10:30 am, Sun, June 16, 2024

(1 Sam 8:4-10; 11:14-15; Mk 3:20-27) J G White / FBCA

“Oh I just can’t wait to be king!” So sings young Simba in the animated movie ‘The Lion King.’ Thanks to our grandchildren, I’ve gotten reintroduced to such classic, cartoon, family films. Simba sings:

I'm gonna be the main event like no king was before

I'm brushing up on looking down, I'm working on my roar

Oh I just can't wait to be king

No one saying ‘do this’

No one saying ‘be there’

No one saying ‘stop that’

No one saying ‘see here’

Ah, to be in charge, to be the boss, to dominate. Every child has moments of wanting this. Every adult too! It has a certain appeal. It has a certain power. It is in so many of the stories that we tell, and in the story of our own lives.

On the group level, there is also just as much: as much of US OVER THEM, dominating. So much of our entertainment tells this story. And the stories we keep telling ourselves, and our children, influence us. We get trained to want to dominate and be the group in charge. Be the best people, above others. Be in charge of the way things are run. The way our governments and organizations are organized perpetuates the Us Over Them attitude.

Yet it is a violent attitude. And the roots run deep.

The Bible history we read is filled with kings and kingdoms. In the ancient days of the Hebrews, they got to a point of wanting a king, a king like the other nations had around them. To lead them into battle! They asked their leader, Samuel, who conferred with God: he prayed. ‘Sure, go ahead,’ YHWH seemed to say. Then Samuel gives a speech of divine warnings; he outlines all the problems that will go along with having royalty in charge. Yet the people still say: “No! We are determined to have a king over us.” So they get what they ask.

In the quest for truth, I offer six sermons now, on six stories of our culture, outlined by Gareth Higgins and Brian McLaren. We tell these stories of dominating others, of taking revenge on others, of isolating from others, of blaming others, of accumulating more than others, of being victims of others. But Jesus, I am sure, takes us to love of others. In Christ us and them can be one. The Seventh Story is the story of LOVE, and to live this we tell the story of Jesus.

We’ve a story to tell to the nations

That shall turn their hearts to the right,

A story of truth and mercy,

A story of peace and light.

That gospel hymn has a rather militaristic flavour, and an old-fashioned sense of being victorious and triumphant. Yet look at the details of what we just sang.

We sang of truth telling and of showing mercy, of waging peace and shedding light on things. Folks in the Baptist Peace Fellowship always say ‘peace, like war, is waged.’

We sang of conquering evil, and destroying swords and shields. Actual, real wrecking of metal weapons is a thing to do, in Jesus’ Way of love. Based in Philadelphia, Shane Claiborne and others have a shop in which they repurpose firearms; they make tools, jewellery and art out the metal and wood of guns!

We sang of a God who reigns above (like a king) yet who is shown to us – by Jesus – to be Love, with a capital L.

All these things are needed in our world because things are in a mess. Gun violence is huge – that’s what Shane Claiborne is opposing. The Baptist Peace Fellowship is telling new stories of what God is truly up to, among us, making peace where people are at odds. We sing of a Saviour who ‘the path of sorrow has trod.’ All our paths of sorrow today, Jesus walks with us.

We read a Bible story today of Jesus getting no respect by those who wanted to dominate the religions scene. ‘He must be of the devil,’ they accused. Jesus then speaks of kingdoms, noting that a kingdom fighting against itself will not last. Jesus’ realm, kingdom, Way, does not fight like others.

Not that we are all peace and flowers and sunshine and lollipops. If so, are we are missing out on dealing with the terrors of life, and making a real difference. The ways people get dominated over, get oppressed, are real and terrible. We must have good news for them.

At the local level, the personal level, are the harsh relationships where one person lords it over others, dominates, abuses. It has been such a part of our culture, it is enshrined in songs. I think of a classic rock song, a great song. Or is it? To me it has such a great, iconic sound. But the words, the message – it is horrible! The Rolling Stones:

Under my thumb The girl who once had me down

Under my thumb The girl who once pushed me around

It's down to me The difference in the clothes she wears

Down to me, the change has come She's under my thumb

At best, a classic song like that is a reminder of at attitude, an awareness of how evil dominating happens in relationships. We know the challenge of supporting and helping people who are under someone’s thumb. It takes intense care, & miracles.

Thus, we, of the Church, we, of Christ, has ministry to those in trouble, those dominated by others. Our gathering is not just to escape into happiness or serenity. It changes lives.

A resource I am impressed by, not yet having put it to use, is an eight-week program called Groups of Hope, from CBM. First designed to help women who were hurting, in the wake of abuse, broken relationships, and other disasters, it is a short-term, small group program designed to bless people who have suffered and need to find emotional healing and spiritual hope. We have tools we use to face deep troubles head-on.

A respected minister and orator from Chicago, Otis Moss III, preached some lectures in Wolfville this past week. Using a musical metaphor, he spoke of a blue note gospel. You’ve got to sing the blues to have real good news that means anything. Dr. Moss quoted from Ezra 3:13, in his own paraphrase: No one could distinguish between the gospel shout and the blues moan. The faithful community in the days of Ezra was filled with young people rejoicing, and the older people weeping. The happy and the sad were all mixed and mingled together.

When the ‘worship wars’ we going on in churches in the 1980s and 90s, between new Christian music with guitars and drums, against hymns with choir and pipe organ, a great professor spoke at a big conference. In the Q&A, someone asked the professor if he thought a church should have a ‘praise team?’ After a moment, the wise teacher said, “Yes, I suppose so, as long as the church also has a ‘lament team.’

So our message is not all ‘Victory In Jesus!’ Anything good in our tradition is responding to the terrible and painful. Christianity is not about dominating the world or our town. It is about facing pain head on. Walking with the weary. Suffering for the sake of others who suffer. Struggling for freedom with those who are oppressed.

To dominate, to have our dominion over others, can be so dangerous. Our story of Jesus says so much, in the midst of the rest of Biblical history, and of our Christian story. We preach Christ, crucified. A great Servant Leader.

Early on in the story ‘The Lion King’, young lion Simba gets excited about one day becoming the king. “I just can’t wait to be king!” His father, Mufasa, tells Simba, “There’s more to being king than getting your own way.”

So there is. There is more to being the people of God than getting our own way. More to being ‘the faithful remnant’ than thinking we are right in a world of wrong. There is more to being saved than getting our way into eternal glory. We are to be the people of blessing: blessing others, sharing powerful grace with the whole world.

This is our message. This is our gospel. This is the Jesus we serve: wanting to share the dominion with one and all. It is not a matter of us over them, it is Us For Them.