Upside Down and Backwards

Isaiah 42: 1– 9; 53: 1– 12 

Matthew 16: 13– 17: 9

Has anyone ever done a headstand, or a handstand?  Show of hands.

I used to love to do them. I haven’t tried in a while, so I have no idea if I still can, or not, but the thing I loved about it was the feeling of being out of balance, and then re-finding my balance while being upside down. What an incredible thing, to turn upside down, and to find your balance point.

It’s way easier to stand upright on our own two feet and be in balance, isn’t it? Although as we age, we may need help with that too. But being upside down, or walking backwards, throws us off kilter, and we need to really concentrate to balance ourselves. It’s not natural. But it’s possible…and with practice it gets easier.

Sometimes getting out of balance is not something that we choose. Perhaps it’s a diagnosis, or the loss of a loved one, or the seismic change of something that has been central to our life. When that happens, the one thing we want more than anything, it seems, is to get back to our former balancing point, to get things back to normal. But more often than not, going forward means finding a new point of balance, often a place that is more vulnerable than before.

Following Christ requires that we practice a whole new balancing act, every bit as challenging as walking on our hands or walking backwards.

Our gospel story today offers several examples of how Peter goes in and out of this New Balancing act.

Jesus asks the disciples, “who do you say that I am?”

And Peter nails it!

You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!”

Now this was an upside down moment for Peter. Jesus has taken them 25 miles away from their home base in Galilee, on a field trip of sorts to Caesarea Philippi, which was a regional center of the Roman Empire.  As Brian McLaren described it, to claim Jesus as Messiah, as the liberating king, anointed by the living God, here in a city bearing Caesar’s name, Caesar who considered himself son of the gods, is dangerous to say the least. But Peter claims Jesus as the Son of the True and Living God, distinct and above all those other gods.

Peter has stated and claimed his new balance point. And Jesus affirms him – good job! God has given you this revelation, has allowed you to balance upside down.

But before we know it, Peter has lost his balance and is no longer upside down. He is coming back to his usual way of seeing the world. Jesus begins to tell them all about the suffering and death that he will soon endure. And Peter, probably full of himself for having figured out who Jesus really is, feels pretty confident that Jesus’ predictions about the future must be way, way off. And so he boldly steps forward to say, God forbid! That must not ever happen to you, Jesus!

And of course, standing upright, looking at the world the way we usually do, it makes sense for Peter to draw that conclusion, doesn’t it? How on earth can Jesus, the Messiah, the liberating king, set the people of Israel free if he is defeated? That is the one thing that must not happen. As Brian McLaren describes it, Jesus “must conquer and capture, not be conquered and captured. He must torture and kill his enemies, not be tortured and killed by them. So Peter feels completely justified in correcting Jesus – “stop talking nonsense!”

And now Jesus, who just told Peter that he had received a divine revelation, turns 180 degrees around and says, “Get behind me, Satan! This is not from God, but from man”.

Peter’s upright way of thinking, like most of his countrymen, is that “God will send a Messiah to lead an armed uprising, to defeat and expel the occupying Roman regime and all who collaborate with it.”

But Jesus sees the world differently. God’s kingdom is upside down and backwards to the way Peter understands things. In God’s kingdom, “the nonviolent will inherit the Earth. Violence cannot defeat violence. Hate cannot defeat hate. Fear cannot defeat fear. God must achieve victory through defeat, glory through shame, strength through weakness, leadership through servanthood, and life through death.”

This is upside down and backwards.

A few days later, Jesus goes up the mountain with Peter, James and John. And right before their eyes, the words Peter had spoken about Jesus are confirmed by God. Jesus is transformed in front of them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light.

Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Jesus.

Now Peter sees this as another opportunity to score some points by showing how well he can walk on his hands, how well he does in this upside-down world. He offers to build three tents so that Moses, and Elijah, and Jesus can stay in them. But God interrupts his words, saying,

“This is my Son whom I dearly love. I am very pleased with him. Listen to him!”

