him that to love one another is to love God himself.

Welcome to our world—a world that God created, where we are deeply loved and cherished, forgiven, and assured of eternal life in his Kingdom which has no end. Welcome to the world where Jesus puts himself last by surrendering his life on the cross. Welcome to the world where he rises from the dead in service and for the life of the world.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

“Taming the tongue” (James 3:1-12)

James 3:1-12

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Pastor Tom Johnson, September 16, 2018

“For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue—it is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” James does not mince words. He sees the destruction—the hurtful things people say, the broken relationships, bullying, slander, and gossip. He gives us a perfect illustration of the reality of the human tongue—no one can tame the tongue. It’s a jungle out there. Tongues are running wild. Tongues are tearing things up and tearing things down. Tongues are spitting poison and spreading poison. Tongues are running around
without boundaries or accountability. And apparently, things have not changed in the course of these last two thousand years. That is a long time to domesticate the tongue, that wild beast. We have trained dolphins to serve the United States Navy. We have trained homing pigeons to deliver our mail. We have trained dogs to guide the blind and sniff out bombs.

But we have utterly failed to train that little, red, squishy, wet muscle that resides in our very own mouths. We bless and curse with the same tongue. And James says, “It is so” but “It ought not to be so”! We cannot help ourselves. We know in our brain that it is wrong to judge, gossip, slander, and tear people down with our words. And even though our brain is within inches of our tongues, we are helpless to put a muzzle on that feral creature.

The book of proverbs is rich with how God wants us to tame our speech: “The wise of heart will receive commandments, but a babbling fool will come to ruin” (10:8). “The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off” (10:31). “Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense, but a person of understanding remains silent” (11:12). “Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets, but the one who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered” (11:13). “When there are many words, sin is not lacking, but whoever restrains their lips is prudent” (10:19). And my favorite, “Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when they close their lips, they are deemed intelligent” (17:28). Or, as one person put it, “Better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.” It is our tongues that betray us. Because at the root of our tongues is the sin in our hearts and the palpable evil in the world. Our tongues are not just difficult to control, reign in, or restrain. James says it is impossible. “No one can tame the tongue,” he says. But of course, what is impossible for humans is possible for God.

A few weeks ago, I took my kids to see the movie Alpha. It is a movie based on archeological evidence that scientists estimate is 24,000 years old in Chavet Cave in modern day France. It is two footprints in clay, side by side, for over 150 feet. One track is of an 8-10 year old child and the other of a full grown wolf. The movie is about the relationship between a wild wolf and a boy. I promise not to spoil the movie for you if you choose to see it. But one beautiful thing about the story is how the boy tames the wolf and the wolf tames the boy. The key to their leaving their wild instincts behind is survival. They are better off working together for their mutual good than they are fighting to stay alive alone. We have been able to tame wild animals when we show them there is a benefit they will also receive in this relationship.

James is saying that our tongues have nothing to gain by learning to obey and be helpful. And the reason is that the tongue is set afire by hell. Or as Jesus says to Peter in our Gospel, his words are not from himself but Satan, the Adversary! James wants us to see that we are better off working together for our mutual good—to bless and build one another up with our words. It is truly a jungle out there. Life is difficult enough. There are plenty of adversaries. Why add our wild tongues to the mix? The reality is that the tongue has tamed us! And that we truly cannot help ourselves. Our own hearts are held captive by sin and that venom comes spewing out of our mouths. It ought not to be so. Every week before I preach I pray, “O Lord, open my lips and my mouth will declare your praise. Make haste, O God, to deliver me. Make haste to help me, O Lord.” “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Amen.”

You’ll remember that Pentecost was the day God showed that he can tame the tongue. The Holy Spirit came in as fiery tongues. God’s people were able to speak in various tongues, languages, and dialects proclaiming the mighty acts of God. They blessed and did not curse their neighbor. The drew people into the Kingdom not driving them away. If someone visits our community of faith and hears us gossiping and not speaking well of each other, they will run away and never come back because we are like a wild hornets nest. That is why God sends the Holy Spirit enters into our lives through Baptism and the Word of God. He helps us use our tongues for blessing not cursing, to build up not tear down, to glorify God not profane humanity. Even when Jesus was dying on the Cross, he used his tongue for blessing and not for cursing. Even though he could have called an army of angels to destroy his enemies he says, “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” When Jesus died, he did not just set us free from the consequences of sin, evil and death. He frees us from their power. In him we are made new body, soul, and tongue.

