What has Jesus to do with us?

A minister decided to leave parish ministry. He ran into trouble, however, when he could not find another job. Finally, in desperation, he took a job at the zoo. It seems the gorilla had died, and since it was a favorite of the children, the zoo officials decided to put someone in a gorilla suit until a suitable replacement could be found. The minister was the newest hire, so he was asked to put on the gorilla suit, hop around the cage, and entertain the kids.

Since he badly needed a job, the minister reluctantly agreed to play the gorilla. To his amazement, he found this to be the best job he’d ever had. People were paying more attention to him now than they ever did when he was preaching. He had all he wanted to eat. He could take a nap in the sun whenever he wanted to. It was all part of the act. He loved it.

One day, as he hopped up and down, he felt so energized that he decided to try the trapeze. He grabbed the bar and began swinging back and forth in wider and wider arcs. Finally, in one great swing, he lost his grip on the bar, flew over the fence, and landed on his back in the next cage. In a semi-conscious state, he looked up and saw a ferocious lion staring at him. Naturally, he forgot he was supposed to be a gorilla and started screaming, “Help! Help!” To which the lion responded, “Shut up you fool. I’m a minister, too.”

During 40 years as a parish priest I was never sent to the zoo…but I may have come close to it a few times!

In the Gospel reading for today, Jesus and his disciples go to Capernaum—Galilee’s ground zero—and enter the synagogue there. A deranged man shouts, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.”

Why does Mark tell this story? Two thousand years later it is hard for us to know. A man who is out of his mind is able to recognize Jesus when others apparently cannot appreciate who he is.

Perhaps we should ask ourselves the deranged man’s question: What has Jesus to do with us…with you and with me? What do we need that we don’t already have? Is there something missing?

In the verse to her hit song “Born That Way,” Lady Gaga sings:

“There’s nothing wrong with lovin’ who you are…cause he made you perfect, babe.”

I have no problem with the first part of that. If you know you are loved, accepted, and forgiven, “There’s nothing wrong with lovin’ who you are…”

But are we perfect?

We don’t have to see ourselves in St. Augustine’s doctrine of Original Sin, or Martin Luther’s “total depravity of man”—although my wife, after 57 years of marriage to me and having three sons, might pause over that one!—or the Book of Common Prayer’s “miserable sinners,” to recognize no one is perfect. We all have room for improvement. We all need grace.

Then what has Jesus to do with us? The teachings of Jesus aim at helping us develop our fullest human potential, to be all that we can be.

“I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

The path to abundant life is outlined in the fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters of St. Matthew’s Gospel, a collection of Jesus’ sayings called the “Sermon on the Mount.” On first reading those chapters we may well think that Jesus has “come to destroy us.”

“If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also.”

“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you...”

“You cannot serve God and wealth.”

That’s strong medicine for what ails the human spirit, isn’t it?

I want to share with you this morning three things from the Sermon on the Mount I believe can lead to a fuller, richer life for us all.

1. Be a Peacemaker.

Blessed are the peacemakers.

Some politicians, pundits, and media people are trying to demonize Iran. Our enemy is not the Iranian people. Our quarrel is with the Iranian government. That is an important distinction.

We should not demonize the Iranian people and talk irresponsibly of war with Iran. War is a crime against humanity.

Did you know there are more than 500,000 Iranians living in the greater Los Angeles area? Most of them have family and friends in Iran.

We need a diplomatic offensive, not a military offensive.

Similarly, we should resist the growing prejudice against Muslim Americans. Muslim Americans are loyal, law-abiding citizens. Only a tiny, lunatic fringe pose a threat. The Department of Homeland Security keeps close watch on them.

Peacemaking begins at home. Last weekend I visited my older brother in Eugene. He is a retired priest, like me. You might think our visit would be all sunshine and light. You’d be wrong.

We did very well until the last day, almost the last hour, of the visit. Then we had a spat. My sister-in-law fled the room. Both my brother and I were unwilling to part like that, so we patched it up.

It is not always possible to heal relationships, but it is important to try.

With whom do you need to be reconciled? Spouse? Child? Brother? Sister? Neighbor? Friend? Co-worker?

2. Look out for what’s right, for ourselves and others.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.

Yesterday, at St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco, there was a large gathering of religious leaders calling for the reform of unjust immigration laws in this country. The Roman Catholic Archbishop was there. I’m glad to say our bishop, Marc Andrus, was there, too.

Undocumented immigrants who have lived and worked here for years are being deported. Families are being torn apart. Children born here—legal Americans--are being separated from their parents. It is a nightmare, and it is happening right here in the U.S.A.

We must work for social justice.

We all know there is a growing disparity between rich and poor in America, and between the super rich and all the rest of us. Many people are out of work. They would gladly take a job at the zoo if it were available.

We must not simply vote our selfish interests. As Christians, we cast a proxy vote for Jesus. We need to support those candidates and measures we believe have the best chance of operating for the common good.

Remember the bumper sticker, “What would Jesus do?” That question should be on our minds when you and I enter the voting booth. We need to vote for social justice.

3. Care for one another.

Blessed are the merciful.

At church in Eugene last Sunday, I happened to sit at the end of a pew. A man in a motorized wheelchair parked in the aisle next to me. He seemed in high spirits, smiling and chatting with friends.

He was a man about my age. I introduced myself and asked what he did for a living. He told me he was a counselor and had worked with people like himself who had physical limitations. He had really enjoyed his work, he said.

Here was a man who found fulfillment in helping others. Instead of being focused on his own needs, he had focused on the needs of others. It had brought him the greatest pleasure.

My mother-in-law had a friend who, after she retired, saw a sign at the public library in her town asking for volunteers to teach adults to read. She took up the challenge. This woman told my mother-in-law her greatest joy in life came from helping someone to read road signs, job applications, letters from grandchildren.

On Friday, President Obama spoke to an enthusiastic crowd of students at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. In that speech he said, “We’ve got responsibilities, yes, to ourselves, but also to one another.”

It was great to hear a president of the United States state so clearly the Jesus ethic of neighbor love. We do have a responsibility to one another.

What has Jesus to do with us? He calls us to find our greatest fulfillment in peacemaking, looking out for what’s right for ourselves and others, and caring for one another.

What have you to do with helping create this abundant life for all?

The Rev. Fred Fenton

St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church

Livermore, California

The Fourth Sunday After The Epiphany