Peter, James and John, fall down from their upside down perches, and lay flat on the ground, until Jesus touches them, saying “get up, don’t be afraid.”

And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.

Peter, James and John had been raised to see Moses and Elijah as great heroes of their faith. Seeing Jesus as equal to them is a big deal. But God’s plans are bigger still. God affirms what Peter had glimpsed a week or so before. This is the Son of God. This is who you must listen to, whom you must follow. Jesus above Moses and Elijah. Jesus above all.

This is another upside down view of the world for observant Jews. It feels wrong, hard to balance, thinking of the law, of the prophets in this way. It’s easy to fall back into their usual habits. It’s hard to keep their eyes focused on Jesus and to stay balanced upside down in this paradoxical way.

It’s hard for us, too. We hear the words of Jesus, to love our enemies, to carry the load a second mile when are forced by our oppressor to carry it one mile. To forgive seventy times seven. It all feels upside down. We would rather play it safe. We would rather take care of ourselves and our own. We would rather walk right side up, the way we know how to walk, with confidence. We would rather not depend completely, surrender all of ourselves, to the living bread, to the cup of salvation. We would rather fill our own pantries and lock our doors to keep it for ourselves. We would rather not see the strangers around us as beloved children of God, our brothers and sisters, to whom God has made us accountable, to whom God calls us to serve and to see with God’s eyes, with eyes of love.

But Jesus calls us to live our lives upside down and backwards. This is the only way that we will be able to serve one another and love one another as Christ loves us. And this is the only way that others will ever see how Jesus has changed our lives – if all our behaviors, all our actions, reflect this strange new balance to which we have been called.

This story was shared on Facebook this past week:

"I saw the most incredible display of humanity on the train. A six foot five man, who appeared to be suffering from drug abuse and/or mental health issues, was being very aggressive on the train, with erratic movements, cursing, shouting, etc. While everyone around him was scared, this one seventy-something-year-old woman reached out her hand to his, and tightly gripped his hand until he calmed down, and sat down silently, with eventual tears in his eyes.

When I spoke to the woman after this incident, she simply said, "I'm a mother, and he needed someone to touch." And she started to cry.

This woman went upside down and backwards in her simple act of love. To anyone else, it looked like a totally unnatural act. But it wasn’t a hard thing to do; it was only a hard thing to decide to do. When we decide to do this sort of thing, it is God who provides the balance for us.

Focusing today on a Souper Bowl of Caring over The Super Bowl, giving to those in need above and beyond what we spend on chips and dip and beverages and parties, is an act of rebalancing our priorities.

But we won’t always get it right. And we won’t stay in balance all the time.

And so, our entire lives as followers of Christ are spent learning how to walk this way, how to live this way. Peter moved in and out of this balancing act, all through his life. The apostle Paul took years to change his point of balance, and then practiced it relentlessly for the rest of his life.

The grace and mercy of God allows us to fall, over and over again, and to get back up and try once more. We are forgiven every time we lose our balance. God stands ready to steady us.

Christ who will not break the bruised reed, who will not extinguish the faint candle light, and who will bring justice in an upside down way, will walk with us, upside down and backwards, showing us how it’s done, encouraging us, nourishing us so that we can nourish others, so that we can show them what walking with Jesus really, truly, looks like.

Upside down and backwards.

The Catalyst for Miracles

John 2:1-12

^2:1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. ² Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. ³ When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” ⁴ And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” ⁵ His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” ⁶ Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. ⁷ Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. ⁸ He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.” So they took it. ⁹ When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom ¹⁰ and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.” ¹¹ Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

¹²

 After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples; and they remained there a few days.







Mark 1:21-28  

²¹ They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. ²² They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. ²³ Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, ²⁴ and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” ²⁵ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” ²⁶ And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. ²⁷ They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” ²⁸

 At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee. 

=====================================================

It seems like there were so many miracles back then.

