Tattle Tale
September 27, 2015 Pentecost 18
The year is 1975, and I am
12 years old. I am in grade 7 and I want
to fit in. I want to be part of the group;
I want to look like everyone else. You
would think in a WASP community that a white girl would fit in, but this is Jr.
High and this shy awkward redhead is struggling. My school was in Burks Falls – and we were
bussed. There is lots of trash talk on a
bus filled with 12 and 13 year olds – most of the girls my age had pierced ears
– and the talk was that if your ears aren’t pierced either you parents were too
mean and you were afraid of them or you are too scared to get it done. For me it was my mean parents that kept me
back from popularity– they – no, my dad did not believe that pre-teen girls
should have pierced ears, wear makeup or try to look in anyway more grown up
than they were. It was at that time, one
of the great tragedies of my life. So
one day, a friend smuggled her own earing studs from home and a big needle and
she pierced my ears in the girl’s bathroom during recess. I was delighted and thrilled, the adrenalin
rushing through my body because of the power I felt being so defiant to my oppressive
parents was amazing. I was however, a little
disappointed about how lopsided they were but most of me was thrilled with the
huge act of independent rebelliousness although I will admit to being frightened
about my parents finding out. When I got
home, I kept my long hair down covering my ears so that no one would see– but I couldn’t keep
it to myself so I showed my sisters what I had done after I swore them to
secrecy. That act of sharing my
rebellious nature was a big mistake.
My little sister Judy’s
conscious was more highly developed at that time than my pre-teen one. And as the days went by with my parents not
finding out, I became more and more relaxed about the earrings festering in my
ears – because you must realize a 12 year old girl knows very little about hygiene
and infection and my ears were starting to ooze by about day two – my sister,
however, began to have sleepless nights, her anxiety about my transgressions
were so large they were causing her to endlessly worry and eventually – about a
week after my ears were pierced, my parents found out because my little sister
told them.
Needless to say, the
earrings had to go – and I had privileges removed from me, and it was a full
two years until I was allowed to get my ears pierced, this time in a shop with
a trained woman and lots of rubbing alcohol – yet, I always felt an injustice in this
story - not that I did not deserve punishments I received, but that Judy was
touted as the hero – not the tattletale that she was.
I think Jesus would side
with me on this one. It is pretty clear
in the story we just read that the disciples are not coming out well because
they have chosen to tell on others, who are not apart of the inner circle, for
healing and teaching in Jesus name. It
seems that Jesus does not like a tattletale either….
Remember where we are in the
Jesus story– last week in our readings we witnessed Jesus and his disciples
coming to the community of Capernaum, they are on their way to Jerusalem which
in Bible talk means we are getting to the end of the story, closer to the
betrayal, the death and the resurrection.
The disciples are trying to understand what the last three years have
been all about, understand what Jesus has been talking about all that time, and
where they fit into this – and so they begin to argue with each other as to
which one of them is the greatest – Jesus turns and asks what they are talking
about, and then takes a child, moves him into the inner circle and says
‘whoever welcomes one such as these welcomes me and whoever welcomes me
welcomes the one who sent me.’(Mark 9:37)
This radical statement of
Jesus should really be telling the disciples about a God of inclusiveness, a
God of hospitality, a God of welcome to all including the ones that society and
culture consider the last and the least.
Not so the disciples, they still continue to struggle with what Jesus
really means about inclusion and welcome and hospitality. And into the very next sentence uttered in
that room in Capernaum into that moment in time, with the child still in their
midst – John says: ‘There are others, who
are casting out demons in your name – and we tried to stop them because they
did not belong to our inner circle’…which are words which seems to be the
opposite of what Jesus is saying; exclusive, not welcoming and non-hospitable….to
which Jesus says: “tattle tale”.
The thing about a
tattle-telling is that
·
it is not about telling
on someone to make the world right, it is about telling on someone to make your
world right.
·
It is not about
telling on someone to bring about justice, it is telling on someone to promote
your cause
·
the thing about
a tattle telling is that it is about comparing your self to another where you
come out looking the best, were you always look like the better choice, the
right one.
·
That compared to
so and so…well you are on top.
My sister Judy was the
obedient daughter where her sister Heather was the disobedient one – They cast
out demons in your name and you have not given them permission to do so – we
are the only ones you have given permission to cast out demons, we are your
chosen ones.
This is the thing about
Jesus – is that he has this amazing ability to cut to the chase – he does not
get caught up in discussions about best and worse, or comparing people to other
people – or even calling out those who are doing good in his name with out his
permission. As a commentator said this
week – “there is no copy write on the realm of God”. That is to say, working to bring about the
kingdom of God by caring for others, and sharing what we have, and loving our
neighbour and putting aside our petty differences to be inclusive and welcoming
and hospitable – bringing about the kingdom – it does not matter whether you
are sanctioned by the church, whether you use the right words or the proper formulas
- for the kingdom, is not something that one group or another or that one way
or another has priority over or a monopoly on actions – the realm of God is
something that is done.
