July 18, 2021 - 8th Sunday after Pentecost - To Deal with Grief like Jesus Did

Today's Gospel lesson burned with a subtle, eternal truth that, for me, addresses a current moment we are experiencing at Creator. Last week the Gospel reading was Mark's account of the beheading of John the Baptizer, which implicated those who heard the story. John's death would have caused personal grief for Jesus as he heard of the loss of his family member. There was also good reason to re-examine his  public ministry at this moment.  

Jesus' two responses after John's death that Mark described struck me this morning as both amazing and transformative. The first thing Jesus said to the disciples was “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” Mark described many disciples who were coming and going, and had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in a boat to a deserted place by themselves. The crowds, however, could see where they were going and decide to go there to meet them.

This unexpected crowd didn't anger or even frustrate Jesus. Instead he felt compassion and acted from that compassion, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. He taught the crowd. Towards evening his compassion began to be mirrored in his disciples' concern. They suggested the crowd be sent out to the countryside to buy food. The disciples anticipated they would be hungry. Jesus responded "You give them something to eat". When the disciples offered him all the food they have, Jesus broke their bread and divided their fish. Mark here mirrors the language of communion to portray this feeding of the five thousand.

Jesus had two responses that Mark detailed. One was inwardly directed, the other was outwardly directed. Withdrawing, resting, praying is what Jesus initially planned for himself and his disciples. Circumstances and the crowd prevented that. The other came from his compassion and teaching. he and the disciples became outwardly focused. When Jesus encouraged them "You give them something to eat", the power of this communion moment became evident. The heart of this sacrament's mystery was highlighted. Bread, as the body, was given and taken. Strangely, when we offer ourselves to God, something inevitably breaks. In that moment God's earthly blessings multiply for all to experience.

Often people are inspired when Jesus' God nature is on full display. I find the times where his human nature doesn't know what God is up to more instructive in the possibilities of action we have to choose from in life. Here the human Jesus wanted time to inwardly restore and heal but he follows God's path joyfully as it is revealed.

Pastor Janell continues to remind us of grief we may still be processing in the congregation. There are members who think we are beyond that because of the amount of time that has passed since Pastor Ray's death and the start of this pandemic but there is an argument to be made that, as a community, there is still work to be done. Particularly as we call a new pastor it is important for the congregation to ask who we are now.   

Currently our congregation is concerned with the health concerns of in person worship and how to balance that with our corporate worship practices at this time of transition. There are other worries about other congregational issues of the moment. These matters are all pressing and need decisions but leave us open to differences of opinion that will ultimately be resolved in time. At the moment, however, community squabbles seem to break out fairly consistently. 

What a difference it would make if, instead, we were  currently discerning where Creator's faithfulness is flourishing and finding ways to deepen and celebrate that faithfulness.