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Mark 6:14-29
Joe Hill was a songwriter and working class union activist in the early 1900s. He wrote folk songs for the labor movement, kind of like the Bob Dylan or Pete Seeger of his day. He wrote songs about unions, strikes, and the struggle of the working class. He criticized the greed of robber barons, politicians, and public leaders complicit with the status quo. One song he wrote criticized the attitude of preachers who told workers to accept their worldly poverty and focus on their heavenly reward. In that song he coined the phrase “pie in the sky.” Meaning, you may not have enough food to eat but if you’re good you’ll have delicious pie in the sky when you die. Joe Hill was a poor man, but his songs influenced many. In 1915, there was a murder at a grocery store in Utah. Nothing was stolen, so obviously the murderer had a grudge against the owner. Joe Hill didn’t know the owner, but he was arrested for the crime anyway. He was found guilty and executed. Historians believe it’s very likely he was innocent, but that his revolutionary, working-class songs made him someone the powerful wanted eliminated. In the days before his execution he wrote to a friend, “Don’t waste any time in mourning: organize!”
There are a lot of stories like his throughout history. Joe Hill was a 20th century songwriter who said things the rich and powerful didn’t like. And John the Baptist was a 1st century preacher who said things the rich and powerful didn’t like.
In our Gospel reading this morning, Mark includes the report of John’s execution right after the sending out of the twelve disciples, the passage that we heard last week. John’s beheading is told as something that had already happened, so Mark’s choice to tell the story here is very intentional. It seems to be for the purpose of telling future disciples what we’re in for if we truly follow Jesus Christ. Just look at what happened to the one sent to prepare the way for the Lord. John’s fate of martyrdom is what awaits most of the original twelve disciples too. Because standing up to those in power is a major part of what this proclaiming the Kingdom of God is all about. This message of aligning earth with heaven involves both transforming individuals and transforming society. And those at the top of society will usually feel threatened by anyone who seeks to transform it.
The shepherd/farmer Amos was another prophetic voice who lived in the 8th century BC. He was from the Southern Kingdom of Judah and called out the rich and powerful in the Northern Kingdom of Israel. He was an advocate of justice for the poor who critiqued the rich. He gave us famous lines like “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (Amos 5:24). Throughout his ministry, Amos called on the rich and powerful to be faithful to God’s covenant: the Law which requires them to care for those in need, not hoard wealth, and not exploit the poor. He accurately foretold the destruction of the Northern Kingdom to the Assyrians, and had called on them to change before it was too late.
In the reading we heard this morning, Amos sees a vision of God using a plumb line, that was a tool for making sure a wall was straight. Kind of like how a builder might use a level today. And Amos declares that God judges that this wall is not straight, that the Northern Kingdom of Israel was not straight and true to God’s Law. Amos warned the king and the upper class to change or the whole nation would suffer. But the king preferred to listen to prophets like Amaziah, who didn’t challenge the king but told him everything he wanted to hear and said Amos was the problem.
Whether it was Amos calling out the sins of the upper class in Israel, or John the Baptist calling out the sins of Herod, the Bible is filled with stories of prophets calling on the rich and powerful to change their ways. And the rich and powerful usually do not listen to the voice of God spoken through these prophets.
One of the most striking things to me in this Gospel reading is that we’re told Herod actually kind of liked John. Verses 19 and 20 tell us Herod knew John was a holy and righteous man and even though he had him arrested, protected him. He was perplexed by what John said but liked to listen to him. But then at this party, Herod was pressured into having John killed to protect his own pride and ego. Herod foolishly tried to impress his guests with his power and prestige and told his stepdaughter that he’d give her whatever she wanted. And at her mother’s request, the girl asked for John’s head. And although he was apparently reluctant, Herod gave the girl what she asked for.
