Date: May 13, 2012
Scripture Lesson: Acts 10: 44-48 and John 15: 9-17
Sermon: Not Servants but Friends
Pastor: Rev. Kim P. Wells
In many churches, Mother’s Day is honored as Rachel’s Sabbath, a time to remember women’s health. The Religious Institute: Faithful Voices on Sexuality and Religion reminds us that, “No woman should die giving birth to the next generation. Yet more than 350,000 women and girls die every year as a result of preventable complications of pregnancy and childbirth, most of them in developing countries. Improving maternal health and universal access to family planning could prevent up to one third of these deaths.” [www.religiousinstitute.org/] Mother’s Day is a time to be aware of the many issues surrounding women’s reproductive health, and the lack of access to needed services.
Yet when we think about it, there are many decisions relating to women’s health that are made by the government, by insurance companies, and by religious leaders. And, to be perfectly honest, most of the individuals involved in making decisions about women’s health are male. Would men tolerate decisions about prostate treatment and viagra being made by women? Of course not. They would never stand for that. Decisions around women’s health are just one example of how our society is governed by a patriarchal, patronizing hierarchy that is not reflective of genuine mutuality and respect. We have people making decisions about other people who have no real awareness of their circumstances. The people who would be directly involved in the results of the decisions are not consulted or included in the decision-making process.
And this situation in our society is mirrored by the church. In fact, when it comes to women’s reproductive health, it may be driven by the church. While I normally try to refrain from commenting on other Christian communions especially in a negative light, I feel that a word needs to be said here relating to the Catholic church because the Catholic Church has a prominent voice on issues related to women’s health and reproduction. Overall, the church in general is a male-dominated institution, including the Protestant Church and the United Church of Christ, but the Catholic church leads the way with a rigid, authoritarian hierarchy headed by a man and with exclusively male clergy who are unmarried and supposedly committed to celibacy. So, with eternal salvation and damnation in the balance, how is it that a church dominated by men, has so much to say about women’s reproductive health? Again, we wonder where is the mutuality, where is the respect for women in this heavy-handed system prone to abuse of power?
In the beautiful teaching that we heard this morning from the Gospel of John, we hear of another vision of community, of church, of faith. Jesus wants to make sure that his followers really get this before he dies. This is about creating a community of equality, mutuality, and love. I call you friends, not servants. And I lay down my life for you because that’s what friends do for each other, and that’s what you are to do for one another. There is no hierarchy, no patriarchy, no dominance, no subservience in this vision of the faith community.
To be part of the community of Jesus is not membership in a privileged club. There is no elitism. No competition. To be part of this community is not to sit on some corporate board and get rich at the expense of others. It is not to lord it over others in any way. To be part of the community envisioned by Jesus is a call to service, to loyalty, to solidarity, and to sacrifice, even laying down one’s life if necessary.
Jesus envisions a new community without a pecking order where believers take on a new identity as friends committed to manifesting God’s love in their lives as Jesus did. Friends. People who respect each other, listen to each other, enjoy each other, support each other and help each other. Here we revisit that image of the vine. When you look at a thriving vine, you can’t tell where one branch ends and another begins. The branches all intertwine and are indistinguishable from one another. This is an image befitting the community that Jesus tells us about. Everyone together, in solidarity and loyalty, blending in mutuality and love. There is no privilege, status, or rank. The bond is the commitment to love as Jesus loves.
Jesus offers this radical alternative vision of egalitarian community. He doesn’t set himself up as a high and mighty guru. The church did that after his death. Jesus recruits followers. He shares power. He mentors his disciples to do all that he does and more. He extols equality and mutuality. He eschews hierarchy and patriarchy. He treats people whatever their circumstances with compassion and understanding and respect. He doesn’t just go around like a fairy god mother bestowing cures and miracles. He engages people. He gets to know their situation. He invites them into this alternative community as a context for transformation, healing, and wholeness. He shares power and authority. There is nothing about the gospel that is top down, despite what the church has done with it through the years.
In addressing the annual meeting of the Florida Conference last week, Brian McLaren, contemporary theologian, writer, and speaker, mentioned talking with someone who told him, “I can’t find a church that doesn’t make me want to throw up.” This is how many feel about the church. And part of the problem is that the church has left servanthood, mutuality and equality behind, in favor of authoritarian pontificating on morality while we see case after case of abuse of this very power.
The church needs to reclaim Jesus’ teachings about community, friendship, and power. Jesus redefines relationships and this radical alternative is what is truly transforming about the gospel. But we miss it, we unplug the power, we turn out the lights, when we ignore this and lapse into the familiar comfort of systems of rank and privilege. When we look at the problems facing us in our lives and in the world, we see that we are suffering the grave consequences of systems, institutions, and culture based on privilege, patronage, and domination. So many times, a small cadre of the power elite, mostly male, makes decisions insinuating that it knows what is best for everyone. This is hierarchy and patriarchy at its worst. And religion has always had a weakness for corruptibility in this area. It could be seen in Jesus’ day and that is why the Gospel of John included this teaching. It is to challenge and undermine the proclivity of religion and society to embrace stratification with power staying on the top of the pyramid which inevitably leads to the abuse of the people on the bottom.
