Strength in Numbers

The following is my sermon from June 10, 2012 at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Raleigh, NC.  This was my first ever sermon! Can't wait to actually learn what I am doing...

^"20and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. ²¹When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.” ²²And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.” ²³And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? ²⁴If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ²⁵And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. ²⁶And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. ²⁷But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered.
²⁸“Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; ²⁹but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— ³⁰for they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
³¹Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. ³²A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you.” ³³And he replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” ³⁴And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” 
 Mark 3: 20-35, NRSV

Growing up in the Buck household was always interesting.  Anyone who has ever met my family probably understands where I am going with this.  Even if we set my over the top father to the side, as well as my very calm and understanding mother, we are left with three very opinionated girls who are always right- even when we are wrong.  Looking back on the twelve years when all three of us lived at home together, it is a wonder that my parents stuck around rather than hooking up the camper in the middle of the night and running away from our chaos.  The Buck girls form an interesting trio- when we agree on something, nothing can stop us. 

Our favorite thing to team up on? Sending our parents over the edge.  To this day, if the three of us are sitting around the table, it doesn’t matter who else is there- we WILL make sure that both Mom and Dad reach the point that they can’t stop laughing or have to leave the room because they can’t stand it anymore (this is also the point when Dad turns bright red- almost purple- and can’t breathe anymore).  When Felicity got married, her poor husband tried to reign us in one afternoon and quickly learned it wasn’t worth the effort (this warning now goes out to any guy that Noel or I bring home- just let us have our fun because it is much safer that way than to fight it).  The best part? We added Eric to our numbers and “the edge” is reached much quicker with him on our side.

But let me tell you- it is all too easy for three girls who are always right to disagree.  When we didn’t agree on something there were and sometimes still are tears, yelling, and slamming doors- once or twice we would even hear pictures fall off of the walls as a result of the tornado that just went through the house.  Even today, before we are left alone at Felicity’s house, Eric will give us a little lecture about behaving and not pushing things too far.  I don’t know he if realizes it, but he is now the equivalent to the tenured professor and will have to explain the inner workings of the Buck girls to the poor guys that end up with Noel and myself.

Looking back on our times together, I can’t help but understand what Jesus meant when he responded to the Scribes, using the picture of the divided home and kingdom.  At this point, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem and has been casting out just a few demons along the way (something that is believed to only be possible if done by a magician).  The scribes of Jerusalem are not at all amused by this practice and have accused Jesus of being possessed by Beelzebul, the chief demon and the only one could give the power to cast out demons.  This charge is not one to be taken lightly, as anyone accused and found guilty of possession can be banished from the town.  I’m sure it doesn’t help Jesus out as his family is waiting outside to forcefully collect him, thinking he has lost his mind (I can only imagine how many times our parents wanted to have someone “forcefully collect” one or all of us girls because we had lost our mind…).  Between the continued events of Jesus casting out demons and the worries of his family, the Scribes think they have it made and they will be able to take care of the situation quickly and get home for dinner on time.  Little do they know what Jesus has up his sleeve…

Jesus responds to the scribes with a parable, an action on his part that I have come to call “Parabolyzing”, a combination of the greek word for parable, Parabole, and paralyze, since the audience always seems to freeze as soon as it happens.  In this instance, the parable is an extended proverb which turns the table on the scribes and shows them just how absurd their view is (if I have learned anything in seminary, it is that Jesus does have an art for making his opponents look like complete idiots by the time he is done- an art that my sisters and I always strive for and only sometimes succeeded at).  In this instance, Jesus uses the image of a divided house and kingdom.  “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ²⁵ If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” Just to go ahead and wipe out some of the mystery that he is known for, Jesus continues to explain that if Satan opposes himself as the scribes are suggesting is the case, there is no way that he could stand and thus it would be his end. 

I can’t help but think that there is a hidden meaning here however, beyond the immediate discussion at hand because Jesus loved to throw in a double meaning in his parables.  As he looks out at the crowd gathered in and around the outside of the house, it is almost impossible not to see that there is a great division- those who think Jesus has lost his ever-lovin mind and those who believe his words and actions whole-heartedly.  This division has caused a huge uproar and the figurative house is already crumbling in rage and argument over the case at hand.  However, staying true to form, Jesus does not stop here.

“No one can enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house.”  Jesus is basically saying, “Come on guys- I couldn’t cast out these demons if there wasn’t something more to me than there is to Satan.  I am only human, but God is acting through me, thus the success in casting them out!”  It is important to remember here that the only “people” who recognize who Jesus really is at this point are the demons whom he is casting out- and Jesus is doing his best to keep it that way!  Hence, the parabolyzing that is going on- Jesus doesn’t want to give it all away at once, but he does want to make them think about what they are actually saying and doing.

Can you imagine the look on the scribes face at this point? I see them as bewildered, flustered, scared- even shrinking in stature just a bit as they realize that they have nothing to come back with to support their charge that they originally brought against Jesus.  The room is probably silent, yet there are multitudes of people standing around- inside and out.

Taking advantage of the moment of silence, Jesus throws one last comment out- the sprinkles on top of the icing that he already put on the cake (this is the point when my Dad would have yelled at us girls for pushing a point too far and sent us to our room until further notice).  Jesus explains that anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, and further, they are guilty of eternal sin.  This comment takes this charge of the Scribes past a charge on Jesus Christ, but further, a charge against the Holy Spirit.  If they had only accused Jesus, then it would be as if accusing any other person and being wrong- they would go home that night and have dinner, go to bed, and wake up and go to work the next morning as if nothing happened.  However, since this charge went beyond the actions of Jesus Christ and went against the actions of the Holy Spirit who was acting through Jesus Christ, the Scribes and all those who accused Jesus are therefore guilty of eternal sin.  Now, instead of going home as if nothing happened that day, the Scribes will go home with their tails between their legs.