Back when Jesus was here on earth with us.

       God incarnate.

It seems like miracles were popping up all over the place, back then, doesn’t it?

The gospels provide us with one story after another.

People being healed from lifelong,

       crippling diseases and conditions.

Thousands being fed with barely enough food

       for one family.

Storms being calmed.

Walking on water with Jesus.

The list goes on and on and on.

Our readings for this week offer two miracle stories.

The first is from the gospel of John.

A stated purpose of John’s gospel

       was to tell us about the signs and wonders

pointing to Jesus as the Son of God.

And in John’s gospel, the wedding in Cana is the site of Jesus’ first miracle.

The party is out of wine.

Jesus’ mother seeks to provide the kind of radical hospitality that she believes Jesus can give.

Even though he reminds her, adult to adult, not child to parent, that his time has not yet come, still she says to the servants, “do whatever he tells you”.

And so he steps in to provide a gift to the bride and groom, and to those at the wedding feast.

From what we read,

       it seems that nobody knows what happened

except Mary, the disciples, and the servants.

Not even the wine steward realizes

       what has caused this wine – the best wine of the night –

       to suddenly materialize.

The miracle story from Mark’s gospel

       is the first miracle in this gospel –

       in fact, it comes in the very first chapter.

The miracle is one of healing, of exorcism.

Nobody asks Jesus to do it, or tells someone to “do whatever he tells you”; he chooses to do so himself.

He encounters a man who is possessed by an unclean spirit. Perhaps it is a spirit of evil.

Perhaps it is what we know today as a mental illness.

It keeps the man from being able

       to control his emotions in public.

Rather than Jesus taking on the man,

       or putting him in his place,

denouncing him or punishing him

       for the things he says,

       Jesus heals him.

The man is freed.

And the people who see it

       recognize that a miracle has occurred,

       and they are amazed.

What do these two miracles have in common?

What do they begin to tell us about miracles in general?

I would suggest that the common thread

       between the miracles in these two stories is love;

love that goes above and beyond

       what seems at all rational for each situation.

Jesus adding wine to continue the party

       is an act of loving kindness.

It is initiated out of Mary’s desire

       that the wedding feast not end too soon.

It is initiated by Mary’s request, and it is fulfilled by Jesus.

It is an act of hospitality, of abundance.

In its abundance, in its generosity,

       and in its total lack of logical explanation,

       it is very similar to the miracle

       of five loaves and two fishes feeding the five thousand.

Jesus healing the man in the synagogue

       is an act of love as well.

It sets the stage for Jesus’ response

       whenever he encounters someone in need.

He sees them, and he loves them,

       and he heals them or helps them.

Whether they ask for it or not;

       whether they show gratitude and praise or not.

His love saves people, all throughout the gospels.

Why don’t miracles like that happen anymore?

Can we still count on miracles?

What keeps them from happening like they did back then?

I believe miracles are still happening, all around us.

I think of Jimmy Carter,

       whose love is expressed through Habitat for Humanity,    providing home for millions;

whose work through the Carter Center

       has eliminated river blindness

              in Colombia, Ecuador, and Mexico,

              and is working toward its eradication

              in Brazil, Ethiopia, Guatemala,

              Nigeria, Sudan, Uganda, and Venezuela;

and is on the verge of extinguishing guinea worm disease,

       having reduced cases

from an estimated 3.5 million in 1986 to 22 in 2015;

whose peacemaking work has moved mountains,

       large and small, in numerous situations;

who in all of this work is motivated, no question, by love, love that comes to him from Christ and flows out from him to the world.

Were these miracles,

       for those who suffered from these diseases,

       for those for whom risk and suffering

       has been diminished? I think so.

I think of Dietrich Bonhoeffer,

       whose love for God and God’s people,

       captured so passionately

       in his letters and writings from prison

       during World War 2,

have helped us to understand God’s love

       in the midst of great evil,

       even when he had no idea

that we would ever benefit from his writings.