“Be opened” (Mark 7:31-37)

Mark 7:31-37

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Pastor Tom Johnson, September 9, 2018

In first grade I was diagnosed with dyslexia. I was a slow reader. Even today, when I write, I will flip letters. Mrs. Goffmann came to my classroom several days a week and pulled me and a few others out of class. Mrs. Goffmann had us read exercises to one another. I did this for all six years of elementary school. My grades were not terrible. But they were nothing to brag about either. What I remember most is how exhausting and frustrating it was to read and write. It felt like a disability.

In our Gospel today, several friends bring a man with two disabilities. He is deaf and he has an impediment of speech...although his speech is no doubt related to his deafness. How can somebody produce sounds they have never heard? The fact that Mark calls it an impediment means that he tried to speak with some success. What warms my heart is the anonymous “they”—whoever they are who bring this man to Jesus. What a gift and a blessing to have friends like that who love their friend enough to introduce him to Jesus. Mark is the only Gospel writer that includes the details of how Jesus heals this man. Jesus pulls him aside, sticks his fingers in his ears, spits, touches his tongue, tilts his head back, breathes out, and says, Ephphatha which means “Be opened.” What is truly amazing about this is the genius of Jesus’ approach. Before he even heals this man, he already overcomes his disability. Jesus does not treat him with any disrespect. Jesus knows he is capable and an intelligent person.

Jesus uses the senses of touch and sight to communicate clearly with this man. Jesus knows he has developed the skill of lip reading. When Jesus looks up toward the sky he is showing him the tablet upon which Jesus writes his message. Jesus raises his bottom lip to the top front teeth and held there, then he extends his tongue forward to stick out between his exposed teeth spelling out this Aramaic word in all three of its letters. Jesus makes his Word and his ministry accessible to all. In Jesus, there are no disabilities—only opportunities to creatively bring the Gospel to people according to their strengths. It is well documented that people who do not have (or are weaker in) one sense will develop much stronger and keener other senses. In the case of the deaf man, Jesus knew that he was strong in his sense of touch and sight.

God calls us to view those around us with the same kind of empathy and wisdom. How can you and I learn how to better communicate the love of God to those around us? Do we as a church make God’s Word accessible in the fullest sense? Do we see inability in others or potential to share the Gospel in creative ways? Are we like those anonymous friends of the deaf man? Are we looking out for our friends and family and introducing them to Jesus? Are we okay not making a name for ourselves but simply serving and loving our neighbor? The authenticity of these friends and the help Jesus brings are astounding.

My freshman year in high school I took Spanish. To my own surprise, it was not difficult for me. I excelled in Spanish. I loved how consistent and phonetic Spanish is. What you hear matches perfectly with what you see—unlike our friend English. I discovered that I am an auditory learner. I learn best by what I hear rather than what I see. Most people are visual learners. Others are more kinesthetic learners—they learn best by physically doing something. A combination of all three is ideal. It explains why I had no problem learning how to read and write music. And why I did much better in school when I stopped taking notes and just listened. To this day I can devour audio books very quickly. Maybe these differences in the way we learn and grow are not so much disabilities but discovering our strengths.

As we enter a new school year, that would be a great challenge for us students—to love ourselves by finding the best way we learn. And then to learn to love each other in ways that it can be best received and understood. Be opened! Open up your hearts and minds to the rich variety of God’s creation and his creatures. Open yourself up to the multi-sensory Good News of Jesus Christ!

I believe in Word and Sacrament ministry. I believe God blesses us and strengthens us spiritually through the Word of God that is read with the eyes but also received into the ears through the spoken word as well as through the fingertips of Braille. I believe God works through the splash of water, Word, and Holy Spirit. I believe that God assures us of—and gives us forgiveness and grace through the eating, chewing, tasting, swallowing, drinking, and warm flow of wine down our throats in the giving of his Body and Blood. I believe in Word and Sacrament ministry because that is what Christ commands and institutes in the Scriptures. But I also believe in it because it shows that God is relentless in bringing us the Good News of him who died and rose again for our forgiveness and eternal life through sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell.