With the parabolyzing over, the crowd begins to stir again as Jesus’ family who came to collect him are finally recognized.  Jesus takes this chance to drive the divided kingdom image home one last time as he explains that they are not in fact his family, but rather his family are those who do God’s will.  The disbelief and inaccurate assumptions that Jesus had lost his mind acted to drive Jesus’ biological family away- the house was divided and it crumbled.  I can’t count the number of times that my sisters and I would and still yell out “You are not my sister anymore!” or “I’m never talking to you again!” when we had a fall out, so I can kinda see where Jesus is coming from here.  However, those who stood by Jesus’ side and continued to believe and do God’s will, even though they still had no idea who Jesus really was, are recognized as his family.  The house stood together and therefore survived the storm. 

Throughout all of our arguments over who ate the last of Dad’s cookies, who was going to clean the kitchen, who would go vacuum the basement, and all the way to more recent arguments that had a lot more punch to them now that we are much older and “experienced”- the three Buck girls stand strong.  There is something more there that these arguments can not overpower- love.  Just as Jesus was able to cast out demons because of God’s actions through him (and I can’t help but think a huge part of that was God’s love), these arguments that happened on a daily basis were overpowered by sisterly love.  We still talk to each other, and we are still very much sisters.

When we look at the world today, there is a lot that we divide over- the more miniscule things such as fashion and what makes a good movie, all the way to Religion and Politics.  There are more dividing lines throughout each personal life than any person can begin to count.  Even in places that should be united, like the Church, are divided over both small and large issues.  I am more aware of this than ever as I talk to my colleagues at seminary about the happenings in the different Presbyteries during the last year and even as I interviewed a variety of adults, about their relationship with the church for a paper that I had to write for one of my classes this Spring.  We continue to focus on the divisions rather than focusing on the unity.  This unity can be found in the fact that we are all children of God and following God’s call for each of us.  What we forget is that God’s call looks different for every person and has no limits.  Only when we begin to recognize the unity throughout our differences, can we become like the one who enters the strong mans house to rob him of his possessions that Jesus spoke of when addressing the Scribes.  Only then can we overcome any differences that make each person unique and come together as the children of God, a kingdom that cannot be divided, even by the strongest of differences.

So what? We are all different but are still brothers and sisters in Christ.  This is no new news for us.  But now all of us need to take it a step further in our daily lives- we need to live out unity in difference rather than just talk about it the way good Presbyterians do.  We may not always be right, but as long as we are standing together as the body of Christ we will always have God on our side and we will always be stronger than anyone who comes in our way, just as Jesus was stronger and able to cast out demons.  The number of times that the three of us girls have teamed up on something and actually lost is a lot smaller than when we were divided- and if I am honest for a second, the times we teamed up, the chances of us actually being right weren’t necessarily high.  However we had a common goal and the passion that was behind that was one that tore down all boundaries. 

We can’t achieve this unity just by saying “we are one body”- there are steps to it.  First, find the uniqueness in yourself, and embrace that.  Listen to God, and find out what he is calling you to do both long and short term.  Find the uniqueness in your neighbors and recognize that even though it is different, it comes from the same creator and they too are called for a variety of things.  Embrace these differences and calls and use them to come together and stand against all the trouble that comes your way.   When the church stands together, it thrives.  However, when it doesn’t embrace the differences among each individual and the love and grace of God, the Church will collapse. 

Maybe your neighbor makes less money than you- does that mean that they can’t spend an afternoon out in the yard with you?   

Maybe your neighbor is a different race- does that mean that the stories they could share over dinner are less important?

Maybe your neighbor is a different denomination, or even a different- would they not enjoy a fellowship dinner at a Presbyterian church? 

Every person has their place in the body, we just need to open our eyes and hearts to see that.

Growing up, one of our favorite games to play at camp was “Red Rover”.  The camp would divide into two teams and form a wall with their bodies and interlocking arms.  The teams would alternate yelling “Red rover, red rover, send Sally right over!” after which Sally would run as fast as she could and try to break through the wall of bodies.  If she didn’t succeed, she added to the wall and if she did break through, she would take someone from the wall back to her side.  We quickly learned that in order to stay strong the wall had to give with the pressure of the body coming at us, and arms had to be linked a certain way.  I don’t know how many times I saw the big kids run at the little ones thinking they could break through, and failed.  Why did they fail? Because each team embraced each person’s differences and used them to their advantage.  Short kids were next to tall kids, larger kids were next to smaller kids.  A strong wall never had two kids who were alike next to each other.

What would the Church as a whole look like if we all teamed up and used each person’s uniqueness and difference to our advantage? What if we stood together even when we might be a bit unsure, and put our faith that God is using each one of us in God’s own way rather than complaining because someone is different from us?  What if the demons mentioned throughout the Gospel of Mark formed their own line in a game of Red Rover, and when they ran at us they couldn’t break through and instead had to join us. 

Well, our parents learned that there is no hope for their sanity when we have a family meal and seem to just let us have our fun (and now that I say that, I am sure it will be much harder for us to win next time- but we still will).  Maybe those demons will learn the same thing, yet there will be many more than three girls teaming up against them- it will be the whole Church, the body and true family of Christ, the one who has been working against them for over two-thousand years.