The New Testament and Beyond, Part 3 – sermon on August 23, 2015
Gospel of Mary 4: 37- 5: 9
Jesus said to them, “Go then and preach the gospel of the Kingdom. Do not lay down any rules beyond what I appointed you, and do not give a law like the lawgiver lest you be constrained by it. When He said this He departed.
But they were grieved. They wept greatly, saying, “How shall we go to the Gentiles and preach the gospel of the Kingdom of the Son of Man? If they did not spare Him, how will they spare us?” Then Mary stood up, greeted them all, and said to her brethren, “Do not weep and do not grieve nor be irresolute, for His grace will be entirely with you and will protect you. But rather, let us praise His greatness, for He has prepared us and made us fully human.” When Mary said this, she turned their hearts to the Good, and they began to discuss the words of the Savior.
Peter said to Mary, “Sister we know that the Savior loved you more than the rest of woman. Tell us the words of the Savior which you remember which you know, but we do not, nor have we heard them.” Mary answered and said, “What is hidden from you I will proclaim to you.” And she began to speak to them these words: “I saw the Lord in a vision and I said to Him, ‘Lord I saw you today in a vision.’ He answered and said to me, ‘Blessed are you that you did not waver at the sight of Me. For where the mind is there is the treasure.’”Gospel of Mary 9: 1-10
When Mary had said this, she fell silent, since it was to this point that the Savior had spoken with her. But Andrew answered and said to the brethren, “Say what you wish to say about what she has said. I at least do not believe that the Savior said this. For certainly these teachings are strange ideas.” Peter answered and spoke concerning these same things. He questioned them about the Savior: “Did He really speak privately with a woman and not openly to us? Are we to turn about and all listen to her? Did He prefer her to us?” Then Mary wept and said to Peter, “My brother Peter, what do you think? Do you think that I have thought this up myself in my heart, or that I am lying about the Savior?”
Levi answered and said to Peter, “Peter you have always been hot tempered. Now I see you contending against the woman like the adversaries. But if the Savior made her worthy, who are you indeed to reject her? Surely the Savior knows her very well. That is why He loved her more than us. Rather let us be ashamed and put on the perfect humanity, and separate as He commanded us and preach the gospel, not laying down any other rule or other law beyond what the Savior said.” And when they heard this they began to go forth to proclaim and to preach.
Sermon: The New Testament and Beyond, Part 3 by Rev. Doreen Oughton
History is told / written by the winners – at least for awhile. Over time, unquestioned stories begin to be questioned, perspectives widen as deeper truth is sought. Think about the founding of this nation. I remember the basic story being that Columbus discovered it; the pilgrims – sent on a mission of great religious import – overcame tremendous obstacles to tame it; and there was a noble wresting of independence from England. Over time people began to acknowledge there might be another perspective, especially for the native people that lived on this land for millenia. For them it was not a discovery but an invasion, not a taming but a slaughter. And perhaps the African slaves could most appreciate the hypocrisy of the European-American’s taking such pride in their struggle for independence while enslaving African people. Finally, these voices are being heard, these stories being told. These differing perspectives don’t mean the stories we heard are wrong, only that the were incomplete, partial, lacking in integrity in a sense.
Are we better off for it? I guess that’s a matter of opinion and often depends on the stakes held. These stories are important to me because I believe they would be important to Jesus. My understanding of Jesus is as one who constantly pointed out to those in power the burdens put on those on the fringes, as someone who insisted on listening to the stories of the broken and banished, the obvious losers of his time. I believe even his death on the cross was a statement about what we sin we are capable of when we are willing to scapegoat some people so that others can be comfortable in the supremacy of their story.
The books of the bible were determined by the winners of a struggle. I say this with respect and appreciation for the process and the motivation – to help widespread churches and individuals in their faith journey, to discern as a body with the help of the Holy Spirit which texts reveal God to us most meaningfully. There were efforts to define as clearly as possible the foundational tenets of faith for Christians, leading to the Nicene and other creeds, then an examination of sacred writings being used in faith communities to ensure the writings were consistent with these tenets. But we must keep in mind that the Christianity approved by the Roman state already looked quite different than it did when many of the writings were first done – a time when Christians were a persecuted minority. And so the canon was closed and the edict went out, with the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John getting the stamp of approval, and all others to be set aside, with the potential to be punished for heresy if they were used.
But with the discovery of these ancients texts, the voices are finally being heard, and we get to explore what had been lost to us all those years. Who were the “winners,” if you will, of the Councils that determined the canon and creeds?…. The institution of church? Religious authorities? Western cultures? … It’s a complicated question. Maybe more important than who, is the what – what ideas won out? (believing in the right thing is the way to be saved; someone else will tell you what sacred texts matter and how to understand them; professional clergy have better access to God than lay people; men may have leadership roles in the church, but not women; physical desires and even bodily functions are less holy than spiritual desires and functioning; celibacy is more sacred than marriage or an active sexuality….)
And who, or what ideas, lost out? What comes first to my mind is women in general, and specifically the importance of Mary Magdalene. Our book group read The Meaning of Mary Magdalene: Discovering the Woman at the Heart of Christianity, by Cynthia Bourgeault last spring, and this was the assertion of the book – that the approved gospels – perhaps intentionally or just because the writers mistook one Mary for another – diminished the important discipleship role of Mary, and the church for centuries after misidentified her as a prostitute. Bourgeault lifts up especially the deep love evident between Jesus and Mary, asserting that they were soul mates in the truest sense of the word. Now you all know that I can let my feminist flag fly, but there is more to this than asserting that women have been integral to the Christian faith from the time Mother Mary was chosen to bear a son; and that any so-called teachings that women ought to be silent in the church or subordinate to men are just wrong, wrong, wrong. I think we are given the opportunity here to listen to and learn from the voices that were lost. We have the chance to build greater integrity in our understanding and use of scripture, that our faith may become stronger, more meaningful, more enlivening.
So in addition to Mary Magdelene and other women disciples, who were the “losers” or what were the losing ideas? Now you have only the parts of these non-biblical texts that were read the last two weeks, and I’m sure you don’t recall them in detail. But if we look at the winning ideas, perhaps we can guess to some of the losing ideas – that the body is as holy as the Spirit; that there is a place for a personal search for truth in scripture; and a belief that God loves and speaks to us all – lay and clergy; male and female; black, white, brown, yellow and red; straight and gay. Bourgealt, in her book, explores the idea of soul-mates as most closely embodying the one-ness that is the truth of who we really are. Couples that connect spiritually, mentally, and physically have much to teach about the body of Christ. What a far cry this is from the teachings of the Church teachings on physical intimacy. Remember Paul’s teaching that it is better to be celibate, but if you can’t do that, it is better to marry than to burn – with frustration or in the fires of Gomorrah I am not sure.
My hope with this sermon series has been to encourage you to open your minds and hearts to the possibility that there is yet more light and truth to be revealed, and that it might be okay to be open to such revelation beyond our scripture canon. Our Monday night study group has long been exploring diverse books for spiritual wisdom, and perhaps other study groups will take some of these on, or new study groups may develop specifically around these alternative gospels. I didn’t really reflect on the readings shared this morning, and would love to do that some time, as well as reflect on other passages from the Gospels of Mary, Thomas, Peter and Judas. I would also like to include some of these texts with scripture from the canon when I preach from the lectionary to see if they can round out or challenge a particular thread. I hope that you will find it enlightening and meaningful to your growing faith.
