Can anything good come out of Nazareth?
In a world with the president of the United States disparaging
other nations by calling them SH@THOLES, this particular Bible verse gains
profound and ironic meaning …
Fr James Martin, an American theologian writes in response
to President Trump:
"Why
are we having all these people from sh#*hole countries come here?"1.) They are our brothers and sisters in need.
2.) They are often fleeing war, violence or famine.
3.) There are children among them.
4.) The Old Testament asks us to care for the "alien."
5.) Jesus asks us to welcome the "stranger."
6.) Jesus asks us to love one another.
7.) We will be judged on how we care for the stranger.
8.) They come bringing hope.
9.) It's the right thing to do.
10.) That's who we are.
One more reason: Jesus himself was from a "sh#*hole" place. Nazareth was a minuscule town of 200 to 400 people, where people lived in small stone houses, and, say archaeologists, garbage (that is, s#*t) was dumped in the alleyways. "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" says Nathanael when he hears where the Messiah is from.
God, in other words, came from a "sh#*hole" place. And he pointedly asked us to welcome him whenever he appeared as a "stranger," or as one of our "least" brothers and sisters. That's why we have all these people come. Because Jesus came.
And so, as people of faith, we MUST ask the modern equivalent
to the question – What good can come from Nazareth ? – why are we having people
from these sh@#hole countries comes here?, AND we must have the courage to
FAITHFULLY face the answer even when it necessitates and demands of us that we
stand against the powers and principalities of this world and offer a vision
different from theirs.
What good can come out of Nazareth? is a question that also
resonates with the calendar when we consider that our southern neighbour is
heading into Martin Luther King Day on Monday, and the blatant racist offensiveness
of Trump’s reputed comment deepens in the face of that national day of
observance that remembers and opposes that very kind of racism … a day that commemorates
one who lost his life in the quest for equality and justice in the face of
racism and hatred …
So, as people of faith, we ask - what good can come out of
Nazareth in the face of fear … bigotry … hatred and what pulls us away from
living justly and with righteousness?
Our reading from John, in addition to asking the tough
question what good can come from Nazareth? Also challenges us to see the
humanity of those who followed Jesus, and the humanity of Jesus himself as
Jesus offers the invitation: follow me.
From a scholarly point of view, in our reading from John
this morning, we are clearly stumbling into a cliché like a Newfie joke
directed towards the Galilean provinciality of Jesus and those who follow him …
it is kind of like saying “that’s so Grey county …”
But from the country hick overtones we immediately move to
something bigger – something far greater – responding to the call Jesus offers and
embodies …
Call is fundamental to our Church. As a minister I do not
have a contract, but a call. Starting out in ministry there is a discernment
process that is to affirm our call to ministry. We toss the word around quite a
lot – our readings today ALL speak of call in some capacity … Call is central
to who we are and how we understand our faith … yet, I wonder how often we
really reflect on the idea or concept of call …
This week, I’ve been reading a book on mission mapping –
essentially, it is the concept of understanding our community and our world –
what lies around us, and our place and CALL within it – how we live and move
and share our ministry in community. Mission mapping is about living out our
call, and so our reading of Samuel’s call from God and that crucial response: “Speak
Lord, your servant is listening” highlights the first step in the process of mission
map making … being open to where and what God wants of us …
The next step, is comprehending and understanding the
context in which we live and move and have our ministry … for young Samuel it
was a world in transition. A world filled with uncertainty and insecurity. A
world awash in fear and anger and trepidation … for the disciples, it was a
world under military occupation, a world that knew conflict and violence, a
world that was awash in uncertainty, fear and many of the same things that fill
our media today …
So, the idea of call in today’s context speaks to how we
will engage the world, and how the world will view and engage us … for Samuel,
it was the role of prophet and priest – a powerful figure who chose and guided
kings, a figure who had control and prestige and authority … for the disciples,
it was the role of preacher and teacher – wandering itinerants who moved from
town to town healing, teaching, preaching and being present … and for the
modern era, in the face of leaders who speak hateful racist and sexist
language, and who have clearly shown a preference of the rich and powerful, we
are called to something more than quiet acquiescence. We are called to engage
the world and the needs we see and feel and experience in real and practical
ways.
And that is where – speak Lord, your servant is listening
gets prickly … not only is the historic figure of Jesus from one of those
sh#@hole countries that Trump disparages, but his life embodies EVERYTHING he
opposes … born to a mother who was too young and betrothed but not married …
the texts tell us he was born a refugee in a town that was not his home … then
the family fled into a foreign land fearing the ruler of the day and his
erratic and violent temperament … then as an adult Jesus was very much not of
the powered or moneyed class, but was poor and from a small almost
insignificant rural village in a backwater corner of Israel that was itself a troublesome
backwater province of the Roman Empire … we was the very definition of
EVERYTHING Trump rages against today …
And yet, as people of faith we are CALLED to follow …
Follow into what is today uncharted territory – the familiar
is fading, the comfortable is disappearing, and we are being CALLED to be the
Church to a divided and troubled world … we are being called to bring light into
the darkness and to care for those who truly come from the sh@#holes of the
world …
One of the commentaries for this week summarizes it well
when it observes: “in these texts we meet a God who calls children, who enters
into the dimly light places of our lives and speaks through the wisdom of the
aging. In these texts the newly baptised Jesus, … walks into our lives, invites
us to follow and heaven opens …” what follows is up to us …
So with two simple words – follow me, Philp changes the
direction of his life … he follows Jesus on the journey of ministry and all
that follows. With two simple words echoing in his being Philip answers his own
question: what good comes out of
Nazareth?
Healings … teachings … the revelations of the holy revealed
and embodied in Christ … a transformation of the world through this amazing
gift of love, peace, hope, joy, grace and faith …
If we take seriously our call to faith the ten tenets laid
out by Fr Martin are simply part of our journey as followers and disciples …
1.)
They are our brothers and sisters in need.2.) They are often fleeing war, violence or famine.
3.) There are children among them.
4.) The Old Testament asks us to care for the "alien."
5.) Jesus asks us to welcome the "stranger."
6.) Jesus asks us to love one another.
7.) We will be judged on how we care for the stranger.
8.) They come bringing hope.
9.) It's the right thing to do.
10.) That's who we are.
Our faith was born in a true sh@#hole … a borrowed stable
behind an inn … a baby born to a young mother and a refugee father … and they
were semitic – siblings to today’s Arabic nations … EVERYTHING about our
origins as a Church – as a people of faith – stands opposed to the drivel that
oozes out of Trump’s mouth …
if we dare to live our faithful calling we will find
ourselves challenged and stretched to BE present to the hurt in the world, and
to offer a safe refuge to those that are hurting, those who are lost, those who
are broken, those who are longing for home … instead of building walls and
division, we will open doors, and expand tables and dare to welcome in our
brothers and sisters with open arms, open hearts, and open minds …
Jesus came as one of the least of these our sisters and
brothers, and if we are to welcome him, we MUST dare to welcome them as well … In
the face of the likes of Trump, we need to hear instead the voice of the one
born in a sh@#hole who CALLS us saying:
(Matthew 25:31-46)
Come, we have the opportunity to inherit AND embody the
kingdom here and in the sh@#holes of the world … it is our CALLING, and our
response is to follow
… may it be so … thanks be to God, let us pray …
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