There could be positive change in the world if the church embraced and embodied the kind of community envisioned by Jesus. As a diverse community committed to servanthood and love, the church can make a witness for mutual respect and loyalty. The church can challenge the degrading, demeaning, patronizing systems of society by including all in decision-making, by showing respect and dignity to all who are part of the faith community, and by welcoming the gifts of all leaders regardless of economics, gender, or sexual identity. That’s the kind of community Jesus was talking about when we hear love as I have loved you. Lay down your lives for one another. I do not call you servants but friends. If we were to see this kind of mutuality and equality in the church, then church positions on things like reproductive health would be determined in large measure by women of childbearing age. Wouldn’t they know best what is moral, right, and supportive of women’s health? This kind of model could inspire the world to address problems of concern to us all in new, alternative ways that engage those who are stakeholders in ways that can lead to powerful outcomes.
Think about a situation involving the issue of homelessness and having most of the people at the table actually be homeless people. Think about situations of conflict and having the people at the table be the people that live in the communities involved instead of leaders from other countries who jet in and jet out. Think about having the stakeholders involved and included with respect and dignity as valued parts of the solutions to the problems which are affecting their lives.
This week, President Obama’s support for same gender marriage made a splash in the news. It was mentioned that his views were evolving and that he was influenced by his experience with his daughters who had friends with parents who were same gender couples. And he was influenced by his spouse. To his credit, he let these relationships and these experiences influence him. He was not so ideologically authoritative on this issue that he wasn’t willing to grow and be shaped by life’s lessons. I spoke with one young, gay person this week about Obama’s endorsement. She didn’t see why he was getting so much credit for basically being a decent person. And I agree with her. But what I think what impressed me about his statement this week is that it showed his openness to evolving views. He doesn’t presume to have all the answers and be right about everything moral as well as factual. It shows his willingness to be influenced by his relationships with family, and with friends. It shows respect and mutuality. This is the kind of transformation that happens in the kinds of communities that Jesus was creating and that he invites us to be part of.
There are many, many other issues we could address. Issues that relate to children, to older adults, to people who are unemployed, to those who are homeless, to peace, to fair labor practices, to the environment, and on and on. And all of these things could be powerfully impacted by a church of Jesus Christ that modeled the kind of community that we heard about this morning, where all are friends, on equal footing, in solidarity with one another, and serving one another, even unto death. This could help create the kind of world that all mothers and fathers want for their children and for all children. This kind of witness has the power to be transformative, not only in our individual lives, but in the wider life of the world. That’s the power of the gospel.
On this Mother’s Day, we want to remember that our concept of a good mother has much to teach the church and society about the community that Jesus calls us to create. Mothers know about serving others, and about loyalty, and about putting the needs of the group first over the desires of any one individual. Mothers know how to mobilize the family and include everyone. Mothers are sensitive to the needs of others. Mothers know about being fair and treating people equally and not privileging one over another. Mothers know about mutual support. They know how to be in solidarity and back each other up. Of course, no mother does all these things all the time, but these images that we associate with motherhood resonate with the teachings of Jesus about community, friendship, and sacrifice.
Now there were three sons who were very, very successful who were discussing the gifts they gave their elderly mother on Mother’s Day. The first said, “I built a big house for our mother.”
The second said, “I sent her a Mercedes.”
The third said, “I’ve got you, both beat. You know how Mom enjoys the Bible, and you know she can’t see very well. I sent her a parrot that can recite the entire Bible. It took 20 monks in a monastery 12 years to teach him. I had to pledge to contribute $100,000.00 a year for 10 years, but it was worth it. Mom just has to name the chapter and verse, and the parrot will recite it.”
Soon thereafter, Mom mailed her letters of thanks to her sons: She wrote the first son, “Michael, the house you built is too large. I live in only one room, but I have to clean the whole house.” She wrote the second son, “Marvin, I’m nearly blind so I can’t drive. I stay home all the time, so I never use that Mercedes.” “Dearest Melvin,” she wrote to her third son, “You were the only son to have the good sense to know what your mother likes. That chicken was delicious!”
So, what is that perfect gift for Mother’s Day? Wouldn’t we honor mothers by investing ourselves in the kind of community envisioned by Jesus? A community of solidarity, servanthood, and love? How about creating a world welcoming of all children? Wouldn’t that honor mothers? How about expecting women to take responsibility for their own reproductive health and having access to the resources needed? How to honor mother? How about simply loving our mothers, all mothers, and all who are born of a mother, as Jesus loved? Happy Mother’s Day! Amen.
A reasonable effort has been made to appropriately cite materials referenced in this sermon. For additional information, please contact Lakewood United Church of Christ.
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