The fact that Herod actually kinda liked John but still ended up giving orders to kill him is reminiscent of how Pontius Pilate was the governor in charge of Jesus’ fate, and didn’t actually want to kill Jesus either, but was also apparently pressured into it. I think this is an important point Mark is demonstrating. That even the most powerful individuals can be pressured and manipulated. When their primary concern is their own self-interest, sin lurks at the door. Of course, if Herod or Pilate cared more about doing the right thing they certainly could have, but the forces of pride and selfishness can make doing the wrong thing much more appealing.
We—as Jesus’ followers today—are called to look at ourselves and recognize when we are more focused on our own self-promotion instead of God’s will. To recognize when we fall into the same ego trap that Herod and Pilate and the rich and powerful of Amos’ day fell into. To recognize when we ignore the call for justice because we don’t want to rock the boat. To recognize when we don’t stand up for what’s right because it might cost us. And in recognizing that we have those tendencies too, we also recognize the call to put aside our selfishness and put God’s mission first. To surrender our own kingdoms and dedicate our lives to manifesting God’s Kingdom. When we make that inner change of heart, we will be better prepared to bring about change in the world as well. Inner transformation occurs when we surrender our wills to God’s will. And outer transformation happens as a result of that inner transformation. When we learn to pay attention to our own thoughts and hidden motivations. When we engage in spiritual practices and seek God’s guidance to develop humility in our minds and honesty in our hearts. Then the world will change.
The famous priest, theologian, and author Henri Nouwen described this inner personal transformation as the way of the mystic and this outer societal transformation as the way of the revolutionary. He wrote, “It is my growing conviction that in Jesus the mystical and the revolutionary ways are not opposites, but two sides of the same human mode of experiential transcendence… Mysticism and revolution are two aspects of the same attempt to bring about radical change. Mystics cannot prevent themselves from becoming social critics, since in self-reflection they will discover the roots of a sick society. Similarly, revolutionaries cannot avoid facing their own human condition, since in the midst of their struggle for a new world they will find that they are also fighting their own reactionary fears and false ambitions.”[1]
As Nouwen makes clear, followers of Jesus Christ are called to be both mystics and revolutionaries. We are called to align our wills and our lives with the kingdom of God, and to align the church and the world with the kingdom of God. The call of the Christian is to be concerned with both. Aligning our personal will with God’s will. And aligning our world with the values of prophets like Amos, John, and the kingdom message of Jesus.
And so, whether we are people in positions of privilege, or just struggling to get by, scripture is clear that we are called to work for justice and peace. To advocate for the poor and vulnerable. To speak truth to power like Amos and John the Baptist and the songwriter Joe Hill. Not because we have to in order to earn God’s favor or grace or love; we know we already have those things as pure gift. And it is precisely because we have God’s forgiveness, grace, and love that we can dedicate our lives to God’s mission in the world. To the work of the mystic: deepening our relationship with God through worship and prayer, through reading God’s word and engaging in spiritual practices. And to the work of the revolutionary: loving and serving our neighbors in need, advocating for peace and justice in all the earth.
This is not an easy calling. Many mystics and revolutionaries have died at the hands of those who didn’t want to hear their message of transformation. And we know that Jesus himself died on the cross because those in power refused to hear his message. But we also know that through his death and resurrection, we have been freed from the powers of sin and death, and called to follow our Lord in the ministry of reconciliation, as the Body of Christ in the world today. Most of us here will probably not be called to literal martyrdom, but we are all called to die to ourselves and to dedicate our lives to following God’s will. To be mystics and revolutionaries. To work, as individuals and as a congregation, to dedicate our lives to the prophetic work of Amos and John and Jesus. We are called to manifest the Kingdom of God with our lives, so that God’s will may be done on earth as it is in heaven. In us personally, in the church, and the world as a whole. So let us dedicate our lives to this path of costly discipleship. Empowered by the Holy Spirit and Christ’s promise of love and grace and freedom—let us follow our call to be prophetic disciples.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Pastor Brian | July 14th, 2024 | Eighth Sunday after Pentecost
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