I like to sing. I don’t think it is
any big secret. Our mother taught me and my siblings how to sing. We would
listen to her and she would teach or make us sing in the church choir. She
taught us the joy of singing. My wife jokes that she married into the Von Trapp
family because we all sing. At one point in my life I wanted to sing
professionally, and sometimes still think of it. There was a problem with that.
When I would sing, I would try to make my voice just like the voice of the
singer. I wanted to sing just like, or EXACTLY LIKE, that singer. It became a
problem when I would try to sing a song from a singer who had a raspy voice. I
would make my voice raspy and I would end up with a sore throat and getting
sick from it.
In our Gospel reading we are faced
with somewhat of a similar problem. “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons
in your name! Doesn’t that sound like the disciples are telling on this person?
When you think about it, doesn’t it sound a little like middle school? “We
tried to stop him because he was not following us.” More of this telling on the
one using Jesus’ name! What does some of this mean? Are the disciples trying to
be the enforcers of Jesus’ teachings? Are they trying to protect Jesus? Are
they trying to keep their own positions as disciples? Could it be that one of
them might get kicked out because this person is using Jesus’s name and casting
out demons? It could be all of these things.
I can’t blame the disciples for
their actions. Who of us might want to stop that person for fear that they have
some insider information that we don’t have. Maybe this man has a special gift
that they, the disciples were not given. That could mean that they are out of
the group. OR, it could mean that they don’t measure up to Jesus’ expectations
and may be cast to the side. It can be a pretty scary thing to go through this
journey with Jesus, every step of the way so far, only to find that there is
someone out there that is using Jesus’ name and has something you may not have.
It sounds as if there might be some
jealousy going on in and among the disciples. After all, these disciples spent
the time and effort to learn what Jesus was telling them and witnessed all the
things that Jesus had done. In this very same chapter, Chapter 9 vv. 14-29,
there was a child who needed a demon cast out and the disciples could not do
it. Only Jesus was able to cast out the demon. Now here is this other person
who has not been following and he is doing the very thing that they could not
do just a short time before! I could see there being jealousy and especially
after last week when the disciples were arguing which one was the greater.
Jesus is telling the disciples that
it is not a competition! Jesus does not want them to stop anyone from spreading
the name of Jesus or God in the world. When people do things in the name of
Jesus, it can and many times does, have a profound effect on a person. Jesus is
telling them that this man doing things in Jesus name is not a bad thing
because it will bring people closer to God. It will bring him closer to God.
The more he invokes the name of Jesus, the more he learns about Jesus, gets to
know Jesus, AND the better the relationship becomes with he and Jesus; to the point
where he can say no evil toward the Son of God who blessed him to help others.
We can get caught up in that
competition feeling. It is easy for us to want to “be like” someone or
something else. For example, we might want to be like the “mega church” down
the street. The "Mega church" down the street is in the process of this major building program, their
parking lot is full every weekend. It is a traffic jam just for me to get home
on Sunday afternoon. We see those big churches that have television screens and
television shows. I mean, you look at it and can’t help but ask “what are we
doing wrong?” We get caught in the “well their beliefs are not ours so they
must be wrong!” Just so you know, we pastors, can get caught up in it as well.
We are not immune! We feel like it is a competition for souls or more butts in
the pews, to be blunt.
But Jesus’ message today is that we
are not in competition. It took me a long time and a few voices to tell me that
when I sing a song, “stop trying to sound like…there is only one artist (insert
name) and you are not it!” Be yourself and own your own voice. We don’t have to
be like any other church (insert name) because there is only one like that and
we are not it!
And that brothers and sisters is
Good News! We don’t have to be like anybody else. All we have to do is be
ourselves. Proclaim God’s love and healing in the name of God’s only Son, Jesus
Christ! We are called to teach the Word of God, share the Word of God through
our words, actions, and relationships. The bottom line is that we as Christians
are all in this thing called life together! It is not easy, it can get
downright nasty in this world of putting down others; but we are all called to
proclaim the word of God together.
I hope that you find this a little
freeing. It is freeing in that we are unique in God’s eyes. We are not the same
and, therefore, we bring a variety of experiences into our worship space, we
lay our burdens at the foot of the cross in many different ways: BUT we all
believe and rely on the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for the forgiveness of
all our sins, not matter what denomination we belong. We rely on the promise of
God at our baptism to hold onto us and never let go. We all cling to the
abundant mercy of a God who is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
Regardless of how we worship, we are not that much different when you look at
it from that point of view.
It can be freeing in other ways. It
means that we can share ideas of where God is calling us and work together
doing God’s work in feeding the hungry, providing shelter and clothing to the
homeless, and reaching out to the unchurched. This past week, I spoke with a
world renowned Pastor who specializes in Christian education, Rev. Dr. Rich
Melheim. He offered some very simple ideas to grow into a deeper relationship
with God and with one another, all using the name of Jesus as our center. One
of those practices that can enhance our lives and relationship with God is to
share with each other …and our children our highs and lows. Something very
simple can give us the freedom to try something new and different, all using
the name of Jesus. It is not something the disciples did and yet can bring us
closer to God and one another. God’s love, sacrifice, and mercy are not
competition events. These things that God offers are free to all who seek to
know about God and grow into a relationship with God.
Jesus calls us to lift up those who
invoke the name of Jesus for the sake, and in the hopes, that we all grow into
a greater, deeper relationship with God. And like the man in our Gospel reading
we are called to go out and invoke the name Jesus in our words and in our
actions: AMEN
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