Radical Church

Psalm 98
Gospel according to Mark 9: 30-37
Meditation
Let us acknowledge with thanks that we are on land cared for by the Elders of the Wurundjeri people for many millennia, and so commit ourselves to the task of reconciliation.

Today, here and now, we are sharing in a Valedictory service. The word valedictory means a farewell oration (especially one delivered during graduation exercises by an outstanding member of a graduating class); a closing or farewell statement or address, especially one delivered at graduation exercises. I will speak now, and later the Valedictorians prayer, composed by a former student, will be prayed. The word valedictory comes from the Latin: vale farewell; goodbye.

So there is an ending here. A farewell. And yet, this is but one more step on your path. When I was in the United States in March one year I noticed the graduating students were attending Commencement ceremonies. Why commencement? because as they graduate and finish their studies they are commencing a new life! Setting out on a new path on their journey through life.

We live in a country where Aboriginal people had a pattern of journeys across this land. In our literature it’s the same: someone sets out on a journey, faces great dangers, and survives arriving at their goal: think of Pilgrims Progress, Tess of the d’Urbervilles, Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, and so on.

It’s true of the great spiritual traditions, too: Buddha sets out on a path of Enlightenment; Abraham (father of Jewish Muslim and Christian peoples) sets out from his settled home to become a nomad heading toward a promised land; the Jewish people remember that Moses led them on a journey, an exodus.

And every day now we hear reports of people who have set out on a dangerous journey as refugees, in boats, or planes, or trucks, looking for a new life. Most, if not all, of us are here because someone in our family set out on a journey to get to this great south land.

It is a normal thing for people to fly from Australia to places all over the planet, in journeys of all sorts. No doubt students who are completing their time here at St Hilda’s have plans for some sort of travel.

I recall that members of the earliest Christian community called themselves ‘people of the Way’; they understood that life is a journey. And in church services week by week, many congregations follow the journey Jesus took from the northern region of Galilee to the southern capital city, Jerusalem.

I come to this theme as a member of the church, a uniting Church minister. I know that we are a mixed group here today, with a variety of beliefs. Allow me to let you in to how I hear what happens with Jesus ‘on the way’ to Jerusalem. When he turns south, he warns his hand-picked companions that when he gets to the capital city he will be arrested and killed; and this is the way he must go. He repeats this to them several times; and he warns them that if they are to be his followers they will share in the same fate.

Then what happens? As soon as Jesus has finished talking about ‘losing self’, his travelling companions have an argument about who is the greatest. That is not really surprising. After all, like them, we are used to aspiring to be the greatest. I saw ‘Mao’s Last Dancer’ the other day. The film has its power because the Chinese dancer is superlative, one of the greatest. In academic life rewards are given to those who excel. And we also know how disappointed we are when we fail to match those dreams.

So it is entirely ‘natural’ for those people following Jesus, a special a teacher, to want to be his best student. And, more than that, they are following him because they imagine he will invade the city, take charge and set up his empire. If he is going to win power, they want to share in it. Except that Jesus has said that he is going to the city to lose everything, including his life. The New Testament has a Greek word for this: kenosis: self-loss. That is the summary of Jesus’ path.

When Jesus asks his disciples what they a were arguing about there is a silence. Probably an embarrassed silence. Then Jesus takes it in hand, and reminds his followers what he has said about his own destiny. And more, if anyone wants to follow it is in these terms; the greatest must be the least, the last will be first.

And then to make the point, he takes a child and says that this child is a picture of the kingdom of God. He is not talking about the child because it is cute. in those days children had no rights, and were most defenceless. Think of the African children now in AIDS-ridden Africa, and we are close to it. Putting such a weak one at the centre Jesus explains that anyone who wants to take the path he does must be ready to receive the one who is nothing!

Here we are hearing something that is completely counter-cultural – completely against every thing we think is normal. If the world tells us to put our ego first, Jesus says that he loses his ego for the sake of God and for the sake of humanity – and calls on his followers to do the same.
In other words, because Jesus puts his Father God at the centre of his concern, it removes his ego from the centre.

That is the path of life that he offers.

