The Way in Relationship with Sinners, Outcasts and the Poor

Mark 14:3-9

March 13, 2016

Mark S. Bollwinkel

The story of the anointing of Jesus at Bethany in the gospel of Mark, which has variations in the other three gospels teaches us about Jesus' approach to the subject of "sinners, outcasts and the poor" (Matthew 26:6-13, Luke 7:36-50 [although place name is not identified], John 12:1-8).

Remember to his disciples Jesus says "I am the way, the truth and the life..." (John 14:6)  Over and over again he invites them to follow his "way", the word in the original meaning "path", "road", and “journey".  In fact one of the first names for the early Christians was "children" or "followers" of "The Way" (Acts 9:2, 19:9, 24:22).

This Lenten season we have been studying what it means to be followers of The Way of Jesus.  

So far we've learned that The Way begins in the desert as Jesus is tempted and tested by the devil.  We learn that The Way of Jesus is to face evil head on and call it out for what it is.  

Jesus then moves to Capernaum where he calls disciples, lives in the home of Simon Peter the fisherman and begins three years of ministry.  We learn from miracle after miracle that The Way of Jesus is healing; physical, emotional, spiritual healing.

In the Mountains, Jesus would retreat to pray and meditate.  He would also gather crowds of people to whom he would teach about the Kingdom of God; the reign of love, peace and justice in the world and in our hearts.  In the Mountains, he would invite any who would listen on The Way.   The Way of Jesus is Kingdom living.

Last week we were reminded us that The Way of Jesus includes finding those quiet places of renewal where we can recharge our physical and spiritual batteries.  Jesus was asleep in the back of the boat when he and the disciples were crossing the Sea of Galilee running into a huge storm.  He offered them and the waves "peace"; something he offer us today as well.  The Way of Jesus is the gift of peace in the midst of the storms of life.

Today we consider the anointing of Jesus at Bethany.  Bethany was a small village in the mountains a few miles east of Jerusalem.  In the gospel of John it is the home of one of Jesus' best friends, Lazarus and his two sisters Martha and Mary.  Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, which we will celebrate next week, began in Bethany (Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:28-38). In Mark and Matthew's version of the story Bethany is also the home of Simon the Leper of whom history knows very little.

This is an extraordinary and surprising story with many of the same themes as the story of Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well (John 4).

A respected Hebrew rabbi would not sit down for a meal at the same table with a leper; remember that the ill were considered sick because of some sin that they or a previous family member had committed (John 9:1-f).  And a respected rabbi, or any pious male for that matter, would never allow himself to be touched by an unaccompanied woman in public let alone allow her to anoint his head with oil.  In Luke's version of the story (7:36-50), the woman is identified as "a sinner", which means a "moral outcast" often referred to in tradition as a “prostitute”.  She anoints his feet with the ointment, kisses his feet in front of a bunch of Pharisees and then dries Jesus' feet with her hair.  In John's version Mary does the same, except the kissing part!

For first century Palestine this is scandalous stuff.   The pious in these scenes are outraged.  Jesus in each version defends the woman's actions as more than appropriate.  This moral/social outcast can see in Jesus something that the pious cannot.  She weeps.  She is in the presence of the God who can redeem even the most broken life.  She lavishes Jesus with attention out of gratitude and praise for the God within him that seeks and saves the lost; even people like her.   And she is preparing Jesus for the journey to the cross.

The anointing by oil was the official consecrating of Israel's king in the Hebrew Scriptures (1 Sam 10:1, 2 Kings 9:6).  The term "Messiah" in the original language means "the anointed one".  Just before his last supper, the betrayal by Judas and his arrest and torture, Jesus is symbolically anointed Messiah by none other than an outcast woman to the shock and offense of the pious.  In Mark's version of the story immediately after this scene Judas goes to the Temple officials to arrange for Jesus’ arrest.

It has been said that one’s character is defined "by the company you keep".   Along with his disciples, Jesus associated with all sorts of folk his religion would consider "unclean/profane"; the demon possessed, lepers, rich tax collectors, prostitutes, Samaritans, the poor, gentiles and even a Roman centurion, a leader in the military occupation forces of his country (Matthew 8:5-13, Luke 7:1-10).  In fact the religious law at the time would require that one be ritually cleansed in the Temple if one had come in contact with such people.

Who would we not welcome at our dinner table?

The heart of Jesus is reaching out to the outcast, sinners and the poor inviting them into relationship to God not in pity but empowering them into the fullness of life in the community of love and service.

