Mark 10:17-31

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Mark 10: 2-16

Mark 9:38-50

Lent 4B: Change the World - a response to the Christian PTSD of Lent

Today's Gospel text in John (3:14-21) is talking about making tough dark and light decisions. As Jesus moves closer and closer to his death, the question of who is in and who is out become more important. Like times in our lives when we have felt on the margins or close to an all or nothing, life or death decisions it is very human to limit ourselves to the company of those who agree 100% with us. In times of life and death it is important.

Nellie McKay's "Change the World" draws out the way it feels to be in the midst of this kind of decision.



Her political satire and playful humor also reminds us that this is not a way to live every day. As the community trying to live ethical Christian lives in the aftermath of Jesus' brutal death, we must be aware of the PTSD that we care from reenacting and retelling this Lenten story every year. Most importantly, we must remember that this act happened in the past and it is not happening now.

While it may be easier to justify decisions that are all or nothing in times of war, terror and trauma, Lent should be a time of remembering, not retraumatizing!

So this Sunday, we take a peak into what it is like to make decisions in Lent, but we also stay in touch with our present realities, families, communities and remember that this is a story about Jesus - not us or our church. While the words of the Gospel text may speak to a much more emergent time, it is not a life or death decision for others to agree with us, believe just as we do or to hide away in dark rooms only with people who agree with us.

In fact, if we don't want to get into a Lenten situation again, where people are required to agree to religious and political ideology or end up on a cross, it would seem that tolerance and compassion would be our way to avoid that fate.

I've always wondered why people have tried so hard to do exactly as Jesus did, when the story so clearly ends badly for him (at least in the story that ends at Good Friday - as the oldest version of the Gospel of Mark do).

God is dynamic and learns by interacting with creation. I propose that we follow that example. Let us be people who are dynamic and learn by interacting with God.

Gospel According to Pop: Episode 13 (Footloose: Kenny Loggins)

A meditation on the rabble rousing ways of Jesus. A rebel who encourages other faithful folk to break the rules that were being taught as the way to win God's favor. What are the ways folk try to tell us we must behave now? How do you fall outside of the expectation of a faithful one?

Gospel According to Pop: Episode 11 (It Isn't Happening :Be Good Tanyas)

A meditation from the point of view of Jairus, whose daughter dies because Jesus gets distracted and doesn't make it before his daughter dies. I imagine these words are how Jairus feels in the moments before Jesus bring his daughter back to life.

Gospel According to Pop: Episode 10 (Orbiting: The Weepies)

This episode is sung by the amazing Ally Nugent.

Mark 3:21 When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, "He has gone out of his mind." 22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons." 23 And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, "How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. 27 But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered. 28 "Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin"-- 30 for they had said, "He has an unclean spirit." 31 Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, "Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you." 33 And he replied, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" 34 And looking at those who sat around him, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother."

This song is for one of the moments in the gospels that always sticks to my ribs and feels like there is so much more to explore in the story. It's the moment in the Gospel of Mark where Mary is convinced that Jesus is a demon and comes to take him home because the neighbors are talking about his behavior. Jesus' response to his mother coming to get him is to deny her by telling those who are learning from him that they are his true family.

This is a moment that resonates with a lot of people who have created families that replace their biological ones. Sometimes families hesitate in their unconditional love when a member of the family takes what is thought to be an unconventional path.

This song takes a mature look at the text and that there isn't an easy sitcom solution. As I meditate on this story, with this song I like to alternate the voice of the singer from Mary to Jesus and back again.

This like so many family disputes is one where I imagine both people think they are right and are acting with the best intentions and out of love. I imagine them each standing on their side of the door wishing the other could join them on the the journey that is leading them away from each other.

I couldn't find any ancient images of this story or icons. So instead I've found images that highlight their relationship or show them near a door.

Gospel According to Pop: Episode 9 (How to Save a Life: The Fray)

A meditation where Peter remembers his favorite memories with Jesus and wonders if there was anything else he could have done to prevent his friend from dying. I imagine that this is the emotion that Peter would have had after Jesus' death. Like the feeling of helplessness, doubt and shame many friends feel after the suicide, the steps you are supposed to take to try to prevent suicide match very closely to Peter's sometimes insubordinate interactions with Jesus before his death. They caused me to think of Peter less as a bumbling disciple who always had the wrong answer to Jesus' questions and more as a good friend trying to prevent the eminent death of a loved one.

