Sobering Work

Catholic theologian, John Shea, begins his commentary on the Great Commission by saying:

“So much begins when the heart cries, “This shouldn’t be!”

He is referring to our cries against hypocrisy and oppression, injustice and moral dysfunction. Times when we look around and see what is, and say, it shouldn’t be like this. Most everywhere we look today, we could say, This shouldn’t be!

Shea continues, saying: “It took me a long time to value prophetic grievers, the people who felt the underlying pain of situations and give it a voice. I always felt: ‘Enough already: let’s get on with it.’ Prophetic grieving was the first step, and I was always leery it would be the last step. We would complain and do nothing.”

Shea’s wariness is historically accurate. The prophets cry in the wilderness; most often in a great sea of silent apathy. It doesn’t mean they are wrong, it just means that no one is listening. The challenge to every prophetic voice is the numbness of the masses who have been anesthetized to the pain of the world. It has been the role of the prophets, preachers and sages for eons to awaken our hearts, to move us to compassion, to cry out, “This shouldn’t be!" and propel us into action.

Shea sees Jesus role here as not only prophet, but as one modeling the action necessary in response to that which should not be. As a prophetic witness Jesus sees all possible futures and sets about working toward the one in which justice and mercy reigns, the future bound up in the proclamation of Good News. So close is this possible future he tells the disciples, “the Kingdom of God has come near.” Now is the time to be sent out, now the harvest is plentiful he tells the disciples. He gives them authority over the demons and the ability to cure any illness and then commands them to go and take what has been freely given to them and freely “cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.” This is the work of everyone who follows Christ. And in our baptisms we have been given all that is needed to accomplish it. We have been given a great responsibility and we are not helpless, nor are we powerless.

So the work of the gospel is twofold: First we are to listen to the prophets in our midst, to see what they see; to see injustice, to see suffering, to see oppression, to see inequity, and to join their cries against every infraction against humanity and mother earth.  The second task is to do curative work. And the kind of work Jesus gives his followers to do is not the first thing that usually comes to mind when we think of the role of Christians in the world today. 

We are to cure the sick. Every person who has been baptized has been given the ability to lay hands on another for the purpose of healing. We do not appreciate the power that is in us and give that power away most of the time. We look to modern medicine to bring us to health and have forgotten or no longer take seriously the ability to assist one another with prayer and anointing and the laying on of hands. We are to cure the sick.

We are to raise the dead. This one might seems a bit of a stretch, but it isn’t. When we are distracted and our senses are suppressed by the many things in our culture that easily lull us into a kind of apathetic sleep, we are dead. We are, in fact, not living as full human beings; we cannot see fully what is going on all around us, we are desensitized to violence, corruption, environmental plundering, abject racism, and the outrageous ineffectiveness of every sector of governance to a stunning degree; we are lulled into complicity by hours of mindless television viewing, video gaming, engagement in social media and endless consumerism. Our worth is measured by materialistic standards and we have been formed and shaped by a capitalistic ethos which has no spiritual foundation. Happiness is contingent on having things and people acting as they ought too. When we eat junk, watch junk, talk junk, and our minds are cluttered with junk, this is what it means to be dead. Jesus commands us to raise the dead; and we must begin with ourselves. 

We are to cleanse the lepers. Lepers are people who are believed to be unclean due to a physical affliction. Leprosy has been eradicated in places of affluence, but not in places of profound poverty; there people cannot afford to buy the antibiotics that would save them from a life condemned to suffering and isolation.  The withholding of lifesaving medicines to those in need, whoever they are, wherever they are, on the basis of greed is a symptom of the unhealth of the human condition. Greed is spiritual sickness. But if we are seeking a cure from outside ourselves we are misguided. Remember that it is we who have called to heal the sick. 

But the metaphor of lepers may also be extended as a call for the full acceptance of all those who are different from ourselves. In Jesus’ day healed lepers were legitimized by religious authorities before they could be accepted back into society. To cleanse means to legitimize, to give authority, to extend freedom, to release from oppression. Who are the lepers today? Who do we see as unclean? Whose nature do we judge as unacceptable? Whose claim to life and liberty is deemed illegitimate? Who among us is less than? Who is foreign; who are the immigrants and the refugees? Who do we fear? What cultural and social myths prevent us from knowing that we are one people of many colors and languages and customs? Today, in our observance of Juneteenth we celebrate one victory. The laws have changed, freedom has been won. But the disease of perceived separation and individualization, the disease of racism that is deep in the tissues of our society remains, often existing in whole communities unchecked and in many places, nurtured and encouraged. Do we not know that being white, with a long history of racial oppression that continues to this day, makes us lepers to much of the world? We are to cleanse the lepers. 

We are to cast out demons. Of all the things on that list this one seems to be the one that seems the most improbable, if not fantastical. In fact, we gloss over it, as if it had not been spoken. But this is the one we really need to be working on. I don’t know when exactly we stopped taking seriously the existence of demons. Thankfully, the indigenous peoples never stopped taking them seriously. They know a demon when they see one. But largely we don’t believe in such things therefore we don’t see them. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t there. The gospels are full of accounts of Jesus casting out demons, or unclean spirits. It must have been important if it made the ‘to do’ list for the disciples. Have you ever seen a demon? I propose to you, that they are all around us, and sometimes in us. And they don’t really belong there. Demons are powerful entities that create havoc in the world and in our lives. And they should never be dismissed or ignored. Jesus took their work very seriously. I’m not sure why we don’t. Perhaps we think that science has somehow debunked demonology as mythology. But science itself tells us that there is far more unknown in the universe then known. Or perhaps the institutional memory of the Salem Witch Trails and the evil it performed still casts a long shadow. The influence of the movie, The Exorcism, has surely influenced us with horrific visons. While it is true that casting out demons is serious work and requires extensive training it is equally true that the goal is always and solely for healing, for both the person afflicted and misplaced spirit. It is never to do harm or inflict suffering in any way. The policy of the Episcopal Church is as follows: “In accordance with established tradition, those who find themselves in need of [exorcism] should make the fact known to the bishop, through their parish priest, in order that the bishop may determine whether exorcism is needed, who is to perform the rite, and prayers or other formularies are to be used.” However, our bishops are no longer trained to do this work. And yet who could possibly observe the world in its present state and not see that we are possessed by forces that work against God’s purposes and are in need of spiritual intervention? We are to cast out demons. 

This is the work of the Great Commission. It is the nitty gritty behind the command to love one’s neighbor as ourselves. It is healing work. We are called to nothing less than to heal the world. We begin with the healing of our own wounds and dispelling our own demons. Our healing creates an internal environment in which love can enter in and the illusion of separation can dissipate. Then, and only then will we see what we are doing to each other and to the earth and to the creatures of the earth and be moved to cry out: This shouldn’t be!