Move That Junk!

 Mark 1:21-28

They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee. 

On one very dark and wintery night the Poy Sippi fire department was called to a house fire way out in the country.  Between the street and the house there was… let’s say… a large installation of “lawn art”… old washing machines, broken down cars, and the like, all covered with a foot of beautiful snow.  I’m sure in a different situation this art was a contemplative commentary on the delicate interplay between the material and the spiritual, which touched delicately on the absurdity of consumerism.  But that night… It was just in the (expletive deleted) way!  

These lessons today are about things that can and do get in the way of people hearing about God’s love.  Whether it was the unclean spirit in the Gospel lesson, or confusion over eating idol meat… if it’s in the way, then it needs to be moved.  Unclean spirits, are pretty much always in the way, but most of what gets in the way these days is more like what happened in that second lesson.  In Corinth, Christians were eating meat that had been used in sacrifices to idols.  For the Christians and for Paul, it didn’t make any difference.  They knew the idols weren’t real, so to them, the meat wasn’t magical, it was barbecue!  The trouble came when people OUTSIDE the church saw the Christians eating the bargain barbecue and got confused, thinking these Christians were BOTH worshiping God AND these idols.  That confusion was getting in the way and there just wasn’t much time to set things straight.  At least… that’s what Paul thought.  

Paul, you need to remember, just KNEW and fully lived each day like Jesus would be back... TOMORROW! That time crunch meant there was no time in Paul’s mind for slowly helping outsiders understand the complicated nuance of what they were seeing.  Because did I mention... Jesus is going to be here TOMORROW!  So feeling critically pressed for time, Paul stepped in and told the Christians that even though YOU KNOW this is just barbecue and I KNOW this is just barbecue, for the sake of the Message, for the sake of making things clear to the others who have yet to know God's love for them, the Christians needed to be the ones to bend… they needed to get rid of this thing that was clearly getting in the way of others hearing the Good News.  Paul wasn't trying to create a theology to be followed for thousands of years.  Paul was just asking himself, what do I need to tell these Christians to focus on TODAY so that the message can get out to the most people possible before Jesus gets back… maybe I mentioned this but...THAT’S HAPPENING TOMORROW! 

Meat sacrificed to idols was just one of many things that got Christians side tracked away from the ultra urgent task of telling people about God’s love.  In some places it was women's head coverings.  In other places it was this notion that men had to become “Jewish” (snip, snip) before they could become Christian.  In another place it was women in leadership that got in the way.  In all of those cases, it’s clear that Paul fully understood the BIG truth, which he wrote in Galatians, “There is no longer Jew nor Greek, no longer slave nor free, there is no longer male nor female; for all of you are one in Christ.”  

Paul KNEW God didn’t care what meat you ate, what you put on your head or about the anatomy of the worship leader.  But for Paul, if putting on a hat TODAY would allow one more person to stop obsessing about hats for just one second and focus instead on the Message... then for crying out loud GET A HAT!

You and I are called to be flexible for the sake of the Gospel too.  But you and I also now have a luxury Paul didn’t think he had.  You and I can both be flexible, accepting people where they are in the moment,  BUT we can ALSO take the time Paul didn’t think he had, to build relationships with people over the long term AND help them move step by step from where they are toward that vision of God’s Kingdom where there is no longer Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, no longer male nor female… but that all of you… all of the world… are one in Christ.

Today it isn’t where you buy your meat that gets in the way of people in Sheffield hearing the Message of God’s love for them, but there are plenty of things that still get in the way.  It is good for us to really look and deeply see what those things are in this place and in this time.  We’ve addressed some of those things by doing things like creating a welcome statement and putting out our chairs.  But what are the other structures, practices, customs or attitudes that might be still making it hard for our neighbors to hear from us that they too are included in God's infinite love and are very much welcome in this place?  What are the unclean spirits of our time, that keep Jesus’ message from being heard?  

Our job is to open our eyes and be willing to see what is getting in the way.  To then be willing to bend enough to allow others into our lives so they might be able to hear about God’s love for them, and feel that love deep down to their core.  Then to invite them to join us on this lifelong walk along the Way, where together we take one step and then another each day toward that vision where the is no longer Greek nor Jew, a slave or free, male or female, but where we are all one… ONE in Christ.  Amen.