Take a look and see what you think:

Gospel According to Pop: Episode 8 (The Rose: Bette Midler)

It's not known if the dark cloud the Holy Spirit says will come upon Mary is traumatic or not. Is this unwanted sexual aggression or a gift of bearing God into the world? Imagine Mary singing these words as see tries to process the news she will bear a child, or as her words to a toddler Jesus when she tells him the story of his birth.

The moment depicted in the images of this video, where Mary is told that she will have a baby who will be the Son of God, is called the annunciation. It's an easier word to remember if you think about it as when the angel announces to Mary that she will become pregnant.

Gospel According to Pop: Episode 7 (I Will Survive: Gloria Gaynor

Why wasn't Thomas locked up inside hiding with the other disciples when Jesus comes back to visit them for the first time after the resurrection? Perhaps he was off doing all the work Jesus had taught them to. Perhaps, he was getting groceries to feed the others. Or, perhaps he was in the angry stage of the cycles of mourning and he was pissed off that the teacher who he believed would save the world and bring justice has died and left them alone. Today's Gospel According to Pop explores what it would feel like for Thomas if this was the case. And if Thomas was the disciple that Jesus loved, as some scholars speculate, this could be exactly the song Thomas would have had in mind. Check it out and see what you think:

Gospel According to Pop: Episode 4 (Hit Me Baby One More Time: Britney Spears)

Ever thought of Britney Spears' "Hit Me Baby One More Time" as a funeral dirge that Mary sings to her son as she holds his body in her hands? We'll, check out this latest installment of the Gospel According to Pop and I bet you'll never think of the song in the same way again.


The moment when Mary holds her dead son after he is taken off the cross is called the Pieta. It's a pretty famous moment in the life of art. But, it's not actually an event mentioned in the gospels featured in our contemporary bibles.

So enjoy this special gospel moment, brought to life in a way only Britney Spears could. Those are pastoral words I never imagined I'd ever say. It just goes to show you that God(dess) must have a sense of humor!

Jerky Saints Sunday

This sermon preached at First Congregational in San Francisco is the most I've ever been interrupted during a sermon. But you'll notice at the beginning of the sermon I say that this is a sign of God's in breaking into the world... so I guess God's a bit of a prankster.

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Jerky Saints Sunday
Date:	11-07-2010
Description:	A different take on All Saints Sunday to grasp the unjust actions that our just God has promised to prevent.
Key words:	jesus,justice,suffering,saints
Pastor :	Megan Rohrer
Sermon :	First Congregational, San Francisco
Scripture :	Job 19:23-27a; Psalm 17:1-9 ; Luke 20:27-38

You Feed Them.

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You Feed Them.
Date:	10-28-2010
Description:	Jesus' command to feed the poor....
Key words:	jesus,mark,hunger,feed
Pastor :	Megan Rohrer
Sermon :	SPS Synod Hunger Group
Scripture :	Mark 6:23

Matthew The Sinner/Saint

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A sermon for the feast of St. Matthew that focuses on Jesus' call to minister only to sinners.

Sermon at the San Francisco Swedenborgian Church, September 19, 2010
Scripture readings: Ephesians 2:4-10 and Matthew 9:9-13

Sermon: Jesus brings the peanut butter and jelly!

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Date: 08-02-2009
Description: Sermon at Bethlehem Lutheran in Oakland 8-2-09. About the history and call for giving away food that perishes in churches, urban sharing and the current economy....
Scripture :John 6:24-35

Proper 13B/Ordinary 18B/Pentecost 9

You give them something to eat!

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

When the lectionary cuts out an important story in the middle of the text it does a disservice to the story and to those who hear it! Jesus' command that the disciples feed those gathered is an important part of this story. This cut out story seems to be the script that many people have today about why the poor should help themselves. Yet Jesus responds, despite the cost: "You give them something to eat" (v. 37).

Don't argue about how they got here, if they should have planned better, about how much it will cost or if it will split the church. Just feed them!

