Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year B

Donna G. Joy

Esther 7:1-6, 9-10, 9:20-22  James 5:13-20  Mark 9:38-50

I read a story this week about Karl Barth - one of the most important and influential theologians of the past century. I can't emphasize enough the importance of his contributions toward the world of theology. To hear his voice was to hear a distinctive German-Swiss accent which included a bit of a slur, which made the sound of his voice easily recognizable. His face – by the end of his life was that of a rather stern but at the same time good-natured old man, which meant that his face also was familiar to and easily recognized by many.

Apparently one day he was riding a streetcar in his home town of Basel, Switzerland and he took a seat next to a tourist, and the two men started chatting. During this conversation Barth asked if the man was new to the city. To which the man replied "yes" – that he was there for a church missions conference following which he would like to do some sightseeing. When Barth asked him if there was anything in particular he would like to see while he was sightseeing, the man said, "Yes! I would really like to meet the famous Swiss theologian Karl Barth." Then he asked Barth, "Have you ever had the good fortune to run into him yourself?" Barth answered, "As a matter of fact I do know him. I give him a shave every morning."

Soon after this conversation the streetcar reached the tourist's destination, so he said good-bye to the man with whom he had been chatting. The story goes on to say that once the man returned to the conference he quickly told people there that he had just met Karl Barth's barber.

I offer this story today, because just as this man was sitting right beside and failing to recognize the one person he had hoped to meet while visiting that place, we – I suspect – often fail to recognize God in Christ in our midst (particularly in the world outside the church) and often there are certain stumbling blocks that prevent us from recognizing this Holy Presence.

And this is – in large part – what Jesus is pointing out in our Gospel reading this morning, where John, one of the disciples is complaining that someone who is not a follower of Jesus is daring to exercise ministry in his name.

John was actually trying to force the man to stop. But Jesus rebukes John and says let the man continue, because "...for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us.  For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward." In other words, Jesus is at work, not exclusively among his followers. God, made known in Jesus, is at work, not exclusively in or through the church.

Some of the reading I did over the summer was an exploration of what worship and mission might look like in the midst of what is now commonly identified as Post-Christendom. Christendom (that is, a culture where Christianity is the dominant force) is over. The time for the arrogant conviction that Christian truth is the only truth is over. The time for Christians to believe that God can only be found in and through the church is over. I've got to think that this morning's Gospel reading seriously challenges the Christendom model.

So, some of the reading I did over the summer was pointing out that mission today involves Christians being transformed by worship, and moving beyond the building in which we worship – listening for the heartbeat of God at work (a God whom we understand as Christ) and discovering ways to serve. In my reading I was reminded that Christians need to be alert to what God is already doing, and to enter in. Whatever that mission will be, it will look like Jesus, who embodies the mission of God. This, I believe, is what Jesus is talking about in today's Gospel. God is at work, not exclusively among those who are followers of Jesus. Our job – our ministry – is to search for and discover God at work in the world and enter into that Holy Place. Even though we do so as followers/disciples of Jesus, we are reminded that God (whom we believe has been made known through Jesus) is waiting to be discovered in an endless array of surprising places.

Part of this challenge involves interfaith relationships, and I suggest that we need to look to Thomas Merton for guidance in terms of what this looks like. As a deeply committed Christian, ordained Trappist Monk, he became a pioneer in finding God present in the midst of world religions. His whole approach was to look past doctrines and institutions into what each said of the depth of human experience, and in so doing, he actually discovered wisdom that eastern religions had maintained over the past three hundred years that Christianity had lost; such things as the great and wondrous mystery of God.  

Recently I came across a book by David Lochhead, in which he stresses the importance of interfaith relationships and dialogue. He also challenges the way in which Karl Barth's work has often been interpreted as negative on this subject – therefore discouraging his followers from discovering the presence of God outside of the church. David Lochhead offers fresh insights on Karl Barth's work in this area; he points out that while Barth was favourable toward interfaith relationships and dialogue, he was also emphatic about maintaining our own Christian identity. In this morning's text from Mark's gospel, Jesus' disciples are encouraged to recognize God at work in those who were not followers of Jesus, but at the same time they (themselves) were firmly rooted in their role as his followers. This, I believe, is the point that Karl Barth is making.

This morning's gospel also pushes us to recognize God at work in communities and organizations that uphold, empower and support the needs of those who are poor, hungry, homeless; such places as St. Matthew's Maryland Community Ministry; Siloam Mission; Winnipeg Harvest; North Point Douglas Women's Centre; Kairos; the Right to Housing Coalition; P.W.R.D.F.; Amnesty International; the Stephen Lewis Foundation. If you're not familiar with any of these organizations, please follow the links provided to look more deeply into what they're about.

