Earlier this month, I was invited by Kelli of the Long Beach Sunday Farmers’ Market to set up a table at the market and let people know about events happening here at Bixby Knolls Christian Church. Since the market takes place on Sundays, I recruited Ginger to staff the table one Sunday, and Margo volunteered to do it the next Sunday. They greeted folks and passed out flyers in the morning, and I took over after worship.
It was surprisingly enjoyable. I say that, because, as you know, I’m quite introverted. Yet it was with genuine cheer that I smiled and greeted folks with a friendly “good afternoon” during my shift. I know that Margo enjoyed it as well. She volunteered to return the following week, but you know, as pastor, I just can’t bring myself to asking someone to miss worship two weeks in a row. It just doesn’t seem right.
Anyway, we were there the first two Sundays of June, and on the 2nd of those two Sundays, I felt that I was really hitting my stride. I was in the zone! Until a person walked by with a t-shirt that, for a moment, shocked me into silence.
The shirt had two words on it, written in large letters. All I’ll say about the first word is that it had four letters. The second word was the word “religion.”
For a moment, I wondered whether this person would be offended or get angry with a friendly “good afternoon” coming from a church representative. For a moment, I pondered this. As an introvert, it often takes me a moment or two to figure out if I should say anything, and what I should say. And once I figure that out, it takes a moment to transfer the thought into actual speech.
Or, as I like to put it, an introvert like me – unlike
extroverts – prefers to think before he speaks.
So it wasn’t until after the man with the t-shirt was gone that I realized that I wasn't nearly as offended by what the shirt said as one might think. After all, in my sermons lately I've been saying that the way of Jesus is actually bigger than any religion. I know that much of the New Testament was, in fact, an effort to expand the Jesus movement beyond the religion within which it had its origins. The writings of the apostle Paul, in particular, have as a major theme the idea that one did not have to be a Jew in order to be a follower of Jesus. The way of Jesus is bigger than that.
Nevertheless, the way of Jesus did develop into its own religion -- Christianity -- which developed a set doctrine. Then the religion of Christianity tried to live out that doctrine in ways that weren't always Christ-like. Over the centuries, Christianity became known as the religion of the Crusades, the Inquisition, witch hunts, persecution of non-believers, excommunication and imprisonment of scientific seekers of truth. More recently, Christianity has aligned itself with those who believe in preemptive war, economic policies that favor the rich, pro-life advocacy that does not concern itself with those who are already born, and judgment and persecution of homosexuals and others.
Christianity has a history of seeing those who did not fit into the traditional, mainstream Christian box, and has repeatedly, in various ways, commanded fire to come down from heaven and consume them.
For some reason, the temptation to do so has always been with us. The Samaritans were not like the Jews. They worshiped differently. They spoke with an accent. They did things their own unique way. And
they and the Jews hated each other.
When Jesus’ disciples entered a village of Samaritans, they said to Jesus, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” Elijah had done something like that once, and the disciples were all too eager to use the power that Elijah accessed on the Samaritans.
Jesus, of course, rebuked the disciples. That wasn’t his way. And yet, Christianity has been trying to throw people in the fire ever since.
The more I thought about such things, there at the farmers’ market, the more I was tempted to see if I could acquire one of those t-shirts for myself.
I once heard or read about some Christians who set up a confession booth at a public place. I don't remember exactly where they placed their booth. I think it might have been at a pride festival somewhere, but it’s also possible that it was at a farmers' market.
They set up their confession booth, but instead of inviting people into the booth to confess their sins, they invited people into the booth so that they – the people running the booth – could confess their sins and the sins of Christianity, and ask for forgiveness.
Certainly the many times Christians have prayed for fire to come down from heaven and consume those they don’t like have got to be at the top of the list of sins that need to be confessed.
