Strange Places, Persons, and Actions

It would be hard to come up with a place with more enduring and varied religious associations than that place known variously as Caesarea Phillipi, Paneas, or today Banias.

Long before the Hebrew people came to the region, it was a place of worship of the gods of the underworld.

It is one of those special and mysterious places around the world, a place where great springs issue forth from a high arching cave.

Farther back in time than we even know details, people have regarded this as a liminal place, the border between this world and the time and place of the gods.

On entering the cave, the rumbling and gurgling of the waters could be heard, the discussions of the gods deep underground.

An offering to these unseen gods could be thrown into the dark void where it might be accepted and kept by the gods; if it was rejected the offering would reappear in one of the springs opening outside of the cave.

In the time of Alexander the Great in the 4^th century BC, the Greeks came to this area and observed that it looked much like their home region, and decided that the underground god which they were hearing in the cave was Pan, and the area became known as Paneas.

The archaeologists say that at least 14 temples across the centuries were build here, including a temple of white marble erected in 20 BC by Herod the Great in honor of his patron Caesar Augustus.

So Jesus comes to this locale, with religious associations from time immemorial, with temples to many different gods, with plants and animals and lush growth like nowhere else in Israel because of the abundance of water and the favorable climate, and with the gleaming white temple to Caesar the all-powerful god-like ruler as the crown of the complex.

We can imagine that the disciples felt out of place, the country bumpkins in a place of such venerable sophistication.

They must have felt very strange as their little procession came up the road.

Jesus could have asked the questions anywhere, but he chose this place,

this ancient place,

this seat of Roman imperial power,

this place that seems so foreign to the villagers from Galilee,

this place that presents such a challenge to Jews who firmly believe the First Commandment “You shall have no other god”

as the place where he asks the general question: “Who do people say that I am?”, and then the very specific question, “Who do you say that I am?”

The question is right there exactly in the middle of Mark's gospel; it is the key question and challenge for the disciples then as well as everyone who has heard this word from Jesus since then.

As we come together today, we are in a time and place where we are surrounded by the worship of many gods.

We live in a wonderful place, often green, where we can have food and goods and services brought from far away for whatever is lacking here already.

Temples? Oh, yes, we have temples and the worship of many gods.

It is easy for us to become caught in the worship of luxury and ease.

--I guess we are supposed to be jealous of those persons on the house-hunting TV shows who look at $1 million and more homes and reject some because the color shade of the polished granite counter-top is not quite right.

--Twenty years ago we would get a few visitors from the Little League families at St. Mark's during their time here, but more recently, absolutely no one.

What gods are being worshiped around us?

There are times that we observe how we really don't fit into the culture around us.

--For example, in trying to cut corners, a teen might claim that all parents lie and list hours on the chart that they simply invent, the hours that teen drivers are to put in behind the wheel before taking the driving test.

No, our teens' parents are not going to do that, even if “everybody” is doing it.

The requirement is for the good of the teen, the family, and the whole community... even if it is uncomfortable.

Why did the Old Testament prophets speak so often about looking out for the widow, the orphan, and the “sojourner in the land”?

It was because they had no one to speak for them.

The covenant people were not to reject such persons to but aid them.

The prophets had to talk about it so often because it was so easy for everyone to ignore.

By the term “sojourner in the land” we can understand it today as “refugee.”

It is a strange and uncomfortable situation for us to talk about refugees, those people who are literally at the edge of life.

Strange and uncomfortable situations are not an impediment to Jesus.

In the chapter in Mark prior to the one we read today, Jesus went north to Tyre and Sidon,(present day Lebanon) a strange place for a Galilean, and while there heals a Greek woman and leads her to faith.

Next he travels to the south and east, the region of the Decapolis, (present day Jordan), also foreign territory with lots of Greek and Roman presence, and there heals a man with a speech impediment and deafness.

No, Jesus does not travel any more or any further outside of typical Hebrew territory, but these little trips are enough to establish the principle that he will reach out to unexpected people in strange places and work both his good news of healing body and spirit as well as making his challenge to them, just as he does with anyone else.

And he will share with us the responsibility to continue this work.

Today is Confirmation day for several of our young folks.

We celebrate it now in September to help make it clear that it is not a graduation from anything, but rather a milestone along the way of their lives as Christians.

The Camino Santiago has wonderful stone markers placed at kilometer intervals, listing the distance traveled and how many more kilometers until Santiago is reached.

Walkers regard these stones as a very positive thing, as reminders and encouragement.

And so we are briefly pausing today on our march through life to take note of where we have been in worship and study and retreat and relationship-building with our catechetical group in the context of this congregation.

There was a time in their lives when the things the youth could do was watch and mimic words and actions of other persons here when we are together.

This milestone is partially to recognize that they are at a point when their activities are now increasing.

And our youth are busy:

--One offered a portion of lunch to the so-called balloon-man sitting out in front of the church building one day recently.

--Others volunteer in serving at table here in worship without being asked.

--Students make decisions about how they will relate with other students consciously on the basis of what they have come to believe.

--And some of our students are recognizing that the world around them may think that they and their behavior is strange, and not much at home in the grab-all-you-can life out there.

And that is OK, because in these chapters in Mark we are hearing that the Lord went to strange places, dealt with strange people, with strange actions...and made all of that the new normal.

So now we have a different perception of what is “strange” and what is “normal”.

The strange persons are those who refuse to acknowledge Jesus as Lord; while true normality is being a member of the body of Christ.

The strange places are the safe places with no risks; the normal places are at the edges where Jesus always is.

The strange actions are the ones only concerned about oneself; the normal actions are those that reflect the command “You shall love the Lord your God and your neighbor as yourself.”

These new normal things are what our confirmands and indeed all of us are bid to learn, and to practice for a lifetime. AMEN.

Please note: The preceding sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him.