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The Twenty-Third Sunday After Pentecost
Almighty and everlasting God, give unto us the increase of faith, hope, and charity; and, that we may obtain that which thou dost promise, make us to love that which thou dost command; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 25)
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The Twenty-Third Sunday After Pentecost
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Scripture citation(s): Acts 15:12-22; I Corinthians 15:1-11; Matthew 15:54-58
A Sermon by
The Rev. Canon Carl Turner
on
Acts 15:12-22; I Corinthians 15:1-11; Matthew 15:54-58
✛
Whoever does the will of my father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.
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There are a number of followers of Jesus named James in the New Testament, two of them were numbered among the Twelve, and one of the letters in the New Testament bears the name. But who was James ‘the brother of the Lord’? And if he was the brother of Jesus does that contradict the teaching of the Church for centuries, including Reformation leaders, that Mary remained a Virgin?[1] To answer that questions, many Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and Lutheran theologians have simply asserted that James the Son of Alphaeus, one of the Twelve, often known as James the less, is one and the same James of Jerusalem, the brother of the Lord, the author of the epistle and the one who led the Church in Jerusalem as outlined in our reading from the Acts of the Apostles today.
Biblical commentators of all traditions tell us that the scriptural references to ‘brothers and sisters’ is not exactly as we might understand them 2000 years later, and that familial ties were far looser; brother and sister in the bible can just as easily mean cousin or even nephew. Others argue that there is no word in Old Testament Hebrew or Aramaic for what we would call cousin and to be associated closely with the family was to be a brother or a sister of the person in question.
So, the argument goes, we can safely say that the Lord had no ‘real’ brothers.
Or can we?
As an adoptive parent, my wife and I know only too well the issues surrounding parenting and lineage. A rather naïve social worker once said to my wife “Have your children ever met their real parents?” To which my wife responded without hesitation, “I think you will find that we are not figments of our children’s imaginations!”
To be real parents may have nothing to do with biological factors at all. Our children did not receive any of our DNA but we are their real parents and now, proud grandparents of Edward John who, significantly, bears names from two different families – including Katie’s adoptive family. Sometimes a name is far more part of our DNA than genes or chromosomes.
Of course, St Paul uses the concept of adoption himself to make the strongest of points which may well help us on this feast day to celebrate it with great joy. Writing to the Galatians, Paul says this: “When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.” (Galatians 4:4-7)
To be adopted in the Bible was to become a true child and a true heir of the estate that would be left after the death of the parent. Writing to the Galatians, Paul makes the powerful case that if we are adopted by God, then in Christ Jesus we become his children; and if we become his children, then we are truly brothers and sisters of the Lord.
Writing to the Romans Paul says this: “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family.” (Romans 8:28-29)
‘The firstborn within a large family.’
In the Epistle reading we heard today, Paul talks about the Lord revealing himself after his Resurrection to over 500 ‘brethren’.
Now we begin to truly understand how significant it is to be called the brother or the sister of the Lord. What we celebrate today, and James’ part in it, is the remarkable nature of God’s family which we call the Church or the Body of Christ. This ‘new Israel’, which is how Paul describes the early Church is to be understood in familial terms. Does it matter that James is the ‘real’ brother of Jesus? Yes, because we are all brothers and sisters of Jesus and part of that great family of which he was the firstborn – the incarnate Son of God.
The old Israel was formed through tribal and familial ties in a covenant relationship with God. The new Israel was to be formed of Jews and Gentiles – an inclusive community spanning the whole of humankind – prayed for by Jesus in the upper room in John’s Gospel, and encouraged by Peter and Paul and, as we heard today, James.
“Someone told Jesus, “Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.” But to the one who had told him this, Jesus replied, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12:47-50)
So my friends, that brings us back to Mary and her special place in the family. Standing at the foot of the cross in John’s Gospel she witnessed the passion and the death of her Son. Significantly, she is commended to the beloved disciple as his mother, and the Beloved Disciple to her as her son. Although tradition has often named this disciple as John, there is significance that this is the beloved disciple – who could represent any follower of Christ. As she witnessed the piercing of the side of Christ with a lance, there poured out blood and water from his sacred heart – the writer of the fourth Gospel makes the point of this being a testimony. What is being testified? Mary gave birth to God’s Son – through blood and water and pain. On the cross, there was a new-birth, which still involved blood and water and pain, and, significantly, the Mother is still there and with the Beloved Disciple. A new people – a new family – was born through the death of Jesus on the cross and ushered in hope for a fragile and sinful world; a hope that would become reality through the Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus Christ.
Some words of Michael Ramsey:
“Standing near the Cross [Jesus sees] his own mother Mary and John the disciple… There we see the family of Christ, the family which will ever have Good Friday and Easter at its center. To this family every committed Christian belongs, worthy or unworthy, faithful or unfaithful. The family of Christ. Within this family each has his or her own Christian calling.” (from ‘The Cross and World’ – Six Holy Week talks given on BBC Radio 4 in 1979).
_______________
[1] For a fascinating essay on this from an historical point of view in the Episcopal Church, see ‘MARY THE VIRGIN; AS COMMEMORATED IN THE CHURCH OF CHRIST.’ by The Rev’d Samuel Seabury (Grandson of Bishop Samuel Seabury) and also an essay “Who Was James, the Lord’s Brother?” by the Rev’d . M. Mahan. Both available on the website ‘Project Canterbury.’