Open your eyes, ears, mouths, nostrils, and hands. Experience the love of God in all your humanity. Open your arms, minds, and hearts to those around you. Be opened to what the Lord promises to do—what no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.”

“Human Tradition” (Mark 7:1-13)

Mark 7:1-13

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Pastor Tom Johnson, September 2, 2018

Part of me is with the Pharisees. I’m all for washing our hands before we eat, washing cups and pots and copper vessels and vacuuming dining couches. The Pharisees were minimizing rodents, bugs, and germs. But when Jesus’ disciples come for dinner, they wrap their grubby fingers around their cups. They grab their polished copper vessels with their grimy hands. They put their dirty feet all over their spotless dining couches. The Pharisees and Scribes are not just offended by these disciples bad manners. They are offended by Jesus because he has not taught them to follow the tradition of the elders. Jesus does not make them wash their hands before supper.The Pharisees and Scribes might have pointed to the Scriptures. In both Exodus and Leviticus the priests are instructed to wash their hands and feet ritually. They are even threatened with death if they don’t. These are commandments for priests. But they want to apply it to everyone. “If God wants the Levites to ritually clean their hands in the Temple,” the elders thought, “wouldn’t it be good for us to clean our hands in our homes? Seems pretty harmless, doesn’t it, to follow the tradition of the elders? The problem is that rather than it being a voluntary act of piety, they make it into a rule and a tradition—and even worse—they measure peoples’ devotion to God according to this human commandment.

And so the Pharisees and Scribes ask Jesus, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” “What sort of Rabbi are you anyway, Jesus? Why do your followers act like uneducated and irreverent men?” Jesus says to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.’ You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.” “God had you in mind, religious leaders, when Isaiah wrote those words generations ago. Your washing and polishing may brighten your cups and vessels, but there is still a stain on your soul. Your hands may look clean but you ignore your unclean hearts and spirits.”

What I believe bothers Jesus so much is not the washing, polishing, and sweeping before they eat—it is their judgmental attitude toward others—it is measuring people’s religiosity and placing people into categories. By their focus on tradition, they have twisted the Word of God. By their attention to rituals and rubrics, they no longer know what true worship is. If Jesus thought Isaiah’s words were God’s Word for the Pharisees and Scribes generations later, we should hear the same warning for ourselves: Do not put human tradition above God’s commands. Sadly, in Canada and the United States, some Christians tried to “civilize” Native Americans by cutting their hair, requiring certain clothing, and prohibiting their native languages. A few generations ago, many of our churches prohibited dancing and skirts above the knee. A few years ago, I was asked by a visitor what kind of Lutheran church this is. I said, “It is the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.” She responded, “You mean the Misery Synod? We called it that because they wouldn’t let us dance!”

Today, we have churches and pastors publicly endorsing political candidates. Or we might question the authenticity of someone’s faith if they are not as passionate as we are about one cause or another. Or we put unnecessary obstacles in the way of people freely coming to worship with us whether they are written, spoken, or unspoken. People are smart. They know when they are not welcome. We do not even need to say what is in our hearts.

Years ago I was talking with one of our church leaders about a controversial issue. “Tom,” he said, “this is what you do.” And he grabbed a Bible and slapped it on his desk. He pushed the Bible toward me slowly and said, “Show me. Show me where it is forbidden or where it is commanded.” Jesus was harsh with the Pharisees because they were making a mountain out of a mole hill—majoring on minors. And even more importantly, they were holding people back from understanding God’s grace. What really matters is true worship—not what we do for God but what he has done for us.

True worship is not washing our hands before supper. True worship is receiving God’s tremendous gifts in our grubby little hands. True devotion is not polishing copper vessels. True devotion is filling these clay vessels with his true Body and Blood. True faithfulness is not vacuuming off the couches so that we can sit rightly before God. True faithfulness is God washing us with the Word and the waters of Holy Baptism. So leave other people’s dirty hands alone. Allow your Christian friends to vote for the other guy. Don’t judge your sister or brother for their body art or their golf shirts. Don’t leave the commandment of God and the Good News of Jesus for the tradition of human beings. Things that we think are important—and they may be—should still not be an obstacle to people hearing the good news. There is a wide variety of human beings out there—with different perspectives, traditions, and cultures. Not all these differences are bad. But Christ did die and rise for all. It’s not our job to change them. It’s our privilege to tell them the Good News.