+ In nomine Domini. Amen.
[Yes,
once again the Sermon Title has been changed.
It was to have been Healing, Not
Torture as this is the Sunday when our congregation joins so many others in
the National Religious Coalition Against
Torture in offering prayers and lighting candles to end the practice of
this inhumanity. But, The Gospel of PRIDE and Healing seems to
capture more accurately what I want to say.]
Yesterday,
our congregation walked in the annual Santa Fe PRIDE Parade. Bedecked in Christ Lutheran Church Blue
Tee-Shirts and the occasional Reconciling-in-Christ temporary tattoos (the
Cross in the center of a series of hearts in the colours of the Rainbow),
carrying newly printed Banners bearing our name, accompanied by the Canine
Members of our congregation: Niko, Mr. Pumpkin, and Gracie; and we must not
forget Chico who was with Sarah at our Booth in the Railyard … we joined the parade of hundreds of people
walking, singing, dancing, laughing, smiling, waving … from the PERA parking
lot to the Railyard Park.
The
hardest part of a Parade, like anything in life, is getting started. There’s always a lot of confusion … “Where is
our Place? What Number in the line-up
are we? Where’s the Guy With the Bull
Horn (or as we like to call it the Frog
Horn)? Who’s going to carry the Front
Banner? Who’s going to carry the Back
Banner? Who’s going to carry our
Welcoming Statement?”
There’s
always a bit of humour too … two young adults appeared wearing colourful (and
quite functional given the hot Sun) Rainbow Coloured Umbrella Hats. This was Ethan and Samara, the two producers
of Umbrella Hat Productions from New
York City who are using our church space for rehearsals prior to putting on two
plays here in our city at El Museo
Cultural in August: Proof by
David Auburn and Iphigenia & Other
Daughters by Ellen McLaughlin. They
were in the company of several others in the company and even Ethan’s mother … I
had invited them to walk with us and they were indeed trying to do that, until
one of our members tried to tell them they were in the wrong group and this was
Christ Lutheran Church, to which they
replied, “Yes, we know, we’re part of you!”
And, amid laughter, it all worked out.
There
is a great sense of community that happens in all this … neighbors talk to
neighbors, people are invited and are inviting,
the community grows and gains strength, and if you think about it, it is the
Gospel in action … those who have been and still are marginalized in life come
together and in an audacious act walk down the middle of streets in cities
throughout the world. We are proud to be
part of PRIDE here in our city.
As
we walked down the Paseo people applauded, clapped their hands, raised their
voices … “Hey! It’s the Lutherans!” “Yay! Christ Lutheran Church!"
It’s a humbling moment.
Quite.
One
small group of people from the other side of the Paseo, they were hanging over
a wall, hollered loudly, “You guys are the way Christians are supposed to be!”
Yes.
It’s
the story within the story as the community walks along.
It’s
just like today’s Gospel Portion from Mark’s telling of the Life and Times of
Jesus in the last half of the 1st Century.
Jesus
climbs out of a small boat on the shore of the Sea of Galilee and is
immediately surrounded by a crowd.
Through the crowd comes one of the leaders of the local synagogue, we
even are told his name: Jairus. “My daughter’s dying, please come and help!”
This
is interesting isn’t it? Jesus did not
find an overwhelming wave of support and acclamation from his own synagogue. In a way, he himself was marginalized. And here comes one of the religious leaders
to ask his help … it means that not all of the religious leadership opposed
Jesus. This one pushes his way through
the people, his need is overwhelming, his daughter, his child, the apple of his
eye, is near death.
Yes,
says Jesus, and he goes. Of course he
does, it’s the way it is supposed to happen, it’s the way we are supposed to
be.
And
there’s a parade, a huge walking-together of people who follow along and press
close to him, they want to be near him, they sense that he is one who has the
Presence of the Holy One, he is the source of Hope.
And
the story within the story is that in this parade, a sort of 1st
Century PRIDE, a woman who is ritually unclean, because she has been
hemorrhaging for 12 years, this unnamed woman who lives on the margin of life,
no one will touch her, no one will help her, she is left to the edge of
existence, she pushes through the
crowd (can you imagine the scene in your head?
“Oooo, ick, yuck,
what’s she doing here … no, don’t touch her … she didn’t rub against you
did she? Yuck!”).
She
comes near to Jesus, as near as she can get and just reaches out … maybe I can
just touch the fringe of his garment … maybe that will do it. And she does.
And it does. And Jesus stops,
“Who did that?” And she finally admits
it. She’s afraid. They might stone her for this impropriety. She falls at his feet. And he calls her Daughter. Did you notice
that in the reading? Jairus’ daughter is
still dying, the daughter of an important holy person in the community; and now
Jesus tells this woman who is at the edge of life and in misery, he calls her
by that familial name, “Daughter … go in peace, your faith has made you well.”
And
then the story within the story takes another turn. Because the parade has stopped, you see. Time, precious time, has gone by, and a
runner comes from the home of Jairus and announces to him that his daughter has
already died, don’t bother the Teacher any more, there’s nothing to do.
But
Jesus overhears it, and stopping the Parade takes a few of his followers
(Peter, James, John and the brother of James) and they walk to the house, they
push past the wailers and mourners, puts everyone outside, takes Jairus and his
wife alone with him, they go into the girls bedroom, he takes her by the hand
and says in Aramaic “Talitha cum.” She
gets up, shakes off the sleep, her parents embrace her, tears abound, and then
there’s the wonderful line, the line that brings smiles, Jesus says, “I think she
must be hungry …”
Yesterday
afternoon as our congregation ended it’s walk in the Parade, we went into the
Railyard Park, joined the festivities, listened to the Mayor’s Declaration,
watched the 5 women who were the Marshals of the Parade receive their awards,
and then went over to the Christ Lutheran Church Booth where people were coming
by and receiving the gifts we had prepared … brochures, temporary tattoos,
window stickers, two bottles of water for two women who were in dire thirst,
Lutheran Key chains, one of the wind-up Luther Dolls, all of the 100 Rainbow
Prayer Beads that the Wednesday group so lovingly made, and so many of the
little cards that ask on the front “What Did Jesus Say About Homosexuality?”
and we watched as people opened the card to show that the inside was blank …
Every time the person said, “That’s Right!” and as they read the information on
the back about our congregation, this community of followers of Jesus who
believe in the welcoming, open doors of the church … nearly everyone asked,
“Can I keep this?” or “Can I have some to give to ________?”
And
of course we said yes.
No
we don’t believe in torture. We don’t
believe in de-humanizing a human being.
We don’t believe that anyone should live at the margins of life.
We
believe in healing. We believe in
restoration and reconciling. We believe
that the Parade of Love that we call the Gospel is how we who follow Jesus
should live, yes, we nod our heads, this is they way Christians are supposed to
be, and live, and act.
============================================================================
The
Lord be with you. And also with you.
Let
us pray. Dearest Lord, in our times of
need, grant us the presence of those who are in solidarity with us. In our moments of marginality, grant us the
ability to act boldly on our own behalves.
In our commitment to human liberation, grant us a spirit of sacrifice
that will enable us to empower others to seek and to find their freedom in
Christ Jesus. Amen.
+ Deo Gratia. Amen.
The Rev. Benjamin Larzelere III, Pastor