Our commitment to the I-Help programs for the revolving men and women’s shelter here at Church of the Wayfarer is the opportunity for us who live privileged lives to be in relationship with those who are struggling.  I-Help isn't just about food for hungry people and a safe, dry place for people to sleep who spend most nights in their cars or on the street.  Providing such is a good and necessary thing.  I-Help is also about building relationships and expanding our world beyond normal expectations.

Are we intentionally building relationships with the kind of people with whom Jesus associated?  Are we connecting with people outside the church...our beliefs, our traditions? With atheists, agnostics, "spiritual not religious" folk? Do we allow others to see the love of God shining through us? (Adam Hamilton, The Way of Jesus, Abingdon, pp.121-122)

He is not referring to some kind of "converting" technique.  It is not about "those people" becoming "people like us".  Do we share the spiritual passion and commitments we have with others?  Not in a false sense of superiority.  Because that is also Jesus' point in welcoming the woman's anointing.   Those outside of our circles may be getting the point we are missing.

Much has been made about Jesus' words, "...and the poor you shall always have with you..."   Those promoting free market capitalism have long heard a justification in those words of Jesus for the inherent inequality of income distribution in that economic system.  But The Lord wasn't making a social economic point.  He was trying to tell the pious and his own disciples that while a moral outcast, a sinner, could see the divinity within his life and celebrate the potential of it within her own, they could not!  While they were busy arguing doctrine and policy she was celebrating the Messiah in their midst.

Monterey County estimates that on any given night there are 2,308 homeless on our streets, an 11% decline in previous surveys (Monterey Herald 07/18/2015); most in Salinas, approximately 300-400 in Monterey, a handful in Carmel.  Along with collecting donations of clean socks for the homeless ministry of First UMC Salinas each first Sunday of the month, we are now collecting donations of non-perishable food items each week for the food pantry at All Saints Episcopal Church, Carmel, just down the street.  They daily offer donations of food to those in need and we are told that half of the recipients are residents of Carmel.  That reality may not conform to our expectations for our privileged community but indeed some of our neighbors are struggling to make ends meet.

For those of us who follow The Way of Jesus, participating in the promised future of God…where everyone will have enough, where everyone will live in peace, where everyone will know dignity and freedom…as important as it is to offer charity to the poor it is as important that we learn why they are poor in the first place.  And that happens as we grow in relationship to the lost, outcast and poor.

That's why we build houses with Habitat for Humanity in Santa Cruz, San Jose and Oakland.  It is why we serve dinner and breakfast with I-Help.  It is why we donate socks and cans of food.   Not just to pass out charity.   Those outside of our circles may be getting a point we are missing.  They may have something to teach us...like an outcast woman anointing the Messiah when the pious are about to plot his death.

Thirteen years ago, 17 members of the California-Nevada Conference of the United Methodist Church travelled to be in relationship with our brothers and sisters in the West Angola Conference of the UMC in West Africa.  Bonnie and I were included on the team.  We were the first United Methodist Volunteer in Mission team into Angola following the end of their 27 year civil war.  Bonnie and I had previously lived in India, Mexico, Kenya and Northern Borneo, yet we had never seen the level of poverty and squalor in any of those countries as we did during that trip to Angola after their civil war.

During our more than two weeks there, along with providing a medial assessment team, we split up our group each Sunday to visit and worship with churches in the West Angola Conference.  Bonnie and I were assigned to attend St. Paul’s UMC in a ghetto section of Luanda, the capital of Angola; a city with a infrastructure built for 500,000 people with a population 6 million fleeing the violence of the civil war.  When the taxi delivered us as close to the church as we could get, we walked about a half mile through dirt streets with open ditches of human sewage, houses made of mud and wooden board, tin roofs.  We arrived at St. Paul’s, a large building with benches for about 100 people with at least four times as many there eager to worship.  They stood outside by the windows to hear the words of the music and the prayers.

I was asked to preach and did so through an interpreter.  Before the service of Holy Communion began, three lay leaders came up to the altar to pray for us.  During our time in Angola the United States was invading Iraq.  After coming out of their own period of war, these good people knew what was in store for our nation and its families.   They prayed for us, for our people, for our nation and its leaders that we would find our way to peace.

Impoverished beyond any expectation, these good people prayed for us, citizens of one of the richest nations of the world, as our country embarked on yet another international conflict.  I will never forget the moment.  You see, we too have something to learn from the marginalized and poor if we will listen.