So, says Jesus; ‘back off,
let those who are working for the kingdom be, let the realm of God come into
the world in the hands of many in spite of whether they belong to the right
group or not’. Regardless of who is
reaching out, Jesus says, a cup of water given in my name is bringing about the
kingdom. And to take things further, if
you get in the way of someone bringing about the kingdom – that’s a problem –
any stumbling block needs to be removed – and then Jesus gets into some pretty
descriptive and disturbing language – I think that the shock value of his words
would indicate that this is really, really important message– don’t get in the
way of the kingdom.
·
Make sure what
you do with your hands does not hurt, maim or hold back another.
·
And if your feet
cause you to stumble – if you are walking a path blindly where you trod on
others, push people out of your way or carelessly consider only your own path….
step back says Jesus, slow down or stop.
·
And if you see
things that cause you to be jealous or envious or covets or judgemental –
consider the lenses that you are viewing the world with – maybe that is what
needs to change.
Cause you know when you read
this scripture and consider Jesus words, he is saying that the opposite of the
kingdom of God is hell – and by blocking another who is working for the kingdom
because of our own bias and prejudice we create hell on earth and thwart the
kingdom of God.
The disciples were not
stupid people, we are not stupid people – but like the disciples we too are
looking for a sense of assuredness that what we are doing, how we are living,
how we see the world and how we interact with the world is the right and only
way. We like to feel that the choices we
make are the right one – and it makes us feel better to think that the choices
another makes which are different from ours are the wrong ones. Our focus is wrong, the disciple’s focus is
wrong. We need to be focused within
ourselves – ‘the salt’ says Jesus so that we can season the world. ‘have salt in yourselves and be at peace with
one another.”
Karoline
Lewis writes: (We) They need to
know that the goal of faith is not winning, unlike our culture. They need to
know that the goal of believing is not who can be better, whatever that means.
They need to know that being a Christian is not about comparison but individual
expression, as individual as the incarnation. Good grief, if we all believed
the same way, how boring would that be? Not even our Scriptures propose that.
The reassurance of particularity is grace itself, so says God’s commitment to
the incarnation. Our penchant for “we saw someone” (this tattle telling –
judging another’s contribution through our distorted lenses) needs to be
replaced by faith’s “we see Jesus.” And in Jesus, we see God. Our God is here.”[1]
It
is not about tattle telling it is about the kingdom of God being expressed by
so many people in so many ways – we see Jesus…
We
see Jesus
·
When the
stranger is welcomed
·
When the refugee
finds a home.
·
When scales are
removed from eyes and we see God inside another even when they challenge our
prejudices.
o
It could mean
that we are called to stand in solidarity with those who are poor or disabled
or live on government subsidy.
o
It could mean
that we walk hand in hand with gay people and indigenous people and all those
who express their faith differently than us, even when we have to give up long
held ideals about the way of the world.
o
It may mean that
children and the differently abled have an equal voice at the table.
o
It may mean that
we may need to confront our long held believes about justice and equality and
view the ‘other’ from how Jesus sees them.
We see Jesus when we see the
world as Jesus does – when we view the other through the eyes of God.
It all comes down to the
life lesson we all have to learn and learn again throughout our life – all we
can do and all we can be is ourselves – with our gifts and our challenges – for
me I need to remember that there will always be better preachers and teachers
and ministers but God called me too to bring about the kingdom in what ever way
I can with the gifts and skills I have– and it is not for me to judge the
other, to diminish the other’s work or to criticize it as a way of making me
look good. Karoline Lewis shared a
personal story which I think really brings this point home – she writes:
This weekend, I will attend my 30th
high school reunion. Long, long, ago, back in a former life, when I thought
that being a professional violinist was my future, I had a rather difficult
violin lesson with my teacher. I was trying to play like those around me, those
who were getting accolades, who were moving ahead, or so I thought, who sounded
better than I, or so it seemed. Mr. Meacham, my violin teacher, said, “What’s
going on?” I told him I want to sound like, play like…. He said to me,
“Karoline, never compare yourself to anyone but yourself.” At the time? To be
honest? I didn’t get it. It didn’t make sense. Now it does. Or a little more,
anyway. He was trying to say, “Karoline, you are you. There is no one else like
you. Let go of all judgment, competition, and expectation.”[2]
You are you, there is no one
else like you. You are God’s beloved
child – God does not compare you to another, or do you need to compete for
God’s love, because you are already wonderfully and fiercely loved by God. You are God’s beloved child with gift
abounding to bring about the kingdom of God.
Let it be so. Amen.
