Who Will Save Us?

The Rev. Joseph Winston

April 27, 2008

Sermon

Grace and peace are gifts for you from God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.1
I do not know if you have noticed it or not but the news over the last few days
has been very frightening. Here are three different articles that recently crossed
my “virtual” desk that directly speak about the fear that we are experiencing here
in the United States.
The first clipping comes from the Los Angeles Times. On Thursday, Jerry
Hirsch and Tiffany Hsu wrote an article that describes how staples like rice and
flour are disappearing from the shelves of our grocery stores. Listen to the first
two paragraphs in the story titled, “Run on rice makes its way to the U.S.”

The global run on food that has led to shortages and riots in Egypt,
Haiti and other nations has made its way to U.S. shores.
1
Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians
1:2, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, Philemon 1:3

1
 Concerned about rising prices and limited supplies of staples such
as rice and flour, customers across the country have been cleaning
out the shelves at big-box retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s
Sam’s Club and Costco Wholesale Corp. stores.2

The second example of the terror that we are feeling comes from one of the
major news sources in the financial world. Ruthie Ackerman writes for Forbes.
This past Friday she penned an article with the title, “U.S. Stocks Suffer All-
Consuming Fear,” which discusses how we are reacting to all this bad economic
news that we hear every day. Here is what she had to say in the report’s introduc-
tion:

American consumers today are as confident as they were in 1982,

which is to say, not very. After stocks got off to an early gain, prices
turned around Friday morning when a private consumer confidence
index fell to its lowest level in more than a quarter of a century.3

The final illustration comes from Fox News. The anonymous reporter in “Mas-
sachusetts Police Get Black Uniforms to Instill Sense of ‘Fear”’ tells us how the
police in Springfield are dealing with crime:

The city’s new police commissioner, William Fitchet, says members

of the department’s Street Crime Unit will again don black, military-
style uniforms as part of his strategy to deal with youth violence.4
2
Jerry Hirsch and Tiffany Hsu, Run on rice makes its way to the U.S. (On line, April 2008).
3
Ruthie Ackerman, U.S. Stocks Suffer All-Consuming Fear, (On line, April 2008).
4
Anonymous, Massachusetts Police Get Black Uniforms to Instill Sense of ’Fear’, (On line,
April 2008).

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 There are two often-unwritten assumptions that are found when fear is used in
the media.
The first belief frequently implied in these types of reports is that the situation
could take a dramatic turn for the worse. The lack of food on the shelves of the
grocery stores in the United States might escalate into something like what we saw
in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and if this trend continues it is conceivable
that we will be back at the Great Depression. The fact that people are not spending
money means that industrial activity is greatly reduced. This ultimately will lead
the United States along with the rest of the world into a long period where many
people will be out of work. The increase in crime could make it unsafe for anyone
to walk the streets.
This brings us to the more important underlying issue on why fear is used
in the press. It leads us to ask either consciously or unconsciously the following
question, “Who will help us?” If we run out of food, who will feed us? If we can-
not find a job, who will give us work? If it gets so bad that the violence increases,
who will protect us?
The typical answer to this puzzle of who takes care of us is the government.
They are the ones who will help the farmers produce enough food so that we all
can eat. Washington will stimulate the economy and the result of this action will
be more jobs. The city-state will give us security.
The response that our help comes from the government in no way, shape, or
form is either a Republican or a Democratic answer. It is not a liberal reply to
the way the world works nor it is a conservative answer to the realities that we

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find ourselves in. This way of thinking is deep inside each of us because the same
solution to the problem was suggested over two thousand years ago.
When Rome ruled the world, the emperor was known as the son of god. He
was the one who kept food on the table. Caesar gave everyone the ability to work.
The emperor brought peace into every city, town, and village. (Does this sound
the same?)
An example of this way of thinking that the government gives us what we need
is preserved in a press release for Caesar Augustus, yes that Caesar Augustus in
that we remember every Christmass.5 His birth as a son of god “was for the world
the beginning of” good news that has “been proclaimed on his account.”6
This message about Augustus’ birthday should sound hauntingly familiar when
compared to the beginning of today’s Gospel lesson that said, “The beginning of
the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Mark 1:1).”
The author of Mark takes immense delight in redefining commonly used words
and phrases. A good example of this can be found in the first sentence of Mark.
There he permanently changes the world’s mind about three different ideas. Good
News or Gospel, which normally was associated with any Roman military victory,
now means the message that Jesus died for you (Mark 14:1-9).7 The Christ also
known as the Messiah no longer is defined as a king who has won a battle.8 Today
5
This word comes from Priene in Asia around 9 BC. S.J. John R. Donahue and S.J. Daniel
J. Harrington; Idem, editor, The Gospel of Mark, Volume 2, Sacra Pagina Series, (Collegeville,
MN: The Liturgical Press, 2002), p. 60.
6
Ibid.
7
For more information see The Gospel According to Mark by James Edwards. Brian P. Stoffre-
gen, Mark 1.1-8 2nd Sunday of Advent - Year B, http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/
mark1x1.htm.
8
More details can be found in Donald Juel’s book A Master of Surprise: Mark Interpreted.

