Series: “Jesus’ Message: You Are a Participant in the Dream”

“This Is The Time for Measured Patience”

2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19

Mark 6:14-29

We belong to each other and that is God’s intention. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Ephesians 1:3-14, a lectionary text not read this morning, describes how God has brought each one of us into a new definition of community. God saves, rescues, liberates, and prepares us to bear witness to the good news of redemption and transformation of individuals and societies. How is that accomplished? Through one another. Jesus knows us. Jesus lives his life in us through the power of the Holy Spirit. We receive grace upon grace from God. Jesus is seen, heard, and known through our interactions with others. We are one race, one blood and we experience that reality more and more through measured patience.

To be clear, the God who creates us is the same God who saves us and the same God who lives in us. Jesus showed us the way to give our lives away for the sake of others, as Jesus gave each of us his life for our benefit. Love God and love others. Every Christian should be united around the Sermon on the Mount, the Great Commandment, Matthew 25, and the Great Commission. Jimmy Carter in his book Our Endangered Values writes,

The many differences among Christians create confusion, fragmentation, and even acrimony, and it is difficult for individual believers to comprehend and adhere to the fundamental elements of the faith. The broader consequence of all these divisions is that global evangelical work suffers and our reputations are tarnished as we contend with one another. Instead, religion should provide the way to heal the differences that separate people, based on the paramount law that Jesus taught, to love our neighbors as ourselves.^[1]

And to former President Carter’s point, John Bryson in Letters To A Birmingham Jail: A Response To The Words And Dreams Of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. writes, “It is inconsistent with the gospel for believers to lift up the name of Jesus with one hand and hold on to racial attitudes, thoughts, beliefs, or actions in the other hand.”[2] As followers of Jesus, we cannot believe one thing and live with words and actions that contradict the gospel.

Yes, we need to shed words and actions that are inconsistent with the gospel. From the Old Testament Reading and the Gospel Reading, we learn that the presence of God is no longer contained in the Ark of the Covenant. In Christ we have God living within each one of us. Whether we experience scarcity or abundance at any given time, the earth belongs to God and all that is in it. In Jesus Christ we have been given every blessing, chosen by God, and adopted into God’s family. And we are to be known as people who tell the story of Jesus in words and actions.

This is how we are known as people who tell the story of Jesus in words and actions: our lives bear fruit consistent with the gospel. The Great Commandment, the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 25, and the Great Commission are imperative to being people who are the fruit we produce. 2 Samuel 6:1-3, 12b reads, “David again gathered the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand…. to bring…. the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim…. out of the house of Abinadab…. to the city of David.” Ephesians 1:3-5 reads, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing…. just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world…. destined…. for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ.” And Mark 6:14 reads, “King Herod heard of it [the things Jesus’ disciples and John the Baptist were doing], for Jesus’ name had become known.” Ah, it is true that the gospel is told throughout the Bible, both Old and New Testaments. It is a one Covenant promise my friends.

In Mark 6:14-29 we encounter the power of Jesus’ name. Although Jesus was rejected in his hometown and by religious leaders and the elite, his popularity everywhere else grew. Jesus’ disciples were spreading good news. John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin, spread the name of Jesus and the power available from Jesus for changes in character and attitude. Trusting Jesus and repenting of sin are most significant to experience the power of Jesus Christ. And this continued to irritate the elite, the religious leaders as well as government officials. John the Baptist’s preaching about Jesus challenged the twisted rules of Judaism and the Roman empire. Herod’s beheading of John the Baptist solved nothing. John the Baptist’s message was carried on by his disciples and all who experienced transformation in Jesus and embraced their adoption into God’s family. Mark 6:29 reads, “When his [John the Baptist’s] disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.” Neither John the Baptist or his disciples renounced their responsibilities to live in words and actions the truth of the gospel. And they did so loving God and others.[3]

The gospel disrupts personal and collective understandings of power. Individuals and communities cannot avoid the call of the gospel for change in character and attitudes. We are one race and one blood. All of us are in this together. Again, John Bryson in Letters To A Birmingham Jail: A Response To The Words And Dreams Of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. writes, “A diverse life precedes a diverse organization of church. You cannot reproduce what you are not.”^[4] Be a person committed to diverse relationships and friendships. Be intentional about learning. You cannot produce a life, in words and actions like Jesus, if you haven’t begun the journey to discover the person and purpose of Jesus Christ.[5]

In the aftermath of the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, let us remember that God is the God and Father of all people. How you live your life in words and actions in a measured and patient way is a gospel issue. Trust God to transform your character and attitudes to become more like Jesus. Demonstrate the unity in which Christians stand: one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all. May your words and actions reflect this unity. Now is the time to live a life of and in measured patience. Amen.

This sermon was preached the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost on Sunday, 14 July 2024

by the Rev. Dr. Steven M. Marsh in the Great Room and Sanctuary

at Grace Presbyterian Church in Wichita, Kansas

 Copyright 2024

Steven M. Marsh

All rights reserved.

[1]Jimmy Carter, Our Endangered Values (New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2005), 45.

[2]Bryan Loritts, ed., Letters To A Birmingham Jail: A Response To The Words And Dreams Of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Chicago, Illinois: Moody Publishers, 2014), 107.

[3]In the three paragraphs of textual analysis above, I have benefited from the thinking of Mark McEntire, Wyndy Corbin Reuschling, Anna George Traynham, Zaida Maldonado Perez, William Yoo, Matthew L. Skinner, and Richard W. Voelz in Joel B. Green, Thomas G. Long, Luke A. Powery, Cynthia L. Rigby and Carolyn J. Sharp, editors, Connections, Year B, Volume 3 (Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2020), 144-146, 146-148, 149-151,

152-154, 154-156, 157-159, and 159-161.