Roman Catholic Pope Francis, the former Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina is the first Pontiff from the Americas and the first Jesuit Pope.  He is described as a humble man with a passion for social justice and a practitioner of "the preferential option for the poor".   This is very exciting and encouraging for the entire Christian community.  We love a Pope who the day after his election paid his own hotel bill and then took a bus to the Vatican!  Would that all who follow The Way of Jesus find humility, a passion for justice and understand God's heart for those who suffer poverty and rejection.

Because.

The Way of Jesus is to seek and save the lost, "recognizing our own "lost-ness" in the process" (Hamilton).

Amen.

The Way: Peace in the Midst of the Storm

 Matthew 14:22-33

March 6, 2016

Mark S. Bollwinkel

            The gospel writer Matthew takes this original story of “Jesus calming the storm” from the gospel of Mark and adds a few twists.  In Matthew, Jesus isn’t asleep in the boat, rather we walks on the water out to the ship.  Matthew adds a profound and marvelous dialogue between the disciples and their Lord.

            Matthew is writing to a church in the beginning of persecution by the Roman authorities.  He is writing to Jewish converts who face the scorn of their families for their new faith and excommunication from the synagogue.  Matthew writes to people who expected the world to end in their life times and must now adjust their faith to await the glory promised by Jesus.

            The storms in life were very real for the believers in Matthew’s church.

            The boat, a metaphor for the church, is in trouble without Jesus.  It is a night of fear and helplessness.  It is the fourth watch, about 3 hours before dawn, the darkest time of night.

            […maybe some of us have been there before, too?…]

            Terrified by the storm and what they initially perceive as a ghost, the disciples cry out.  To which Jesus replies, “Take heart, it is I: Do not be afraid.”

             “Do not be afraid?!”

            In the Bible God is always telling us not to be afraid. 

When the angel interrupts the Mary’s sleep to tell the 13 year old unwed girl that she is about to give birth to the Son of God, Gabriel says, “Do not be afraid!”  (Luke 1:30, also note 2:10, 5:10, 8:50)

            God will call Abraham to leave his home to settle in a strange land.   God will command Abraham to circumcise himself and all of the males in his household.  God will rain sulfur and fire down upon Sodom and Gomorrah.  God will call Abraham to sacrifice his own son Isaac on a stone altar.  And God will say to Abraham, “Do not be afraid!” (Genesis 15:1, also note, 12:1-f, 17:1-f, 19:24, 22:1-f)

            God will commission the prophet Daniel to confront the most powerful King in the world resulting in Daniel being cast into fiery furnaces and lion’s dens, and God will tell him, “Do not be afraid!” (Daniel 10:12)

            The apostle Paul will be jailed, tortured, nearly beaten to death three times, ship wrecked and finally martyred and God says to him, “Do not fear!” (Acts 18:9, also note, 27:24)

            One would suppose that God is trying to comfort those called into service but who is God trying to kid?  God doesn’t guarantee a blissful existence even to the most faithful!

            How can we not have fear?

             How can we not have fear in a world where the media tries to convince us of impending doom?

            How can we not be afraid when each must face cancer, heart disease, stroke or HIV-AIDS?  Illness doesn’t just happen to the other person, but to those we love and to us.

            The storms of life are real.

            There are plenty of things which warrant our anxiety.  Fear can overwhelm even the strongest people.

            In the comic strip, “Frank and Ernest”, Frank says to his partner while reclining on a park bench, “I didn't go to college.  I figure a broader education would have just helped me discover more things to worry about.”

            Jesus’ comforting words, “…take heart…do not be afraid…” are wonderful.  But let’s be honest, aren’t we a bit skeptical hearing them, knowing full well how pervasive fear is in our lives?

             Peter is skeptical.

            He replies to Jesus’ assurance with the phrase, “If it is you…”

            Now who else would it be?  Who else could walk on water, in a storm, in the dark of night, proclaiming, “Have no fear!”?

            Here Peter is representing our own faith.  We want to believe, but we need some encouragement to get out of the boat.

            Peter is our hero, after all.  Throughout the gospels, he plays our struggle between fear and faith in dramatic fashion.

            Peter drops his nets to follow Jesus (Matthew 4:18-22).

            Peter is the first to publicly proclaim that Jesus is the Christ (Luke 9:18-22).

            Peter is the first disciple to rush to the tomb and see it empty on Easter morning (John 20:6).