In much of my work with those living in poverty or who are homeless it has often felt like the obvious thing to do is just staring everyone in the face:
People without homes -- give them homes
people without food --- give them food
people with out clothes --- give them clothes
people without health care --- give them health care

You can see where I'm going with this. And I can hear the questions now: but what if they use it for bad purposes? Or what if they just waste it (after all if they were able to use things appropriately they wouldn't be in this space now)?

Perhaps. But people living in emergency situations, don't have the privilege of time to figure out what your budget should look like, if there is a better way to use the money or the color of the carpet in the room where the service happens.

Perhaps giving people the basic needs that are required for a healthy life may lead some people to be able to make choices we wouldn't condone. But thankfully, when I'm given my paycheck each week no one asks me how healthy the groceries I will buy are or if I will get any exercise this week before they give me my check.


No, we seem to want to control other people choices, but don't want people to control our own choices. If you have money you can choose from so many different types of milk that there is an entire aisle of milk. But, those who do not have money we seek to take away what little choices they do have (for fear they'll make a poor decision).

I happen to believe that giving people the things they need to be healthy is what we ought to do. We can't know or control what people will do with the things we give them. But that doesn't mitigate our very real responsibility to share what we have, with those who have less. And I find that when we do, those in very real need - more often than not- will use what we have shared in appropriate ways.

At WELCOME this is our mission. And we have a huge increase in the number of people who are begging for food right now. Help us to meet the growing need. Jesus commanded us to feed them. If you can please support our work, or volunteer so that we don't have to turn anyone away.

Proper 11B/Ordinary 16B/Pentecost 7

The lesson of fear

Mark 4:35-41
What a strange and marvelous passage. On the one had it's a terrible idea to tell people to ignore their bodies and their fears. As humans living in a time when all we have to rely on is our intuition and our need to protect ourselves, we must listen to those voices of fear. Of course, they are not always rational. Sometimes the voices of fear are telling us to take a closer look at ourselves, that we need care, that we are racist and that we have more to learn. Regardless of whether our fear is rooted in truth or bias, we need to listen to them in order to keep ourselves safe and to grow.

In this week's text we have a story of fishermen afraid at sea. They knew when a storm was bad. And anyone who has feared a teacher can imagine the dread and pacing that probably happened for an hour before they had the guts to wake up Jesus, until they were pushed past the point of fear to necessity. At the point that they wake him up, there was nothing else they could have done. And yet, knowing he was their only hope they are still amazing when they get the calm they were seeking.

The sea represents the unfathomable uncontrollable chaos. And for the uncontrollable to be controlled means that sometime extraordinary is happening. Yet, there are moments in our lives when things grow calm unexpectedly, when the person who always lets us down finally gets it right, when we suddenly understand the thing that made no sense for so long.

Today's text is a prayer for those who have a hard time asking for help, for those who have waited too long to transition into the healthier life that has been long waiting, for those who have lived in chaos for too long and for those who are desperately longing for peace and stillness in their lives.

Proper 7B/Ordinary 12B/Pentecost 3

Ascending gender

The stories of Jesus' new body that is unrecognizable to his friends and family, reminds me of the journey many trans folk take after their bodies and voices change after beginning to take hormones.  Others may have similar experiences after a dramatic hair cut change or by dressing in garments that are gender non-conforming.  

While trans' experiences may be a bit more dramatic than the typical coming home story.  I imagine that all people who journey back to their hometown after living in a different community, after years of a different job or with other families experience a bit of dysphoria.  

Going back to an old school as an adult gives a taller perspective.  As we change, the way we see things, even those most familiar to us changes.  

Passing as the opposite sex, gives us eyes to see the thin lines of gender in a new way.  To see the subtle sexism that we may not have noticed before.  

As Jesus returns to his hometown in a changed existence, with eyes that know physical pain and suffering, rejection and abandonment, I wonder how he saw his loved ones and those familiar to him in a new light.  

As Jesus ascends to heaven we assumed that he then takes on another form.  One, that Martin Luther imagines in his Table Talks, is without gender or sex.  Jesus ascends to a gender free reality.  

As easy assumption for someone who lives between genders to come to from this text.  

