...And All the Water Was At Ease

Brad Sullivan

Proper 21, Year B

September 30, 2018

Emmanuel, Houston

Numbers 11:4-6,10-16,24-29

Psalm 19:7-14

James 5:13-20

Mark 9:38-50

…And All the Water Was At Ease

Between the woods the afternoon

Is fallen in a golden swoon.

The sun looks down from quiet skies

To where a quiet water lies;

And silent trees stoop down to trees.

And there I saw a white swan make

Another white swan in the lake;

And, breast to breast, both motionless,

They waited for the wind's caress,

And all the water was at ease.

-          The Mirror, A.A. Milne

That poem is The Mirror by A.A. Milne, one of my favorites.  My mom used to read the Complete Poems of Winnie the Pooh to my brother and me as kids growing up, and I have been reading those poems to our kids as they grow up.  I love the peace and beauty of this poem where there are these two swans seemingly similar and yet as different as they can be, different as night and day.

One swan is flesh and blood, bones and feathers, the other one photons reflected off the surface of a lake, and yet they touch, uncrowded, sharing that space in peace, waiting for the wind’s caress.

Jesus’ disciples could have learned a little something from these two swans.  When they saw the other casting out demons in Jesus’ name, it was too close:  too close to who they were and what they believed, and yet too different.  He was not one of them, and they wanted him to stop. 

I think we understand the disciples reaction pretty well.  I daresay last week was one of the most contentious weeks in America in quite some time…in politics which then affected most of our lives, with the continued senate confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh as we heard from Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and her allegations of sexual assault against Judge Kavanaugh. 

How could anyone who believes her possibly be a Christian, or how could anyone who believes him possibly be a Christian?  The confirmation for a Supreme Court judge has been ripping us apart because we can’t imagine the other side belonging.  “If you do this or if you declare that, then I just declare you to be outside of Jesus and his way.”  “If they are in the church, then I am going to have to leave.” 

Which group gets to be a follower of Jesus?  Which group gets to declare who gets to be a follower of Jesus?  Which political party gets to claim Jesus and be his followers? Which socio-economic group gets to claim Jesus and be his followers?  Which race or gender gets to claim Jesus and be his followers?

Well, it’s pretty clear.  Jesus said that whoever agrees with him in at least 83.4% of what they do and say and believe…  He didn’t say that. 

“Whoever is not against us are for us,” Jesus said.

The other who claims Jesus and does deeds of power in Jesus’ name, is claimed by Jesus.  So we gather, breast to breast, motionless, and wait for the wind’s caress, and all the water is at ease.

What are we to do then with those with whom we disagree so viscerally that there is violence inside of us ready to explode out?  We speak with those other, kindly, and we listen to those others.  We talk.  We allow ourselves to be right.  We allow the other to be wrong.  Hopefully they allow us to be wrong, and we don’t declare them outside the camp, or terrible, or awful…even if we’re thinking it.  We gotta leave a little room for Jesus in that.  For if our rightness causes us to sin, then cut it out and allow ourselves to be wrong.

How do we live with those with whom we disagree?  Well, we continue to follow our baptismal covenant.  We continue to speak, and work, and strive for justice.  We continue to speak, and work, and strive to respect the dignity of every human being, including the wrong ones.  We continue to speak, and work, and strive for the values we hold, and then we allow those others to still be wrong and to still be disciples of Jesus.  “Have salt within yourselves, and be at peace with one another,” Jesus said.

Those who claim Jesus and strive for his kingdom and whose ways and beliefs you find abhorrent?  We’ll, you’re probably right that they are wrong, and Jesus’ grace is sufficient for their wrongness and for yours.

As silent trees stoop down to trees, we remain breast to breast, both motionless, and we wait together for the wind’s caress, and let the water be at ease.