            And…Peter is also the one who rebukes Jesus for suggesting that his Messiahship must come at the expense of his death (Mark 8:32-33).

            Peter is the one who will betray our Lord three times before the cock crows (Mark 14:66-72).

            Peter is the one who runs away from Golgotha, rather than face the reality of the cross (John 19:17-30).

            It had to be Peter who would question “if” it were the Lord.  It had to be Peter who upon receiving his call, steps out of the boat and walks on water himself.

            Isn’t Peter’s struggle our own?

            Many commentators interpret Matthew’s scene here as an example of the failure of faith; Peter glances away from Jesus and concentrates on the wind, thus sinking.

            But at least Peter tries.  At least one disciple was willing to leave the boat, respond to the Lord’s call and try to walk on water.

            Paul Tournier writes in his book, Reflections: A Personal Guide for Life’s Most Crucial Questions:

“The fear of not succeeding is, for many people, the biggest obstacle in their way.  It holds them back from trying anything at all.  And for lack of trying, they never give themselves a chance of succeeding, the very thing that would cure them of their doubts.  It is not, after all, such a terrible thing not to succeed straight away in some new undertaking.  What is serious is to give up, to become stuck in a life that gets emptier.”

            At least Peter lives with passion, even in his failures.  On the night of Jesus’ arrest, it is Peter who pulls a sword to defend his Lord only to accomplish nothing (John 18:10-11).  In spite of his blunders and his own terror, Peter did not give in to the reality of fear.

            How many of us live lives, adhering to the words of Charlie Brown in the Peanuts comic strip, “I’ve developed a new philosophy…I only dread one day at a time.”

            At least Peter is honest about his fear, crying out as he sinks, and “Lord, save me!”

            There come many instances in a life time for appropriate desperation.  The death of a loved one.  Marital separation or divorce.  Losing a job.  Watching your children grow isolated from, and intolerant of, your love.  The list can be long.

            Yet how few of us are willing to honestly face the fear and call out for help.  I find no fault in anyone who crises, “Lord, save me”.   But I can see disaster guaranteed for those who refuse to ask for help.

            If we were to look at the life of Abraham Lincoln prior to 1860, when he was elected President, we would probably label him a failure.  He was defeated twice for Congress, twice for Senate and he twice failed in business.  After the death of his sweetheart in 1835, he suffered what we would have called “a nervous breakdown”.  He struggled with depression most of his life.  Yet in the few short years he served as President, he became one of our greatest leaders.

            During the Civil War, Lincoln was asked by a friend how he could personally withstand the strain of his responsibilities, to which Lincoln replied, “I have often been driven to my knees in prayer, because there has been no place else to go”.

             Jesus doesn’t condemn Peter for his failure of faith but merely asks, “Why did you doubt?”  We can’t condemn Peter either.  I am convinced that such was Matthew’s intention in teaching his church…and us…how to live with fear by faith.

             We may be people of little faith.  Some clinging to the boat.  Others willing to venture out.  But all of us come to those testing experiences which at worst can break us and at least most certainly move us to our knees.

            It’s convenient to criticize Peter as a failure of faith from the comfort of the boat, but at least Peter had the faith to try, to live with passion and to honestly ask for help.

            That is how we can face fear and not be defeated.

            After the winds ceased and Jesus is on board, the disciples corporately confess, “Truly, you are the Son of God.”

            We are not alone in our struggle with faith and fear.  There is strength and hope to be found in the boat, in the community of believers, which is willing to travel with this Jesus.

            That is Matthew’s lesson to us on how to endure.

            Jesus says to his disciples, “I am the way, the truth and the life”.   This Lenten Season as we consider what it means to be “children of the way” we are not offered an insurance policy which would guarantee protection from the storms.  In fact, faith offers us no escape.  Rather, faith empowers us to face fear, to muster the courage to risk; and even in failure, faith never leaves us alone but keeps us in a community of fellow travelers.

             In the Gardner Museum in Boston hangs Rembrandt’s painting of “The Storm on the Sea of Galilee”.  The artist recreates the scene so powerfully that a viewer can sense the danger and panic of those who are on board.  The small boat is being lifted in the crest of a giant wave.  Sail and lines are torn loose from the riggings.  Five disciples are struggling to reef the sail while they hold on desperately to the mast.   The rest are in the stern of the boat, clustered around Jesus.  Some frightened almost to death.  One miserably seasick, hanging over the side.  It is apparent from the calm expression of the face of Christ that this is the moment when he says, “Do not be afraid!”

