Text and Context

Transcribed from the sermon preached July 3, 2011

The Reverend Robert McKenzie, Parish Associate

Scripture Readings: 1 Kings 5: 1- 14;  Luke 10: 1-11, 16-20

  
    Someone has said that text without context is pretext. I'm not at all sure I understand the full meaning of that observation, but I think minimally it means that whatever truth we seek to live by needs to be interpreted in the ebb and flow of our lives.  The famous theologian, Karl Barth opined that we are to live as Christians with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other. What the Bible teaches has to intersect with the world as we know it. There are no eternal truths to which we can appeal divorced from the reality in which we are living. Loving my neighbor is a noble truth but its realization is a very complex matter. 

    So..... text and context. What context should we pay attention to this morning? It being July 3, the obvious context is  the anniversary of the declaration of our independence from England on July 4 1776. And the text given us for the day? Jesus sending out the 70 “two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to come.”  “Whatever house you enter,” he said, “ first say, 'Peace be to this house' ” And when “The seventy returned with joy” they reported, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name.”

    First, context – independence day. Our country was born in an act of treason and sedition against its rightful government in England. Had the American revolution failed, those we fondly call the founding fathers would have all been strung up in London while the crowds celebrated the spectacle. But those guys managed to pull it off with a lot of help from the French and the grand democratic experiment was launched. 85 years later a handful of southern states tried the same stunt, declaring themselves free and sovereign states, but the government in Washington said nothing doing and a bloody war ensued killing, what was it, 600,000 people before the south was brought to heal.

    Not many folks pay much attention to those beginnings any more. Recent surveys indicate that an appalling number of graduating seniors from our High Schools know little about that history. The 4th of July is all about picnics, band concerts and fireworks. In my youth in Jamestown ND, the 4th of July was the biggest community event of the year. The carnival would come to town and set up shop at the fair grounds for the Stutsman County Fair, which went on for about a week. Farmers would bring in their prize livestock to be judged and farmers' wives would bring their jellies and bake goods to the competition. I submitted a dozen eggs one year when I was 7 and won a red ribbon, second prize with a $2.00 payout. I immediately bought an air rifle and 500 beebees and spent a memorable summer on the farm shooting at anything that moved.

    The closest I came to feeling the revolutionary meaning of the 4th was in Manila. The Philippines  celebrate their independence on the 4th   just as we do. The streets were filled with people proclaiming their independence and demanding reparations from the Japanese for the years they lived under their heel during WW II. I had a similar feeling about American independence in Delhi on the 4th where we were invited to the embassy.  John Kenneth Galbraith reigned as the ambassador and feted American visitors to India with a grand barbecue. Celebrating American independence in a foreign atmosphere  seems to give the day a special meaning.

    We are all the beneficiaries of the vision, wisdom, courage and determination of that remarkable band of men and women who pioneered life along our Eastern seaboard. They put together a form of government which has been emulated in much of the world ever since, a vision which is driving middle eastern societies even today toward a bloody showdown with their imperial rulers. Democratically elected governments are never a sure benefit to the nation – Hitler rose to power in Germany thru the electoral process. And not all our governments have been a blessing to our nation. But of all the options for empowering a government, elected officials, in most cases,  are the choice of the people, however competent or incompetent they may be, and are finally answerable to the people.

    The separation of church and state was one of the most insightful and, given the times, one of the most radical provisions of this new democracy.  Ever since Constantine the church had been the hand maiden of government. It was nearly unthinkable in the 18th century that church and state should exist in their separate domains. The church was there to bless the government and to provide counsel and solace to the rulers, and the rulers provided protection and resources to the church. The church was chaplain to the state and the state was benefactor to the church.

    Under that new constitution,  the United States provided space for the free exercise of religion without infringement on those exercises. The church, for its part, was  unable to impose its teachings upon the state. But the church is free to act as a critic of the state like any other segment of society. Under the constitution the church is free to be the church according to its own dictates and to bring its own wisdom and concerns to the governing process without any special privilege.

    Of course, the church is not some monolithic voice in public affairs as we all know so well. The church-led civil rights movement was at severe odds with the church-blessed policy of segregation in the south. Malcolm X and Martin Luther King were both empowered by their religious convictions but had very different agendas. One of the blessings of life under our constitution is that religions are free to flourish in an incredible array of expressions. When one religious expression or another seeks to impose its understanding on the government we all become a little nervous.

     Many of us will remember our fears that the Catholic church would exercise undue influence on our country if John Kennedy were elected. I, in fact, voted for Nixon out that concern. That same fear was being exploited around Obama's religious affiliations in Chicago and the fact that his father was Muslim. The same specter is being raised by Romney today. I don't think those cautions are unwarranted, but what impresses me is how our tolerance of different religious expressions has, in fact, expanded throughout our history. Catholicism is no longer the bogey man it was when I was growing up.

    Enough of context. What is this text all about and how does it address the context? We need to pay attention to  Jesus' instructions to the 70. He is sending them to reap a plentiful harvest without “purse, bag or sandals,” sort of as mendicants. Unlike so many Christian efforts which are supported by the wealth of the sending bodies, these first disciples were instructed to live off the land, by the generosity of their hosts, without any pretensions. They were not there to impose anything,  but to share in the life of their hosts.

