Spiritual Cleaning

My husband and I have been having our house painted. During the years we’ve been in this house, we’ve attended to numerous infrastructure needs: new roof, rebuilt chimney, mesh netting for the gutters, new water heater, but we haven’t done much with the interior. We did paint the bathrooms, the kitchen, and my study ourselves – in fact I was up there with the roller. However, now finally, for the rest of the main floor, since part of the job included a stairwell, we called in the professionals. The next step will be to put down fresh carpet in the living room and dining room, and possibly in the master bedroom and TV room. The living room, dining room, and master bedroom will also finally get fresh drapes – I have hated the drapes in the master bedroom the entire fifteen years we have been in this house. We will find some fresh artwork and rearrange some of the pieces we still really like.

In preparation for the painters, we had to rearrange the furniture and clean out a lot of places that we hadn’t looked at for a while. Jack and I each had a packrat parent, his father and my mother, and we’ve both tried hard, or so we thought, to not be packrats ourselves. Even so, we were surprised at all the stuff that accumulates in a house! Needless to say, some of that stuff is heading for the rummage sale pile, the recycling bin, and the trash can. Our goal in all this is to have a cleaner, brighter house that will be a truly welcoming space, for ourselves, that we might feel refreshed when we come home, and, what is more important, for our guests, that they might feel welcome and comfortable in our home.

Working on our house, seeing the fresher walls and the windows without the formerly ugly drapes, I couldn’t help thinking that perhaps we are something like my house. We’re not about to fall apart, the structure is basically sound, but we could do with some spiritual cleaning and refurbishing. In fact, today’s Gospel lesson invites us to re-examine ourselves and our surroundings, to see what things we need to throw out, and what needs to be refurbished and refreshed. We are now in the second half of Mark’s gospel. Jesus and crew are on the way to Jerusalem and the events that will happen there. In preparation for his eventually taking leave of his disciples, Jesus has been teaching them what they will need to know to carry on his work. Early on, he chose the twelve as the inner circle and sent them out on a preaching mission. Then when Peter declared that Jesus was the messiah, Jesus made the first of his predictions of his passion, in effect cluing Peter in to what kind of messiah he would be. He made a second prediction of his passion, but the disciples still didn’t get it. They still thought that Jesus was establishing a new political regime, in which one of them would be top dog. We heard Jesus’ response to that last week: as leaders they must be servants of all, and they are to serve the weakest, most vulnerable members of society.

In today’s reading, Jesus offers another lesson in how to create a true servant community. If the disciples are to truly minister to those on the margins, they must first clean up their own act. They must remove all those elements in their community that scandalize others. Although our translation talks about “stumbling,” “scandalize” really is the correct translation of the Greek. If the disciples truly want to minister to those to whom Jesus has ministered, if they truly want to welcome all, they must remove all those elements – or perhaps those people – that create barriers for others. And don’t be taken in here by Jesus’ metaphorical language. Throughout the gospels, Jesus often uses exaggerated language and imagery to drive home his point. We must not take this language literally: rest assured Jesus is not advising the disciples to jump into the sea with millstones around their necks – which would be impossible anyway – or to cut off their hands or feet, or tear out their eyes. He is not suggesting that they will end up on Jerusalem’s garbage heap, which is what the Greek word here implies. What Jesus is suggesting is that the disciples must seriously examine themselves and their behavior to ensure that they are not putting up obstacles for themselves or for others, and to ensure that their behavior does not lead them toward eternal separation from God.

Fast forward to Gallipolis in 2012. Does any of this make sense for us? In what ways might we be called to self-examination, to cleaning up our spiritual act? Let’s look first at ourselves as individuals. What in our own personal lives do we need to throw out? What aspects of our lives need to be refurbished, so that we may be better disciples of Jesus? For some of us, the answer to that question might be attending to our physical spaces – just as Jack and I doing with 1 Kent Drive. For example, do you need to create a place where you can read, study, or pray without constant distraction? Do you have a place where you can keep your Bible, a candle, or a spiritual journal close to hand? Is there some place you can sit in silence without electronic devices intruding? For others of us, the answer might be behaviors that get in the way of our spiritual life. What daily habits make it difficult for us to find even five minutes to converse with God, or even say a prayer or two? For yet others, the answer might lie in old beliefs that we need to shake off. For example, do you still believe in an angry, wrathful God, who needs to be placated by your good works? Do you believe that only formal prayer in elevated language is appropriate for conversing with God? How many of you know the Radio Free Babylon Coffee with Jesus cartoon strip? Many of my Facebook friends share it. In Thursday’s strip, Ann says to Jesus, “Thou knowest, O Lord, that thy servant doth strive to do thy will, to be pleasing in thine eyes.” Jesus replies, “Ann, knock it off.” “What dost thou desire that thy servant ‘knock off,’ O Lord?” And Jesus replies, “Talking to me in a voice other than ‘thine own,’ Ann.

When we look at ourselves as a parish, we’ve certainly been hard at work attending to our physical space – and we’ve done a lot of throwing out, recycling, cleaning, painting, and refurbishing. Good for us! Our spaces definitely are more welcoming and inviting. We might still ask ourselves whether our physical spaces are accessible to all. If you were in a wheelchair would you want to come into our sanctuary? You’d be consigned to the very first row. We have large print copies of the Scripture readings, and of the Eucharistic liturgy, but have we considered those with hearing loss? What about our behaviors? Are we truly welcoming? Or just to the people that look and smell like us? What about our conduct of worship? Are we stuck in old ways of doing things? Could we worship in other places? At least one parish in this diocese conducts “street church” in a vacant lot every Sunday. What other places might we consider?

Do we have attitudes that need to be changed? Do you believe that the clergy have to be in the center of everything in order for St. Peter’s to flourish? It has recently become clearer to me that the goal of the Common Ministry program is to equip lay people to truly exercise leadership in their parishes. Thanks be to God, we are finally coming full circle with what the ancient church knew, that committed lay people are what makes a Christian community flourish. Do you believe that our parish will flourish even if you don’t commit some of your treasure, your time, or your talents? Do you believe that all truth resides in the Episcopal Church? This church has been my spiritual home for over forty years, and I love it with my whole heart. I love our liturgy, and I believe that the Book of Common Prayer is a true treasure trove. Even so, I do not believe that the Episcopal Church or any denomination has a corner on the truth. Perhaps God isn’t as concerned about our denominations, our human creations, as we are. Do you believe that we can’t partner with other Christians or other faith communities in ministry to others? To be sure, we are partnering with other churches in our Loaves and Fishes dinner – and thanks be to God for that. Where else could we increase our effectiveness in ministry? The bottom line: what else do we need to cut off, throw out, or refurbish in order to be more effective disciples of Jesus?

Right now my house is in chaos. The furniture out of place, the newspapers on the windows in place of the old drapes, and the preparation for new carpeting is all very destabilizing. I’m glad I can retreat to my study! But the goal of it all is worth the hassle: to create a more welcoming environment, where I will feel happy to invite guests, and guests will enjoy coming. As disciples of Jesus, as both individuals and as a parish, we are called to a life of holiness. We are called to let go of those things that scandalize others and impede our mission. At times we may feel destabilized, but with God’s help, we will be able to more truly welcome those whom God is inviting into fellowship with Jesus.