Jesus warns of the usual way things are, there is a hierarchy of power and those at the top rule for themselves. A friend who has just had heart surgery tells me that the medical world the GP is on the bottom of the pecking order, and the surgeon is on the top, and, of course, is most highly paid. The anaesthetist, he says, doesn’t even get acknowledgement because of being a mere scientist! Or you might think of military life, where the decorated and celebrated soldier kills most enemies, and does ‘heroic’ deeds.

And there is the role of political power: there is nothing as helpless as an opposition leader under attack undermined by others wanting power. And he ultimate, of course, is to be Prime Minister (as the name suggests – or, perhaps in reality, it is better to be an executive of a corporation, earning millions of dollars per year!

Power works in hierarchies. And yet perhaps there is something in the Australian approach that has learned from what Jesus is: where we affirm a life lived serving the best interests of others, especially the poor and sick. Consider Fred Hollows giving sight to African people; or Weary Dunlop, the general, who is remembered because of his care for the wounded and sick; or politicians who are remembered well because of social policies they set up to support those on low incomes. They used their power for the good of others. We see that too, in the current Quarterly Essay – a piece by Noel Pearson who, what ever we may think of his particular views, acts tirelessly for his people and in this essay is addressing questions of education and equality.

Today, as you conclude your studies – this part of them, at least – it is natural to recall your achievements and your successful path. As you do that let Jesus’ words echo when he speaks of ‘dying to yourself’, putting the last first, welcoming the little child. Follow the trajectory of his life as he empties himself, giving himself fully to his Father – which set him free to step out of the centre. That is what he offers his companions. Put him at the centre, and you no longer need to be at the centre of power. You will be free to give yourself away and to serve the best interests of those in need.

He also offers a gift to us when we fail to achieve what we longed for; when we judge ourselves to be a failure. At that point, when we are at our lowest, he reminds us that we a children of God, people of great dignity, with the possibility of living again, for him, and for others. And when we have to face hard things: the death of a parent or friend or loved one; serious physical or mental illness; the loss of certainty, he also gives us his companionship, promising to walk along the dark paths with us.

In all this, he relieves us of having to be at the centre of things; and frees us to put at the centre the person who has the least.

All that will allow us to receive the gift of learning we have been given, for the sake of others. We will receive our intelligence and will be set free to explore the universe, for others. In this we will receive life.

And to Valedictorians in particular, on this special, you will be free to remember all who have given life to you and have supported you, and to thank them. As they have given you the wealth of this education in this elite place, you are now free to explore how to use your gifts for the good of the weakest, most powerless and poorest in the world. How will you give of yourself in caring for the planet and all forms of life on it; how will you contribute to the making of life in whatever you do?

So I wish you this: may you discover the path that leads to life.

Let me now offer prayer and invite you to pray with me.
Welcoming companion God who has made the world with all its natural beauty and wealth and sets us on the path of life,
we thank you for your goodness to us.
We pray especially for Valedictory students concluding their courses, preparing for final exams, finishing papers, and anticipating their future, that their studies will bear good fruit. We give thanks for their learning, for all who have taught them; we give special thanks for their time in St Hilda’s as home, and for all who have enriched their life here.
With these students we also pray for all who are about to take a next step into a new future, that it may be a blessing to them.

We pray for all who face tests, examinations, assessment. And we pray especially for those who fail to achieve what they hoped for. May they learn that they are not measured as a person by their grades; release them from their disappointment and despair, so that they are free to become the people you will them to be.
We give thanks for those who have gone before us, people of every belief who have put their own ego in the service of others, whose example shows us how to live in freedom for God and for the good of others. Make us generous of heart and spirit.
Today, with the Valedictorians, we give special thanks for all who have walked with us to this point, parents, families friends and companions. Where they have given encouragement, shown generosity and support, may we thank them. And if we have taken their presence and support for granted, help us to find words and ways to show our gratitude.
We pray for children and all who will come after us that we will care for the planet and hand it on to them in good shape.

We remember with sorrow all whose lives have been devastated by natural events: bushfire, tsunami, earthquake, flood and typhoon, and for all who bear the burden of poverty in our global financial crisis. We remember those who are dear to us who have died; we pray for all who grieve the loss of family or friends through accident or illness. Set us free to look after the interests of those in need, who face death and grief and poverty; give us imagination and courage to support the weakest members of our world community. Fill us with hope for your future.
All these things we pray in the name of Jesus Christ. AMEN ,