July 18, 2021

Well! It looks like our Mark gospel gave us one of those Markan sandwiches but with just the bread and no filling! It all sounds sweet and loving and caring – sounds like Jesus keeps putting his disciples in a boat trying to take them on a relaxing getaway but actually … the lectionary gurus left out a giant piece in between – all of Mark 6: 35 – 52. In that section, after they went ashore in verse 34, Jesus ends up feeding the five thousand, then “Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead … while he dismissed the crowd” (v.45). Then he says farewell to thousands and next morning starts walking on the lake towards the disciples who “were straining at the oars against an adverse wind”. And strangely we are told in verse 48 that although he was walking towards them, “He intended to pass them by”. By the time today’s gospel picks up again in verse 53, Jesus has agreed to get in the boat with them, calms the storm, and then they cross over to the land at Genneserat, where many healings take place.

Perhaps the lectionary folks were trying to give us more of a gentle summer reading with Jesus reminding us to take time apart for resting etc. But when I realized how much of the story had been skipped … it reminded me that something similar is true in human lives and relationships – that there can be so much more going on in people’s lives than we can possibly know. And we too may have much more complex lives than others can imagine.

Despite much more complexity in the world than we can ever understand, we are called to live in as much unity and harmony as possible, according to Paul’s words to the Ephesians that we heard today. And I appreciated another Working Preacher scholar on this point. Dr. Israel Kamudzandu, a New Testament professor from Missouri had this to say about our epistle link:

The call of Ephesians 2: 11–22, is basically a summoning of all people to live together as children of one parent. If God is the parent of all humanity, polarization in all its forms should be avoided. In the face of racial tensions, the Church and its leaders as well as laity should seek to model hospitality. In other words, the Church with its mandate on building the Kingdom of God on earth, should choose to change human life by bringing love to places where hatred has become the norm. For the 21st century Church, the task of building a multicultural church is urgent, because in and around the world, we are experiencing institutional racism, hostility toward others, tribalism, and white supremacy resurfacing in ways never seen before. Hence, the message of integration and appreciation of diversity is urgently needed. https://www.workingpreacher.org/.../commentary-on...

As you may know, the diocesan clergy are undergoing quite an extensive intercultural training, and one of the recommendations is to read books or watch movies about other cultures, so I was delighted to take up our theology student’s suggestion that we read books by indigenous authors like Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson. I haven’t read too far into it yet, but I’m thoroughly enjoying it. While young Jared has quite a problematic upbringing, there are funny similarities across intercultural lines, like what some grandparents do to try and get kids to keep up their grades in school. Jared’s Nana Sophia sets up a secret bank account and every report card she gives him $100 for every A, $50 for every B, $10 for C’s. “Passes got him nothing, and F’s got him text messages and emails of animated pictures of steaming poop.” (p.31). That made me laugh as I remembered my own convoluted efforts to try and inspire my older grandson to consider various post-secondary training options.

May we keep learning to appreciate diversity, while working for unity, and may we consider the unknown complexities and challenges that other people may carry, as we try to bring God’s love to a wounded world, Amen.