I Samuel 3: 1–20; Psalm 139: 1–5, 12–17; II
Corinthians 4: 5–12; Mark 2: 23 – 3: 6
This is the homily given
at St. John’s Church; Huntingdon, Pennsylvania by Fr. Gene Tucker on Sunday, June
3, 2018.
“AVOIDING THE EXTREMES: THE ANGLICAN WAY”
(Homily text: Mark 2: 23 –
3: 6)
With the arrival of the season after Pentecost, we
return to our journey through the Gospel according to Mark. (It’s been a
delight to spend our time in the Easter season in John’s Gospel account.)
In
today’s passage, Jesus is confronted by the Pharisees, who take issue with the
behavior of Jesus’ disciples, who were seen plucking grain in the field on the
Sabbath day.
At
the root of this encounter is a question which has to do with what’s essential
and what’s not. To the Pharisees, even a small violation of the sanctity of the
Sabbath was a major offense.
Perhaps
one of the hardest issues for God’s people to wrestle with is the matter of
what’s acceptable and what’s not. Put another way, the question has to do with
what’s essential and what’s not.[1]
In
the situation before us this morning, the matter of violating the Sabbath by
plucking grain was an essential matter, a matter not subject to any variation
of understanding or interpretation. Obviously, Jesus takes issue with the
legalistic approach that we often see in the Pharisees’ behavior, declaring
that “the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” To buttress His response,
Jesus cites the example of King David’s eating of the Bread of the Presence in
the Tabernacle, and act that violated the provision that such bread was
reserved for the use of the priests.
The
Pharisees’ approach to a walk with God represents an extreme: An extreme of
legalistic, rigid application of the Law of Moses. Jesus’ response refuses to
take the opposite extreme, one in which there are no rules and no expected
norms of behavior. Instead, Jesus’ response seems to put the relationship
between human beings and the rules by which human beings are expected to live
in a more nuanced and balanced environment. (I can’t resist adding: Could it be that Jesus was really an
Anglican, valuing a balanced view such as this?)
This
last point brings us back to the matter of avoiding extremes. One way we can
determine how best to live is by looking at the extremes in any situation that
comes our way as we walk the walk of faith.
On
the one hand, there is the legalistic, rigid approach that we see in the
Pharisees. That approach to faith and life is alive and well in the age in
which we live. Some Christians, for example, have a set of rules that
proscribes certain behaviors. (I’ll let you fill in the blanks with examples.) Other
rules might dictate certain norms of dress. Often the harsh and hasty judgment
of the Pharisees is present in contemporary Christians who behave in such ways.
But
allow me to say the opposite extreme is just a bad….Some who claim the name of
Christ feel free to act as if there are no boundaries to the faith, no rules
beyond which one may go and still be a disciple of Jesus. (Again, I’ll allow
your imagination to fill in the blanks.)
A
mature way to life as a disciple of Jesus Christ lies somewhere in the middle
of these two extremes. Such a balanced way of living will allow for people to
fall short of God’s high standards without harsh condemnation. Instead, the
mature Christian will recognize times in which God’s forgiveness and mercy have
been present in their own lives, and will extend that same forgiving and
merciful approach to those who’ve lost their way. In such a way, the wandering
believer can be restored to a wholesome relationship with God and with others.
We
ought to be honest and say, at this point, that determining what is the best
way to be faithful to the Lord’s desires for us can be a daunting task, one
which is filled with the need to weigh one good against another. It won’t be
easy for us to determine what’s the best route to take in order to be faithful
to God’s desires for us. Yes, there is a blueprint for our Christian walk, one
that involves a study of Holy Scripture, one that involves an active prayer
life, one that seeks to know the Lord more and more. And as all of that
encounters the complexity of contemporary life, sticky situations will arise
which will test our ability to make the most faithful, yet compassionate
decisions.
So,
yes, some things about our Christian walk aren’t essential, even if they are
wonderfully rich ways with which to adorn our worship of God. We could say,
looking at our own Anglican tradition, that having a Prayer Book, or a liturgy,
isn’t essential to being a Christian. Lots of Christians live faithful lives
without those things, as wonderfully rich as they are in our tradition.
Yet
other things are absolutely essential, aren’t they? One example might be the
witness of Holy Scripture. Another would be the central tenets of the Christian
faith as we find them stated in the Nicene and Apostles’ Creeds.
The
Anglican approach to the Christian life and walk is quite pragmatic. The Anglican
way seeks to determine how it is that we might live faithfully in God’s sight
in this present age and time. The Anglican way seeks to determine what is a
rational and measured approach to the life of the Spirit, one which avoids
extremes on both ends of the spectrum.
So
perhaps the Lord was, really, an Anglican. (OK, that’s supposed to be a joke.)
But, all joking aside, the Lord’s approach to the extremism of the Pharisees
shows that He had high regard for the truths of God as they are contained in
the Law of Moses, all the while realizing that the Law was given for the
benefit of humankind, not the other way around.
AMEN.