God is at work in those who work with children and all those in our communities (at home and abroad) who are marginalized and vulnerable. God is at work in our prisons. Some really faithful Christians have discovered this Holy Presence and answer a call to find Christ and serve Christ in those places.

On our bulletin board just outside the coat room in the parish hall, you will find a poster for Harvest Moon Local Food Initiative – based on this morning's Gospel, I suggest that God is at work here as well. In the midst of a global crisis regarding the importing of foods, this initiative involves 15 family farms who are providing local, sustainable foods. It is an opportunity to support local farmers, who work tirelessly to care for the land that God has so generously provided.

Jesus, then, goes on to talk about stumbling blocks that prevent us from recognizing Him in those surprising places; and at times – perhaps – even recognizing Him in the more expected places – such as church.  And Jesus emphatically insists that whatever it is that causes us to stumble – whatever it is that blocks us from recognizing God in our midst – whatever that is, it must be removed. Anything that gets in the way of us seeing Jesus in those predictable and surprising places must go. We must ask ourselves, what is it that is causing us to stumble?

Each of us needs to search deep within ourselves and discern the stumbling blocks that need to be removed.

Is it a tendency to gossip?

Is it a need for power and control?

Is it greed?

Is it an inability to forgive?

Is it an inability to make sacrificial decisions that will benefit others?

As I was reflecting on this passage from the Gospel of Mark, and recognizing these two main points of interest: (1) the call to recognize Christ in those surprising places, and (2) the call to identify and remove the things that cause us to stumble I found myself finding some further wisdom in our first reading from the Book of Esther.

This is such a fascinating story, one of my personal favourites, and clearly I don't have time to really do it justice here today. But since it is – in some measure – a story about finding God in surprising places and identifying the things that make us stumble, I'll offer a quick overview and highlight those points that support this morning's focus.

Esther is a story of a group of people who are strangers in a strange land. The Jews had been taken as slaves to Babylon, which had then been conquered by Persia. They lived in a terrifying and alien culture. Esther lived with her cousin Mordecai and as a woman and a Jew, Esther was marginalized and for the most part despised. She happens to be extremely beautiful, so the king of Persia, Xerxes falls in love with her and makes her his queen, not realizing that she is a Jew.

Meanwhile Haman, an employee in the king's court, establishes an enemy relationship with Esther's cousin Mordecai, and is plotting to kill Mordecai and exterminate all the Jews in every province of the empire. Esther, encouraged by Mordecai, arranges a banquet with the king during which she informs the king of Naman's destructive plot. The king is outraged; Haman is exposed as a coward and a bully; and the Jews are given permission to defend themselves when they find themselves under attack.

Once again, this is nothing more than a quick overview of the story, but I offer this because it further emphasizes the importance of finding God in surprising places and removing the stumbling blocks that prevent us from recognizing this Holy Presence in our midst.

Interestingly, God is not directly mentioned – not even once – throughout this story, but it did make its way into the Old Testament, and it did so because it is very much a Biblical story, showing how God is surprisingly found in those who are faithful and brave to do His will. God is recognizable in Mordecai (who throughout the story proves to be wise, and faithful, and good), and Esther (who courageously risks her own life in order to save the lives of her people), and even the king (who despite his need for power, at the end of the day, does the right thing).  

Esther and Mordecai in Persia are like Joseph in Egypt or Daniel in Babylon – all of them raised to high office under an opposing/powerful ruler, for the glory of God and the safe keeping of God's people.

And Haman, the villain of this story, serves an important purpose, as he represents the stumbling blocks that prevent each of us from seeing God in our midst. His hatred for the Jews prevents him from recognizing God in those around him, and causes him to see them as enemies, foreigners not to be trusted, therefore to be eliminated from the entire region.

Indeed, Haman represents those qualities in each of us that prevent us from recognizing God in our midst.

Interestingly, Jews throughout history have maintained the Feast of Purim, the last feast in the Jewish year, which commemorates that moment in history when those Jews, held hostage in a terrifying land, were given permission to rise up and defend themselves against those who were instructed to destroy them. During this Feast the Jews celebrate the saving acts of God in that surprising time and place, and they acknowledge the Haman / the stumbling blocks within themselves.

Today, as we remember the story of Esther I pray that we may be drawn ever closer to finding God in unexpected places and removing those stumbling blocks that prevent us from seeing God in our midst. And, as followers/disciples of Jesus, we are reminded that God (made known to us through Jesus) is waiting to be discovered in an endless array of surprising places.

Resources used to prepare this sermon include: Karl Barth; Thomas Merton; David Lochhead; Eleanor and Alan Kreider; Jewish Publication Society Commentary