After Jesus rebuked the disciples, they went on to another village. As they were traveling on their way – you know, a lot happens “on the way” in scripture. I wasn’t able to check this particular verse out, but usually, when it says something like “along the road,” a more literal translation is “on the way,” which is a deliberate phrase that is repeated often in scripture to emphasize that following Jesus isn’t just agreeing to a set of beliefs, but following him on the way, living one’s whole life according to the way of Jesus.
Anyway, as they were traveling on the way, they met several people who wanted to join them … on the way. But the way of Jesus is not as easy as one might think. One would-be follower said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have their nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
To another, Jesus said, “Follow me.”
But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead.” I’ll say more about that in a moment.
A third person said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me say farewell to those at home.”
Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
These three responses of Jesus are all harsh, but none is more harsh than the second response: “Let the dead bury their own dead.” This man’s father has just died! No obligation is more important for a Jewish person than the obligation to make sure the body of one’s father is properly buried after death.
It’s a shocking statement, and yet, according to Marcus Borg, it is also a brilliant one-liner that grabbed people’s attention, and one that Jesus most likely spoke more than once, to emphasize the commitment required to follow the way of Jesus.
What exactly did Jesus mean by this statement? Well, Marcus Borg says that, obviously, Jesus was talking about people who were physically alive, because only someone who was physically alive could bury someone who was dead. A person who is physically, literally dead cannot go grab a shovel and start digging.
In that sense, then, the people Jesus is talking about are the living dead. They are alive, but without life. Jesus is saying that it is possible to live like that, that many people do, that it is, in fact, quite easy to live like that.
If Jesus was here, walking around and speaking to 21st century Americans, he might say let the dead churches bury the dead churches. So many churches are so busy trying to preserve their life, but in doing so, they are already dead. They are so focused on their own survival, that they aren’t doing anything for the kingdom of God. If you mention those churches to others in their communities, you’ll probably hear people respond with surprise, and say things like, “I thought that church closed down years ago.”
That is, in fact, an actual comment spoken regarding one church in our region, before it began to take seriously its commitment to reaching out to the community.
After all, Jesus also said that those who seek to save their lives will lose them, but those who lose their life for his sake and for the sake of the gospel will find their life restored. If all our efforts go into saving our life, saving our church, then we are already dead. But if we are willing to take a risk, to dare to do something big, something that risks sacrificing the church itself for the sake of others and for the sake of the gospel, then we will find our life restored.
Church historian and scholar Justo González has another take on Jesus’ “let the dead bury their own dead” comment. In his book Mañana, he has a whole chapter entitled “Let Dead Gods Bury Their Dead.” He begins the chapter by mentioning the uproar that was raised some years ago over the phrase “God is dead.” Some of you may remember that.
González then asks who or what this God is, whose existence we either affirm or deny. Some gods, he says, are better dead than alive. He says that “Humankind did not lose a great deal when Huitzilopochtli and his cohorts lost their power to require human sacrifices, or when the crocodiles of the Nile lost their divinity. The death of many gods has meant life for countless human beings...”
So if someone says that God is dead, or if someone walks around wearing a t-shirt that says, well, you know… perhaps we should ask just what god they are talking about, or what religion they are talking about. If they are talking about a god who is judgmental, a god who rains fire down upon people, consuming them – if they are talking about a religion that sucks the life out of people, denying them a life of wholeness – then I’m all for the death of those gods and those religions. In fact, I’ll do what I can to help kill those gods and those religions.
Not your usual statement from a peace-loving, pastor, I know. But if the death of these false gods means life for humanity, then I’m all for it. Because the way of Jesus has nothing to do with the way of death. The way of Jesus overcomes the way of death. The way of Jesus is about life. And, as followers of the way of Jesus, the work we do should also be about life.
The Message Bible even paraphrases Jesus’ “let the dead bury the dead” statement this way: “Your business is life, not death.”
I think that’s what it boils down to. Jesus came so that all people might have life, and have it abundantly. It is a life of wholeness. It’s the life to which we are all called to be part of. It’s the life which we are called to share with the world.
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