I think of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr,

       whose love for his country and its people

caused him to step out in faith and courage,

to change our course in the direction of a miracle,

the miracle of unity,

even though the road is still bumpy and we often go astray.

I think of organizations like Heart 2 Hart Detroit,

and Eimer Family Ministries, and Hope Center,

and Love Wins Ministries,

who bring hope and help and love

to those experiencing homelessness,

in Detroit and Macomb County and elsewhere.

I think of the ways we set the stage for miracles in the lives of others,

       through the food we deliver,

       the meals we serve,

       the blood we help gather –

all without knowing the ultimate impact,

       but with faith that God will work for good

       in the midst of all things.

I think about the friends and family

       that surround those in need

       to help them through hard times,

because they know where love is needed.

And so their hearts expand

       to increase the love they can share.

These are miracles, and the starting points for miracles. They happen every day.

And they only are able to happen

       when love enters into the midst of a bad situation.

Love is the catalyst for miracles.

Without love, a miracle will not occur.

Love makes miracles possible.

Miracles are not possible without love being

       part of what makes them happen.

Think about it.

It is God who works miracles.

God is love.

So it is love that works miracles.

Love was the catalyst for all Jesus’ miracles.

Go back through the gospels

       and try to find one miracle

       that did not have love at its foundation.

Without love, miracles are impossible

With love, miracles are entirely possible.

For us to receive miracles,

       we must live our lives as an expression of Christ's love.

For Christ to create miracles through us,

       we must love, even and especially in the midst of

the most unlovable circumstances.

Always.

Without that there will be no miracles.

The miracle of the creation began in love.

The miracle of the Exodus began in love.

The miracle of our salvation in Jesus Christ began in love.

The miracle of the cross is the ultimate expression of love. Christ loved us enough to redeem us, once and for all,

       by giving himself completely for our sake, for our sins.

This, the ultimate miracle, has already happened to us all.

       It was begun by love.

God so loved the world

       that the miracle of Jesus Christ came to be,

       came to earth. 

God incarnate.

Love incarnate.

Love made flesh.

God made flesh.

We hope and pray for miracles;

       but are we ready and willing to initiate a miracle?

To be the catalyst for a miracle?

Are we ready and willing to love?

Because love is what causes miracles to happen.

Love is the starting point. Always.

Love is the catalyst. Every time.

Without it, no miracle ever burst into flame.

Jesus call those who know His grace and forgiveness

       to not just love those who are lovable,

       but to love our enemies.

To be the catalyst for miracles in their lives.

Dr. King said it this way in his sermon,

“Love Your Enemies”:

       “Now there is a final reason

       I think that Jesus says, "Love your enemies."

It is this: that love has within it a redemptive power.

And there is a power there

       that eventually transforms individuals.

Just keep being friendly to that person.

Just keep loving them, and they can’t stand it too long.

Oh, they react in many ways in the beginning.

They react with guilt feelings,

       and sometimes they’ll hate you a little more

at that transition period, but just keep loving them.

And by the power of your love

       they will break down under the load.

That’s love, you see.

It is redemptive, and this is why Jesus says love.

There’s something about love that builds up and is creative.

There is something about hate that tears down

       and is destructive.

So love your enemies."

Love is powerful. More powerful than any other force on earth.

Love is the catalyst for miracles.

Today this congregation is ordaining and installing leaders for the coming years. We will ask them if they will serve with energy, intelligence, imagination and love.

Because love is the catalyst for miracles.

In the coming weeks and months

       this congregation will consider its future path

of mission and service to the living God.

There is much still to be defined, much that is uncertain.

But of this I am sure:

       whatever path New Life Presbyterian Church chooses,

it will have love, the love of God’s people, at the heart of it.

Because the world is in need of miracles,

       today as much as in any point in history,

since the beginning of time.

And for a miracle to happen,

       the necessary and essential catalyst is love.