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we know that, Christ is the One who stays on the cross and dies for us (Mark
15:32). Finally, the author of Mark changes the commonly understood meaning
of “son of god.” For the Romans, this phrase was just another way of saying,
“super hero.”9 This author is largely responsible for our association that Jesus is
God’s Son.
On the strength of Mark’s message about the life and teachings of Jesus, we
take a break from our regularly scheduled lessons and set aside some time to
remember all that the author of Mark accomplished because of the power of the
Holy Spirit. Not only did he definitively redefine many words and ideas that we
now take for granted but also the style of writing used by the author of Mark is
the oldest surviving literary form that we call Gospel.
The difficulty that we all face is that we fall back to the answers that the world
gives us when problems come our way instead of remembering the Good News
proclaimed in the Gospel according to St. Mark.10
These troubles do not need to be as large as hunger in our cities, consumer
confidence in the market, or even preventing crime in the streets. Every day, we
all live with smaller issues. How do we take care of people in our community?
How do we maintain people’s trust? How do we exist together?
The author of Mark tells us Christ’s answers to these questions. If we are really
concerned with our neighbor, then we will give them a drink and tell them about
Stoffregen, ‘Mark 1.1-8 2nd Sunday of Advent - Year B’.
9
Once again see Juel. Ibid..
10
“As long as the empire can keep the pretense alive that all things are all right, there will be no
real grieving and no serious criticism.” Walter Brueggemann, The Prophetic Imagination, (Fortress
Press, 1978), p. 20-21.

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Jesus (Mark 9:41). If we want to maintain people’s confidence in Jesus, then our
way of life will be so transparent that even the children will not be offended by
what we do (Mark 9:42). If we wish to be Christ’s body, then we will live together
in peace (Mark 9:50).
We have clearly failed to do what Jesus has taught us and we all deserve for
Christ to abandon us to the solutions proposed by the government.
Despite our continued inability to give a cool drink to those who need it the
most, in spite of our lack of care for the weak in this community, and in the face
of our disunity, Jesus has not left us to the mercy of those in power over us. Christ
instead gave us the privilege of seeing His glory.
Be careful though. The glory that the author of Mark speaks of is not fame,
prestige, or honor. What he is tells us not worship, praise, or adoration. Neither is
the glory in the Gospel about grandeur, greatness, or beauty. What the author of
Mark describes as glory is something completely different.11 Glory is the Son of
God on the Cross strung up between two thieves. Glory is Jesus taking the abuse
from the government and the leaders of religion. Glory is found in Christ’s blood
spilling on the ground.
Glory is God’s death that gives you life.
The news around us is frightening. We do have large problems that are loom-
ing at our doors. They cannot be ignored. We must make sure that every person has
enough to eat. Not only is that common decency but it is also what God requires of
11
Some of the indications of this radical redefinition of glory can be found in comparing Mark
10:37-40 and Mark 15:27 along with Mark 13:24-26 and Mark 15:32-33.

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us. Every able bodied person should have meaningful work. It is common knowl-
edge that a disgruntled work force brings unrest. But that is not why we want
people to have a job. When we fail to provide employment, we devalue the image
of God found in each of us. Criminals prey on the weak. This must stop since
it hurts people. But their bad behavior does not excuse us from visiting them in
prison.
This concern for the world must start right here in this congregation. Each of
us must take care of each other, not because it gives us any favor with God, but
because it is the right thing to do.
“The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus.”12

References

Ackerman, Ruthie, U.S. Stocks Suffer All-Consuming Fear, (On line, April
2008), Full URL: http://www.forbes.com/markets/2008/
04/25/briefing-oil-bonds-markets-equity-cx_ra_
0425markets12.html. Last checked on April 25, 2008.

Anonymous, Massachusetts Police Get Black Uniforms to Instill Sense of

’Fear’, (On line, April 2008), Full URL: http://www.foxnews.
com/story/0,2933,352471,00.html. This is from the Associated
Press. Last checked on April 25, 2008.
12
Philippians 4:7.

7
Brueggemann, Walter, The Prophetic Imagination, (Fortress Press, 1978).

Hirsch, Jerry and Hsu, Tiffany, Run on rice makes its way to the U.S. (On line,
April 2008), Full URL: http://www.latimes.com/business/
la-fi-rice24apr24,0,3320375.story. Last checked on April
24, 2008.

John R. Donahue, S.J. and Daniel J. Harrington, S.J.; Idem, editor, The Gospel of
Mark, Volume 2, Sacra Pagina Series, (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical
Press, 2002).

Stoffregen, Brian P., Mark 1.1-8 2nd Sunday of Advent - Year B, http://www.
crossmarks.com/brian/mark1x1.htm.