[4]Bryan Loritts, ed., Letters To A Birmingham Jail: A Response To The Words And Dreams Of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 110.

[5]Some ideas in this paragraph adapted from Bryan Loritts, ed., Letters To A Birmingham Jail: A Response To The Words And Dreams Of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 95-110.

Series: “Jesus’ Message: You Are a Participant in the Dream”

“You Cannot Produce What You’re Not”

2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10

Psalm 48

2 Corinthians 12:2-10

Mark 6:1-13

Jesus is the real deal when it comes to freedom. On Thursday of last week, we celebrated our 248th anniversary of independence as a country. 1776 was an important year. And then eleven years later, in 1787, our government’s system of democracy was established. A democratic form of government is freeing and challenging…distributive and collective.^[1]

Our country is on a journey, currently, which is one of experiencing what democracy is and isn’t. Christians, in the midst of the aforementioned, are on a journey of experiencing what Christianity is and isn’t. We are experiencing ongoing conversion from a life which was lost to one which is more and more informed by the way Jesus’ words and actions transformed life. In all aspects of life, we take measured steps of making the necessary changes in character and attitude to be the best Jesus people see.

This past Monday, the Supreme Court cleared the way for the President of the United States to have unlimited authority and immunity in official acts regarding core constitutional principles without fear of prosecution. It now appears that any President can behave like King George III, the very leader from whom we fought in the American Revolution to be freed. If a President behaves like a king, authoritarianism, not democracy, is the way of our government.

Being a Christian means we only have one king and that is our Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But as in the case of the people of God in the Old Testament who wanted rulers like everybody else, some of the kings worked out well and others not so much. In both the Old Testament and New Testament, some of the people of God and Christians exercised civil disobedience to those in power. Those individuals received imprisonment and even death.

Let us not forget the Great Commandment, the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 25, and the Great Commission. The journey of Christian discipleship is one of transformative words and actions. 2 Samuel 5:1 reads, “Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron, and said, ‘Look, we are your bone and flesh.’” Psalm 48:12-14 reads, “Walk about Zion, go all around it, count its towers, consider well its ramparts; go through its citadels, that you may tell the next generation that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will be our guide forever. Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word, I hope.”  2 Corinthians 12:10 reads, “Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.” The Christian journey is a passionate defense of equality and equity full of pathos and gospel truth.

In Mark 6:1-13, Jesus had returned to his hometown. He taught in the synagogues and the people were shocked. Notice the words of Mark 6:1, 3 “On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished…. ‘Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters with us?’ Leaders who speak truth with conviction aren’t received in their hometowns. Leaders who commit to a journey of building life for all people, as intended by God, that all humans are created in the image of God and deserve the same rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as the Constitution asserts, face criticism, and scrutiny.

Like Jesus, we acknowledge that the most significant part of the journey is to rally around unity not division. The authority of Jesus was challenged because it expressed itself in powerlessness, dependency, and relationships. The marginalized and disenfranchised embraced Jesus, but those who held power and position rejected him. Mark 6:3-4 reads, “…And they took offense at him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house.’” Jesus’ way of speaking and doing his ministry was difficult to embrace because it did not align with conventional expectations or values.[2]

The freedoms we have in our country should bring us together to accomplish a common vision that is inclusive, not exclusive. This common vision is rooted in the kingship of God not man. The integrity of the gospel demands that the visible transformation Christ provides be demonstrated and modeled by the unity of the one Body of Christ.[3] The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are loud voices for democracy and the common good!

It appears that Christian Nationalism is a power grab. Jesus led in powerlessness. The mission of Christian Nationalism is about winning. The mission of the church is reaching people with the love of Jesus in words and actions. Polycarp (1^st and 2^nd centuries) and Perpetua (2^nd and 3^rd centuries), did not seek martyrdom. However, their faithfulness to God challenged the “royal consciousness” of imperial Rome. In the 20^th century, Oscar Romero, Maura Clark, and Jean Donovan did not seek martyrdom. However, their faithfulness to God challenged the “royal consciousness” of the Roman Catholic Church.

Claim the integrity of the gospel in your life. Take a look at the world God has created. Count the blessings. Educate the next generations about the goodness and faithfulness of God. Be strong in Christ, although appearing weak to the world. Cultivate a spirit of humility knowing that God’s grace is sufficient. Confront the evils of injustice. Reject selfishness and embrace self-giving. Demonstrate and model the unity of the Body of Christ in your words and actions. Be an agent of God’s healing and reconciliation. Remember, you cannot produce what you’re not. Amen.

This sermon was preached the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost on Sunday, 7 July 2024

by the Rev. Dr. Steven M. Marsh in the Great Room and Sanctuary

at Grace Presbyterian Church in Wichita, Kansas

Copyright Ó 2024

Steven M. Marsh

All rights reserved.

[1]Adapted from Louis Menand, The Metaphysical Club New York, (New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2001), ix.

[2]In the two paragraphs of textual analysis above, I have benefited from the thinking of Mark McEntire, Wyndy Corbin Reuschling, Anna George Traynham, Zaida Maldonado Perez, William Yoo, Matthew L. Skinner and Richard W. Voelz in Joel B. Green, Thomas G. Long, Luke A. Powery, Cynthia L. Rigby and Carolyn J. Sharp, editors, Connections, Year B, Volume 3 (Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2020), 127-129, 129-131, 132-134, 135-137, 137-139, 140-142 and 142-143.

[3]Some ideas in this paragraph adapted from Bryan Loritts, ed., Letters To A Birmingham Jail: A Response To The Words And Dreams Of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 74-92.