St. Mark the Evangelist: You Finish the Story

Scriptural Basis

Mark 16:15-20 (NRSV)

Jesus said to the apostles, "Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover."

So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it.

Blog Reflection

I have been reading all of the reactions to the news of the death of Osama bin Laden. The patriots are celebrating. The anti-violence advocates are cautioning us to not celebrate so much. The families of those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001 have mixed emotions. Some feel that justice has been served. Others feel that this all came a little too late.

Today, we commemorate St. Mark the Evangelist. The patron of the Cathedral of St. Mark in Minneapolis, Minnesota where Jason and I attend. A place that does so much for so many.  They offer weekly Monday night supper, monthly Sunday night supper, weekly warm-space for the homeless to come in and rest, get a little something to eat. They sleep for a bit and just enjoy being away from all the evils of homelessness just for a bit. St. Mark's has a strong and active LGBT group. We are welcomed, affirmed and celebrated. We are being integrated, though the process is not totally completed. 

St. Mark the said author of the second of what we call the synoptic Gospels is quite different from the other two. Mark offers a shorter to the point view of things. Mark allows his readers to finish the story.

In there, I believe is what Christians are called to do.  Finish the story.  We are not called to be heroes. We are not baptized to wage wars and promote violence and hate.  We did not confess our faith in Jesus Christ so that the Christian religion could supercede all other religions, philosophies and ideologies.  The events we celebrated during Holy Week, Easter Day through yesterday, and continue through Pentecost are not so that we can establish Christianity as a world dominating power hungry group of warriors. 

Through out St. Mark's Gospel it is quite clear who Jesus' best friends are.  Jesus' most compassionate and healing actions are for those who have been brushed aside by political, religions and social oppression and neglect. Jesus even allowed the Canaanite woman to teach him a little something about a culture different from his own.

As I was reading various responses to Bin Laden's death in The Lead, I came across two that I found most interesting.

From Brian McLaren, who is in England:

The news here showed President Obama making the announcement, and then shifted to American college students reveling outside the White House, shouting, chanting "USA" and spilling beer. I flipped through channels and saw the same scene repeated.

I can only say that this image does not reflect well on my country, especially in contrast to the images that have been so strong here in recent days ... revelers celebrating a wedding.

Joyfully celebrating the killing of a killer who joyfully celebrated killing carries an irony that I hope will not be lost on us. Are we learning anything, or simply spinning harder in the cycle of violence?

From Paul Raushenbush at the Huffington Post:

It is a strange and conflicting emotion to celebrate a death. My professed beliefs include the redemption of evil and the potential good in all humanity. Yet I felt a sense of exhilaration when I read the headline 'DEAD' about Osama Bin Laden.

For the last ten years Osama Bin Laden has exemplified the absolute worst of religion. He was a fundamentalist and a zealot in his own belief and willing to kill those who believed differently; he recruited young people into his ranks by preying on their despair; and he carried out violence in the name of God. Through actions and belief, Osama Bin Laden profaned the name of God and denigrated all people of faith.

Osama Bin Laden never felt any remorse for his murderous ways and the heartbreak that trailed behind him. He viewed his actions as part of a struggle that allowed him to transcend any moral concerns. He and his followers routinely slaughtered the innocent. He was ruthless in using faith as a means to the very worst ends. To reiterate what the President said in his announcement of bin Laden's death: "Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader, he was a mass murderer of Muslims." His death is satisfying not only because of what he did, but because it prevents him from doing any more violence in the future in the name of religion.

I am most struck by the paragraph in Raushenbush's second paragraph about Bin Laden "recruiting young people by preying on their despair and carried out violence in the name of God."

Does anyone else besides myself think that sounds awfully familiar?

Christianists and arch-conservative Catholics/Episcopalians/Anglicans/Orthodox etc very often recruit and go after the youngest people by "preying on their despair."  This is one of the reasons for so called Christian and Catholic colleges/universities as well as ex-gay and/or reparative therapy for LGBT people.  They are for the purpose of teaching young minds according to particular religious traditions and philosophies so that young people will not think critically and/or independently.  Being raised and/or schooled in a religious based environment has its goods.  But churches are political in more ways than can be properly written about.  In a Christian school that is funded and sustained mostly by our tax dollars through Federal and State grants/scholarships, fundamentalist Christian and conservative Catholic schools number one interest is to raise up individuals who will spread hate and religious based violence towards LGBT people, women, those who are more progressive/liberal and do anything they can to draw attention away from thinking that any other religion that is not conservative Christianity must not be exploited and destroyed.

Rather than allowing Christians to finish the rest of the story with independent thinking and an openness to differing views of things, Christianists (who are pretty much America's version of the Taliban) are able to wage a cultural and rhetorical war that is designed to kill any person or thinking that does not agree with theirs.

Christians are empowered by the Paschal Mystery (the death and resurrection of Jesus) to be God's messengers of reconciliation and peace.  Not the "Christian soldiers" determined to destroy.  Good Friday and Easter are about God's self-sacrificing love to bring about the salvation of humankind through mercy and forgiveness. 

I hate to burst our bubble, but I do agree with those who say that we ought to be careful about rejoicing in someone else's violent death.  Violence is never God's will. A violent end to a life is not something that God looks on with glee and cheer.

At the same time, we also need to be very sensitive about listening to the feelings expressed by the families and friends of those who lost loved ones on September 11th, as well as those who gave their lives over the last decade.  It is not the time to be preaching to them to tell them they shouldn't wish Bin Laden to rot in hell, when they are most likely saying it out of their psychological hate, not their moral hate.  There is a difference. 

While I cannot celebrate the violent end to one man, I do celebrate the fact that the United States and many anti-terrorist agencies have said no to allowing terrorism to succeed in dominating the world.  The need to bring down these organizations is real. The need to work towards more peaceful ways of doing it, is also real. 

It would also be great if Christians and all people of good will here in these United States of America could work towards ending the domestic terrorism of prejudice, inequality, political, religious and social oppression of all marginalized persons.  Including LGBT, African Americans, women, Native Americans, Muslims, Jews, and so on. You all know how long my list can get.

Let us pray along with St. Mark and the whole Church for a better tomorrow for everyone.

Prayers,

Almighty God, by the hand of Mark the evangelist you have given to your Church the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God: We thank you for this witness, and pray that we may be firmly grounded in its truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Collect for St. Mark the Evangelist, Book of Common Prayer, page 240).

O God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries; through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Collect for Peace, Book of Common Prayer, page 99).

Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen. (Prayer attributed to St. Francis, Book of Common Prayer, page 833).