[Propertalk] Proper 28 b - 1

[Robert P Morrison]

First draft, part 1:

	THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF ST. ALBAN, ALBANY

	THE TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST 

	1 SAMUEL 1:4-20 PROPER 28 b 

	HEBREWS 10:11-25 15th NOVEMBER, 2015 

	MARK 13:1-8 THE SONG OF HANNAH 

	 After thinking last week about demons, I was somewhat startled this
week by the headline, “If aliens exist, how would we know? [1]” 1 

	 It’s an interesting question. How WOULD we know? What does an
alien look like? How does an alien sound? Have we seen one but never
known it? 

	 A few decades ago I came across a book by William Stringfellow, the
U.S. lawyer and theologian. The book was called “An Ethic for
Christians and Other Aliens in a Strange Land”. 2 It’s a title
that stuck with me since I first saw it. “and Other Aliens” – it
was very catchy. It still is. 

	 The message of the prophets and of Jesus and the apostles is that
God has always remained in constant touch with creation. Nowhere is it
suggested that God has ever turned away, has grown tired, has given up
and walked out on human beings. Have we ticked God off at any time?
You bet! But at no point did God say, “That’s once too many.
You’re on your own.” Prophets, priests, kings, apostles, and,
supremely, Jesus Himself, when they listened to God and tried to
remain faithful to God and to God’s creation, all made a point of
trying to coax our ancestors, coax us, back into the fold. Our
relationship with God was supposed to be one of co-operation, of
enthusiasm for what we see and hear in our midst. Nothing is to be
strange to us or for us. When God’s people moved from place to place
and encountered a group of people previously unknown, they were to be
considered part of God’s creative purpose too, no matter how
difficult, how dangerous this might be. 

	 Supremely, this was shown by the way that Jesus interacted with all
classes within Jewish society, with those not generally accepted in a
good Jewish home, with visiting and occupying forces. In one way or
another, Jesus was drawing everyone’s attention to the fact that
they had a role to play in this world, a role that would show honour
to all people. God had never been absent. In Jesus, God simply became
tangible. And, through the Spirit, God remains in our midst. 

	 This CAN be a challenging thought. God around us all the time,
watching listening, laughing, crying, sighing, yet not in the manner
of George Orwell’s “Big Brother”, trying to catch us out and, if
necessary, imprison or exterminate us. No, God cries, God is hurt, at
the very least, God sighs when it becomes obvious that we’re not
doing our best; that we haven’t been wrestling with the prophetic
words and deeds encircling us; that we haven’t applied what we’ve
learned, what we know in our heart of hearts is true, and lovely, and
of good report. 

	 From giving us a heart and set of lungs and a brain stem to keep us
drawing in breaths, and from giving us oxygen to extract from the
atmosphere, God is with us not only in the most simple and basic
elements of life, but also in the ability to wrestle through complex
problems, to consider causes and effects, to imagine the outcomes of
our actions. God isn’t the least bit interested in making life
difficult for us. God hates it when things go wrong. When we make a
decision that impacts negatively our own safety and the safety of
others, God grieves. When free will, in its complicated machinations,
seemingly allows human cells to run amok within our bodies, or when
one individual or group or nation speaks and acts without any regard
for what will be the impact on others, God weeps at the consequences.
We’ve read and heard how Jesus interacted with folk in His small
corner of this globe. We’re aware of what He tried to do to ensure
the safety and health of every human being with whom He came in touch.
But He realized that it was still up to each of us whether or not to
listen; whether or not to adopt His way of life; whether or not we’d
care how other people are affected by how we live. 

	 It’s a wonderful yet awesome responsibility we have as children of
God, sisters and brothers of Jesus. 

	 So at every opportunity, God tried, and continues to try to get us
to see how we all inter-relate. But it’s so easy to misunderstand.
No matter how difficult or how beautiful something may seem, we have
to try to look beyond it – even, if it comes right down to it,
beyond what everyone else seems to think is so important. 

	 This DOES bring us up short, though. In fact, it SHOULD! Living with
Jesus isn’t the easy life. 

	 As I said a moment ago, I began at the beginning of last week,
confronted by the thought of whether or not we’d recognise an alien.
I remembered the title of Stringfellow’s book, and then I came
across a review comment on a book about both the Stringfellow and his
book. 

	 Under the disturbing heading “An Inconvenient Truth” Nathan
Schneider wrote, and remember that Stringfellow wrote in the 70s and
80s, “The strength of Stringfellow’s theology lies in his
exploration, specifically within the context of the Cold War-era Pax
Americana, of the worldly “principalities and powers” described in
the New Testament. Stringfellow saw these malign spiritual forces at
work in the most familiar of secular and religious institutions—in
IBM, in the popularity of Marilyn Monroe, and even in Billy Graham’s
crusades—as well as in all the -isms that seek to shape how we think
and act. They’re idols, “impostors of God.” Stringfellow’s
work poses a challenge to the imagination, and manifests a refusal to
confuse things as they are with how they could or should be. We
confuse a Hallmark card with actual love, and next year’s car model
with actual progress. For Stringfellow, the gospel calls us to
something better. He gives a wildly creative, occasionally funny, and
often disturbing picture of a world upside-down and a gospel
right-side-up.” 3



Links:
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[1]
http://click.email.bbc.com/?qs=6c604a33c76fb39897b08bd3815a9d863723f421cbdc0547a3eace565e22dd785764e1434b74a573

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