    And their first task is to be bearers of peace. “Whatever house you enter, first say, 'peace be to this house.'”  “Blessed are you peacemakers, for you shall be called children of God,” we are re-assured in the beatitudes. This call to peace-making is all the more notable because Palestine was occupied by Roman soldiers who ruthlessly exploited the population. Noting Jesus call to be peacemakers, the Presbyterian church several years ago laid special emphasis on peacemaking by calling for a special offering to be devoted to ministries of peace. Several denominations – the Mennonites and Quakers, for instance – hold peacemaking at the heart of their self-understanding as followers of Christ. Peacemaking is not peripheral in the life of Jesus' followers. According to the text for today, it is the first priority of our ministry in the world.

    The world is in desperate need of peacemakers. Our country needs to struggle with its role in the world as an agent of peace and the churches need to become a stronger advocate for peace.  We do not have an enviable record. In the 235 years since we declared our independence, we have fought 10 major wars, in which 50 million civilians and 1.7 million combatants were killed . National policies nearly eradicated the indigenous population as our country was growing up.  It is only in our lifetime that our nation has begun seriously to come to grips with its history of brutal slavery and deeply ingrained racism. We as a nation are blessed that the demand for redress of that history was in the hands of Black Christian leaders who insisted on non-violent strategies for winning those rights .

    Being the bearers of peace is a serious charge to all who bear the name of Christ. We enact this role each Sunday as we bless each other with peace in the name of Christ. It is out of the abundance of that blessing that we leave this place of worship to be peacemakers to the world. The challenges are staggering. Just one area of concern. In Monday's Chronicle, headlines screamed “Our Deadly Export” and goes on to report, “Nothing better illustrates American's dysfunctional relationship with guns than the political battles over US military-style assault weapons ending up in the hands of Mexican drug cartels” whose use have killed 34,600 people in Mexico in the past 4 years.

    Yet we as a nation continue to promote the sale of ever more deadly weapons to anyone with the money to buy them, including drug cartels and some of the most impoverished nations in the world. Arms exports are one of our most lucrative sources of capital. Among many nations of the world we are  regarded as a rogue merchant of death, allowing our citizens to arm ourselves to the teeth. When are we going to realize that guns only kill?

    We could go on endlessly about the need for peacemakers, but let us move on to Jesus' second instruction to the 70. “Heal the sick and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'” Once upon a time the churches were the major promoters of healing. Alta Bates was a member of this congregation. Medical doctors and nurses, among them, Sally Hussey's  parents, brought the kingdom of God near to the people of India, with their healing arts. Presbyterian hospital in San Francisco was founded by our fore bearers.

    Today we have a different mission – it is to promote health care for all citizens. Marietta Harvey is leading the charge in this church. We need to continually challenge the scary notion that health care for all is socialized medicine. Why should government officials, the elderly, the military, men and women in our prisons be the only ones with free access to health care? Why does it all of a sudden become socialized medicine when it benefits all our citizens?

    Our present system of health care is unsustainable, we are told,  with costs escalating beyond anyone's ability to pay. We live in a country of troubling contradictions. On the one hand we are bankrupting the country by fighting wars of wanton destruction and preparing our military for unforeseeable conflicts. And on the other hand we are bankrupting the country with the costs of medical care climbing into the stratosphere. How are we to respond to Jesus' command to heal the sick today? However complex the situation, it is clear that Jesus made healing a top priority for his followers.

    Finally, when the disciples turn in their report about their mission, they are amazed that “even the demons are subject to us in your name.” This is one of the least understood tasks of the Christian community. It nearly always gets translated as a concern for people who are mentally ill. What it really is about is exposing the demonic forces in the world who keep us all in bondage. Demonic forces thrive on secrecy, lies, fears, greed, and violence. The task of the disciples of Jesus is to expose these forces to the light of day. They put up a fierce resistance but will eventually succumb to the force of truth.

    Examples are legion. When the session of this church met in the 60's 70's and 80's it was commonplace for half the elders to be sitting at the table smoking. I smoked contentedly with either my pipe or a cigar. No one complained. What a struggle it has been to expose the demonic effects of nicotine on our health. We have made huge strides toward muzzling this demon but it continues to hold poor countries in thrall. That demon still runs rampant in the world.

    Again. The inclusion of the southern states in the birth of our country depended on totally ignoring slavery. It turned out that not all men are created equal after all. Some Mennonite delegates to the first congress tried to raise the issue of slavery and were roundly vilified for raising an issue which the constitutional convention had deliberately ignored. 235 years later we are still struggling with that demon.

    Women's role in our society. Again, 40 years ago our session of 18 included for the first time two women who saw their role as providing coffee for the 16 men. My class of 1958 at the seminary included no women because our church did not see fit to ordain women to the ministry.  That only happened a couple years after my graduation. We have yet to call a woman as head pastor for St Johns. The best we have done is a few part time assistants. On the other hand, I can't tell you how refreshing it has been to return to St Johns and note how much of the leadership is exercised by women, including most especially, the sacrosanct task of managing the finances. We must not think that the sexist demon has been eradicated from our society. Before the summer is over I will be preaching a sermon exposing the depth of sexism which continues to plague society.

    Peace, healing, exposing the demons – we have our work cut out for us. We live in an imperfect  country where those ministries face huge challenges.  A country as diverse, as rich, as large, as young as the United States faces special challenges and opportunities. Thanks be to God, as Christians we are free to participate in shaping this country with as much “energy, intelligence, imagination and love”   with which we are capable. Let us pray God that we see our way clear to engage the world as those  original 70 whom Jesus sent forth.  The word of the Lord.  Amen