Jesus was
proposing a radical change. He was
talking about a cultural shift for his followers to help them become
intentional in following God’s teachings.
He didn’t want them getting caught up in the hoopla and the excitement
of the crowds, he didn’t want people to be joining his community because it was
the newest bandwagon to be jumping on board.
He wanted people to slow down and really think things through. He knew that crowds can one moment be calling
out halleluiah and hosanna and the next moment can be calling out ‘Crucify
him’! He wanted people who would commit
for the long haul, who would make measured, thoughtful decisions with the full
knowledge that it wouldn’t be easy. That
message of careful choice during change is relevant especially today.
Mind you,
there are not too many times and examples of modern people letting go all their
possessions and family claims for the sake of their faith or. I can’t imagine letting go of my microwave
but leaving my dishwasher behind when I moved to Athabasca was an inconvenience
rather than a painful sacrifice. I don’t
want to give up my cozy home, my family or all the yarn I’ve accumulated over
the past twenty years, and no way I could live without my Blackberry as Lois
reminds me often.
On the other
hand, summer holidays had me leaving much behind, books, Wi-Fi, computer,
grocery store down the hill in exchange for quiet walks, the occasional paddle
to visit loons and time in my hammock. 35
years ago Tim and I left family, friends and our brand-new wedding presents for
our honeymoon. Now most normal brides don’t pack much for their honeymoon, but
I didn’t pack lacy lingerie; instead, I packed a sleeping bag, nesting pots,
and matches while Tim added a tent and cookstove to his backpack. It was an adventure – over seven months, just
the two of us Down Under with no one we knew, backpacking across Australia and
New Zealand. I missed my cross stitching
and my ukuleles, and we missed our parents and brothers even more. It was a
wonderful time though it was primitive at times, camping where poisonous
spiders and snakes lived, hitchhiking from dorm to dorm, and immersing
ourselves in the culture. We came away
from that year profoundly shaped by the knowledge that even culture is a
choice, not every Canadian has to say ‘eh’ and drink beer while wearing a toque
and watching hockey, and not every Albertan has to be a Conservative party
member to have a say in who is our premier, or is either a rig pig or a bronc
rider with a John Deer hat and cowboy boots.
Culture can
be challenged and changed. By a simple letter from one friend to another asking
for something that the culture would say was impossible. The story of Onesimus is such an
example. He was a slave who had run away
from his owner and that is why Paul crafted such a careful and passionate
letter. This was more than a reference
letter to an employer, this was an emotional appeal to Philemon that would
challenge and shake the man’s understanding of his relationship with another
human being. And not just Philemon. Everyone who read this in that ancient world
who were striving to follow Jesus would have poured over this letter and shake
their heads in astonishment. Treat
slaves like kinfolk not property? What
was Paul thinking? Throughout history, hearing this scripture in different
times and places would have challenged its hearers. How would George Washington, a slave owner,
have felt hearing Paul’s letter asking Philemon to treat Onesimus like an equal
instead of a possession? Culture shifting!
Or how would today’s flood victims in Pakistan
or refugees from Ukraine feel hearing Jesus’ drastic teaching about letting go
of what we cherish? Really? Letting go of our stuff, our relationships,
our strongly held beliefs? They have to
let go of all their stuff in order to survive.
Staying alive means not hanging on to material things when living
through tragic changes. Jesus knew more
than Marie Kondo. It’s not about what
stuff gives us joy and toss out the rest.
It’s about what helps us live a purposeful, intentional life that helps
us love ourselves, love God and love our neighbor.
This Labor
Day weekend is a good time to think deeply about our relationships with each
other. How do we remember that everyone
we meet is fearfully and wonderfully made?
How do we love the neighbor that plays loud rock music on the river
front all day? The neighbor who believes in conspiracy theories? The one that always beats us at golf or at
canasta? The useful person that we think is useless because they messed up
something we thought was important? The person who wronged us but now is coming
back to make amends? The person we need to make amends to ourselves? We all
have moments when we feel like change is overwhelming us, and is being done to
us, but when we trust that we are fearfully and wonderfully made in God’s own
image, we can build resilient new family and community that is grounded in the compassionate teachings Paul
and Jesus. It really works! Onesimus
went back to Philemon who could have whipped, sold or executed him. And while
we have no letter back from Philemon, the people in Ephesus tell that their
first bishop of the Christian Church was named, guess what? Onesimus! From slave to brother to bishop! Change is possible, and we are part of that
great history that challenges oppression and remembers we are all God’s beloved
children!
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