Power disruption

 

Mark 6: 14-29
New Ark United Church of Christ, Newark, DE
July 14, 2024

Photo of a young person with medium toned skin and dark hair wearing a ponytail, putting on lip gloss while looking at her reflection in a transparent polycarbonate police riot shield.

Let me say right up front, this sermon is going to be political.



Some folks might say, hey the church isn’t supposed to be political. The gospel isn’t political.



But then I think it was John the Baptist who would have said if he could, “Hold my head”. And to top it off, today is Bastille Day.

Screenshot of a tweet by @UnvirtuousAbbey.  Them: 'Pastors shouldn't be political in the pulpit!' John the Baptist: 'Hold my head.' - October 7, 2021

It shouldn’t be political, it shouldn’t be partisan to want to save democracy. It’s not the role of the Church to be partisan but rather to be prophetic. It is prophetic to scrutinize and to disrupt power. Power that uses violence to solve problems. Power that hoards wealth. Power that enshrines self-interest. That kind of power is not partisan. It does not belong to one political party. Just as no one is above the law, no one is free from the corruption of power.



What do I mean by no one is free from the corruption of power? The hubris of humanity is that we want things to change but we also want to keep what we have. Operating from self-interest is a corruption of power and in direct opposition to God’s justice. I think what is so disturbing about this story from the gospel of Mark is that we may have more in common with Herod and Herodias and Salome, which means like them we’re complicated. At the very least we have used our power to maintain the status quo, keep what we have. John the Baptist and his cousin Jesus are so provocative because they were willing to lose everything to change the way things were in their time. Both of them knew the threats posed to them by the Roman Empire and their puppet king Herod Antipas, and yet they called them out on their love of power and abuse of God’s law and God’s people.



And it was right at this point in writing the sermon that I heard the news about the shooting attack at the rally in Pennsylvania. Just as with Jesus and John the Baptist, we live in a culture of domination, a culture of power. And yet neither John nor Jesus sent armed Zealots to deal with Herod. Nor did John suggest that Herod should step down because he’s too old and have Jesus submit his candidacy as king. Herodias used the political power that was available to her as a woman to deal with her enemies. Salome was a child used as a pawn who wielded some power through her role in this tragic violent episode.



This story in Mark reads like some awful tabloid news, much like what we are living through. Revolution, power, and violence are tempting for one very basic reason: they feel good. They feel better than our fear, our sadness, and our hurt, which is what our anger is often a cover for. They feel better than feeling helpless and powerless. We don’t want our leaders to be like any version of Herod. We’re fed up with so many elections between two candidates where we’re faced with one who should not be leading a country but we want the other one to be better than we are. But we also don’t want them to be John the Baptist or Jesus. First of all, this is exactly what White Christian Nationalism is all about, why it is dangerous. But also, it’s why the crowd chose Barrabas over Jesus. We’d really rather not love all our neighbors, let alone our enemies.



Only now it’s democracy’s head that could wind up on a platter. There is so much misinformation and disinformation, so many opinions coming from the hip and pundits giving it up for clickbait, and the media abdicating their role in scrutinizing power but instead seizing on the moment. All of this distracting us from the unchecked power of death and violence, the massacre being waged in Sudan, the Congo, Ukraine, Gaza, the attack on Damascus, and the hostages still in captivity. Distracting us from American billionaire wealth now worth a record $6 TRILLION, a violence of its own kind. Distracting us also from all that is good, holy, and true.



Liberation does not come at any cost but with justice. Solidarity is not won by force. It is not revolution that will bring about lasting change but evolution, evolution that we choose—transformation through justice and compassion, not violence. We White people of privilege do not change on our own; we do not give up power to those demanding we see their humanity. The end of slavery, segregation, Jim Crow, voter suppression, inaccessibility, marriage inequality—all had to be legislated. Is it possible for us to choose peace through justice, to do the right thing? In the words of Octavia Butler, “Kindness eases change.” As it is written in the Psalms, “Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness—right living with justice—and peace will kiss each other.”



I find not only comfort but direction in the words of the prophet Zechariah:



“Not by might, not by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord.”



And the Spirit of God is the Spirit of Life. Jesus said that it is the thief who comes only to steal and kill and destroy. He said, “I came that all may have life and have it abundantly.” All means ALL. Abundant life arises from community, community that continually expands its circle, community that lives in solidarity with those who have been historically marginalized and silenced. Community life such as this is a subversive power, one that disrupts the power that seeks to oppress and control.



There is nothing for which I am prepared to kill or even die for. The world has had enough of martyrdom and victimhood, enough revenge that demands we dig two graves. Instead, there is much I want to live for. This is why I wear this shirt, “You will have to come through me” in the trans flag colors.

You will have to come through me, who will talk your ear off about God’s unconditional, unmerited, unlimited love.



You will have to come through me, who wants us all to make it, who wants us all to get free from whatever it is that keeps us from each other.



You will have to come through me, a mother, not only for my children but for all children.



You will have to come through me, this me that came to be through the church, through the United Church of Christ, through you, the New Ark, through community, through the love of people of different backgrounds, people of faith and people whose faith resides in science, in humanity, in the Universe.



This is the democracy I want to save. 

I want to save the democracy where we admit and learn from the wrongs we have perpetrated and we repair the harm done. 

I want to save the democracy where we live up to the things we say we believe. 

I want to save the democracy where we don’t normalize power grabs. 

I want to save the democracy where we disempower the tyrants and those who hoard power and we hold ourselves and our leaders accountable. 

I want to save the democracy where we scrutinize and disrupt power that corrupts and share power that gives life. 

I want to save the democracy where children and younger generations can see a future for themselves. 

I want to save the democracy where we solve our problems with ballots not bullets.



May it be so. Amen.

Benediction—from the Book of Common Prayer

Go forth into the world in peace.
Be of good courage.
Hold fast to that which is good
and render to no one evil for evil.
Strengthen the faint-hearted;
support the weak; help the afflicted.
Honor all people.
Love and serve God,
rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.
The grace of our Savior Jesus Christ be with us all. Amen.