            There are 14 figures in the painting.  The twelve disciples.  Jesus.  And a stranger.  It is Rembrandt himself.  There he stands, clutching one of the stays, holding his head in terror.  There is where the artist saw himself and painted himself into the scene.

            It is there that many of us find ourselves.

            If so, don’t forget to turn your eyes upon Jesus.  Although the storms will rage, you’ll never go under.

                        Amen.

The Way of the Kingdom

Matthew 5:1-2a, 7:24-29

February 28, 2016

Mark S. Bollwinkel

If one of your New Year's resolutions was to read the entire Bible, from beginning to end, and you've already given up, don't be discouraged or ashamed.  You are not alone!

We get into Genesis with great enthusiasm.  Lots of great stories.  Dramatic history.  Some of it R rated!   Parts of Exodus the same.  We are cruising along.  By now it’s almost March then comes Leviticus and Numbers and we are bored to death.  Boring!  The fervor with which we began the goal to read the Bible front-to-back fads away. It is a great goal, don't get me wrong.  There is a lot to learn with the boring parts, for sure.  But to read in detail the dimensions in cubits of the linen curtains surrounding the tabernacle between how many bronze pillars in cubits tall held up with how many silver bands (Exodus 38:1-f)...boring!

Rather, when folk want to know where to start reading the Bible I always say Matthew, the gospel of Matthew, the first book of the New Testament.  In fact, I strongly suggest that if we are going to read any part of the Bible it should be the "Sermon on the Mount"; Matthew chapters 5, 6 and 7.  If you want to know what Jesus taught read the "Sermon on the Mount" Matthew 5-7.  In fact we should memorize the "Sermon on the Mount".  This is the essential teaching and truth of Jesus.  I go back to it so often that its pages are the first to get worn out, wrinkled and smudged.  

Like Moses on Mt. Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments and bringing the Torah to the people of Israel, Jesus on the Mount teaches the "new law" of the Kingdom of God.  He reinterprets the Torah in radical new ways and in so doing fulfills its truth for his time and people (Matthew 5:17):

‘You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, “You shall not murder”; and “whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.” But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment...‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall not commit adultery.” But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matthew 5:21-28)

Jesus begins the "Sermon on the Mount" with the benediction, with the blessing usually reserved for the end of a sermon:

‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. ‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth...‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3-10)

Remember that when Jesus comes out of the desert after his forty days and nights of temptations and trials, he preaches this message:

"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news" (Mark 1:15)

"The time" he is talking about is the day that The Lord had long promised through his prophets when God's love, peace and justice would reign over the human heart (Jeremiah 31:31-34). That's what "Kingdom of God" means.  It is not just about the future, which it is.   It is also about the present.  The Kingdom of God is the spirit of God's future that we can live in the now.  The Sermon on the Mount describes what such living would look like:

"...turn the other cheek..." (Matthew 5:39)

"...love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you..." (Matthew 5:44)

"...don't practice your piety before others to impress them, that's empty religion..." (Matthew 6:1-8, 16-18)

"...pray like this, Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be thy name..." (Matthew 6:9-f)

"...You cannot serve God and money...so don't worry about what you will eat or what you will wear...don't worry about tomorrow, tomorrow has enough worries of its own...but seek first for the Kingdom of God and all will be given to you..." (Matthew 6:24-34)

Our scripture this morning includes the first and last words of the Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus concludes with the admonition that if we hear these words and act on them it will be like building our house upon the rock, a sure and sound foundation for living.   We are supposed to live in the Kingdom not just visit it on Sundays.  St. Francis of Assisi, "Preach the gospel at all times and when necessary, use words."

The Sermon on the Mount describes the highest ideals of our faith, in fact it calls us to a "perfection" that can never be reached in this lifetime but the measure of who God is calling us to be (Matthew 5:48).   The forgiveness offered to us in the death and resurrection of Jesus frees us from our failures, yet his teachings urge us to lives of commitment and compassion: "And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good."  (John Steinbeck)

To his disciples Jesus says "I am the way, the truth and the life..." (John 14:6)  Over and over again he invites them to follow his "way", the word in the original meaning "path", "road", "journey".  In fact one of the first names for the early Christians was "children" or "followers" of "The Way" (Acts 9:2, 19:9, 24:22).

What does it mean to follow Jesus' Way?  How does one do so?   Why would it matter here in the 21st century? 