I wonder how the world looked from up there.  Far above the hubble telescope, where I imagine the earth and life on it looks smaller and smaller the higher he ascends.  The things that we argue about, for biblical correctness probably get smaller and smaller too (as we all do).

What are the things we need to ascend above?  What do we need to see with new eyes?

Righteous Anger

This week's text features Jesus overturning the temple tables in a rage about consumerism and trying to make a profit on the sacredness of temple ritual. What did he expect really? The temple was also a bank and the safest place to keep money. It was also a regular feature for the faithful to purchase their livestock for sacrifice. Busy as we all are, we can understand how convenient it would be to arrive at church (lets face it most San Franciscans arrive late) and have everything ready to go.

So what is with the righteous anger? Though today in our current economic state it's easy to get angry at capitalism, the sacrifice of the poor and the churches who have tightened their belts to think about numbers in the pews and their potential giving.

It's a good time to yell about workplace discrimination, bathrooms that are not accessible, the sexualization of trans people and political surgery requirements that leave lower income (and suregically disinterested) trans folk without proper id.

What is more surprising than Jesus' anger, is our lack of it today. Why aren't we demanding access to health care, fair voting rights, that the rights of minorities not be left to majority votes and for justice for those who are used as raw material to produce goods and services.

Where is our anger? Righteous or not.

God(dess) Gathers the Outcasts

Matthew 21:33-46

This is a very bloody parable indeed - well that is if you take it only as it is written here in Matthew. Surely Jesus and those who talk about this story were well aware that it is actually an illusion to a very well known story in Isaiah 5.

And surely if everyone in the conversation knew that Jesus was talking about the story in Isaiah, they would have also known that in the very next Chapter God(dess) sends a prophet to come and remind people that they are to maintain justice and care for the poor and widows. This is the same work Jesus was doing. While and strange and bloody way to say it, Jesus is using the Jewish stories that he loves to proclaim that he is a prophet who has come to bring justice for the poor.

The Good News is that we are not being called to plan, lobby or create new ways to make the world more just. Isaiah 56, calls us to: "Maintain justice, and do what is right, for soon my salvation will come, and my deliverance be revealed."

Did you notice the word "maintain"? God(dess) has already established justice, it is our job to maintain what God(dess) has done/declared. More bluntly, it's our job to try not to screw up G0d(dess)'s justice. This is much different than asking ourselves: What am I doing to create justice in the world? Instead we ought to ask ourselves: What we are doing to oppress others, to prevent our neighbor from having their daily bread or from being able to walk a step closer to God(dess)

I wonder how the world would change if we tried to work on our own inner oppressor. Namely, if we stopped judging others and telling them how they should be more just, and we work on being more just ourselves. This is afterall the true path to nonviolence.



Of course the story doesn't end there. Isaiah 56 says this is exactly what God(dess) is doing, by revaluating the ways God(dess) is oppressing others. In verse three it says: "Do not let the foreigner joined to the Lord say, 'The Lord will surely separate me from [God(dess)'s] people'; and do not let the eunuch say, 'I am just a dry tree.'"

This text is specifically talking about those the scriptures say are cut off from God(dess). Here God(dess) reverses course and declares they are in fact NOT separated from God(dess). This models the transformation in the book of Hosea when "Not my people" become "My people" and is also repeated in Ruth's love song to Naomi.

While used more broadly in other texts, here in Isaiah 56 it is explicetly tlaking about about the eunuchs, transgender individuals and those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual and queer. It means that none of these groups should have to prove they are worthy of God(dess)'s love because of how they love or transform their body. Rather all other Christians ought to be reaching out to them and giving them pastoral care and sharing words of grace with them to remind them that they are not seperated from God(dess).

It seems we've gotten it all backwards these days! Isaiah is clear God(dess) is more concerned with our faithfulness and our desire to maintain jusitice.

And though it is through the lens of Isaiah that we can understand Christ, this week's Matthew text is just one more of the many times that Jesus is proudly proclaiming the "the Lord God[(dess)], who gathers the outcasts of Israel" and proclaims that G0d(dess) "will gather others to them besides those already gathered." (Isaiah 56:8)

Proper 22A/Ordinary 27A/Pentecost +21