The Way begins in the desert as Jesus is tempted and tested by the devil.  We learn that the Way of Jesus is to face evil head on and call it out for what it is.  

Jesus then moves to Capernaum where he calls disciples, lives in the home of Simon Peter the fisherman and begins three years of ministry.  We learn from miracle after miracle that the Way of Jesus is healing; physical, emotional, spiritual healing.

Throughout the three years of his ministry Jesus will retreat into the mountains.   Jesus loved the mountains as a place to walk, be in solitude and pray.  It was often there that he would teach about the Kingdom of God.  While praying on the Mount of Transfiguration, the spirits of Moses and Elijah appear in conversation with Jesus to the amazement of Peter, James and John (Mark 9:2-f)  On the night of his arrest and betrayal he would go off to the Mount of Olives to pray (Mark 14:26-f).    We do not know the exact place where Jesus preached the "Sermon on the Mount" but some suggest Mount Arbel, which overlooks the Sea of Galilee and a beautiful Roman Catholic basilica has been built there to mark the possibility.

Take some time this week to find a place of solitude, to be quiet and pray.  One doesn't have to fill the "spiritual airways" with pious words or urgent pleas.  Sometimes the most profound prayer is to listen...listen to your heart, listen to what God may be speaking to you.  Jesus did this in the Mountains where he would invite any who would listen on The Way.  

The Way of Jesus is Kingdom living.

The historians of the day recorded that great crowds would come out to hear Jesus' teaching, so much so that the authorities were concerned that his popularity could lead to an insurrection.  Living in and by the Kingdom of God is subversive to the established order of power and greed to be sure.  That is still true today.  Yet Jesus rejected a political solution to the human dilemma and insisted that the revolution began in the heart.

He taught with "authority".  In the original language the word for "authority" (exousia) is also translated "power" as in "spiritual force or energy".  Jesus teaching with "authority" doesn't refer to a title or credential conferred by some institutional office, such as "Rev." or "Dr." or "Ft." In fact the credentialing institutions of his day will be the ones' to reject Jesus and organize his death!  

Although a Detroit Tigers baseball fan, Kitty Madden is a dear friend.  Bonnie and I met her through a mutual acquaintance years ago.   Kitty has worked for over 15 years as a North American liaison for Casa Materna in Matagalpa, Nicaragua, a maternal and child health non-profit organization dedicated to impoverished women facing difficult pregnancies in one of the most remote areas of that Central American country.  Women from rural, mountain villages find their way to the Casa often walking miles, taking rides on buses or hitching rides on the back of trucks.   There they are offered medical assistance, healthy food, clean beds and daily classes on parenting skills and health practices such as birth control.  After the birth of their children, Casa social workers and nurses do follow up exams and classes in the villages of the women.   Casa Materna has become a model for local, rural maternal health.  The government of Nicaragua has replicated Casas all over the country.  As a result infant and maternal death rates have been significantly cut in the last 15 years.

Casa Materna is administered and staffed by Nicaraguans for Nicaraguans.   Kitty Madden has worked with them as their North American liaison since the beginning…for free.    Originally a social worker in Michigan, following a divorce, Kitty became a Maryknoll nun, a Roman Catholic Order known for its work in and with the poor.   The Maryknolls work throughout Central America.  During the civil wars in Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador in the 1980’s, Maryknoll sisters provided essential health and education services while advocating for peace and justice.

Although she is no longer an official member of the Order, Kitty Madden is a Kingdom person.  Using her gifts and graces she supports women and infant health programs in Central America and is a part of saving the lives of thousands of babies and improving the future for thousands of mothers.  She’d be the last person to claim any sense of spiritual superiority or special gifts that entitles her to boast.   Rather her only credential for service is her compassion and humility. She lives the Way of Jesus.

Now you don’t have to go to places like Nicaragua or work in poverty to be a Kingdom person.  WE all have gifts, talents and compassion to share.   Like pledging allegiance to the flag of our nation, those who follow the Way of Jesus pledge their allegiance to God’s Kingdom as well, God’s reign of love, peace and justice in the human heart.  We apply the Sermon on the Mount to the way we live each day.   We can do that anywhere and in many, many different ways.

Everyday people can see and hear God's spirit and promise in his words.  Most of us know truth when we see it, when we hear it.  Most of us can tell the difference between what is real and what is phony.   The people in the mountains could see and hear God in Jesus while the officials of the synagogue and Temple could not.

Can we? 

The answer to that question could be the difference between building our house on rock or on sand!

Amen.