Propio 5 B + Brick out of the wall + 6.9.24

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M. Campbell-Langdell

All Santos, Oxnard

(1 Samuel 8:4–11, (12–15), 16–20, (11:14–15); Ps. 138; 2 Cor. 4:13–5:1; Mark 3:20–35)

We don't need no education
Wе don't need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers, lеave them kids alone
Hey! Teacher! Leave us kids alone!

All in all, it's just another brick in the wall
All in all, you're just another brick in the wall

From Pink Floyd “Another Brick in the Wall,” from The Wall, 1979.

Some of you may recognize the iconic song from rock group Pink Floyd, “Another Brick in the Wall.”

As I kid, I saw this song as a rebellion song of kids who are ready for summer break! I think of the kids and teachers finishing school this week and next and bet some of you relate. We want freedom – no more indoctrination! Of course, I don’t feel that way about education now. Over time I have grown to love education as a way, not of being indoctrinated, but of being free.
Instead, I see this song as a challenge to any kind of authoritarianism or indoctrination. In my interpretation, using some poetic license, I see it as a warning not to put too much stock into the human leaders of this world, but instead to trust in God’s guidance. To remain internally free.

I see a similar warning in the passage from the first book of Samuel today. Theologian Joy J. Moore recapped this passage in the Sermon Brainwave Podcast for this week in this way (paraphrasing). “This is a warning- this leader, this king you seek, will make you the chauffeurs of the privileged, warriors against his assigned enemies. He will make your daughters servants for his pleasure without regard to their humanity. And by the time you have realized you have lost everything; you will have no relationship with … God.”[1]

This is a sobering and difficult word. But I think important to be mindful of. As we discussed in the section of Cordelia’s Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold on Wednesday of this week, the best leaders are the ones who take very seriously how wrong everything could go. The very worst kings and other leaders are the ones who take power without being wise in their use of it. They just add another brick in the wall. The wall that separates us from God and from a just society.

As we anticipate independence celebrations next month, let us remember that the founders of this nation fought for internal and external liberty. I must add that they did this in a very flawed way, because much of our young nation’s economic system was based on the bondage of people. We continue as a people to work on better repenting of this reality. But at the base of our nation’s founding was desire to be free from a bad leader in the form of the King of England at that time.

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus’ internal freedom, manifested before this passage in his healing of a person without being bound by a restrictive view of sabbath rules, is seen as wrong and bad. They actually think he has a demon for healing and doing good! It is hard for me to fathom this. We shall know people by their fruits, and Jesus’ fruits are that of healing and restoring wholeness.
If someone is so far from understanding God’s ways as to see good as evil, perhaps that is the greatest sin, because it is the hardest one to recover from. We must be able to tune our vision to see good as good, and not as evil.

But as it says in 2nd Corinthians, we do not lose heart! Because in Jesus we are not subject to the powers of this world. In our baptismal promises and covenant, we assert this truth. We know that whatever our outside looks like, God is renewing us inside, in our hearts and souls.

Jesus takes away the bricks from the walls that have built up in our heart and allows us to reconnect with God. One way Jesus does this is to renew our sense of family.
In June, next week we celebrate father figures in our lives, and June is also Pride month and one of the themes of queer communities is chosen family. We love our families of origin, but if they do not love us back, or if they do but we wish to augment our sense of family, we seek new families and new connections.

I see Jesus doing the same in this week’s reading. We know he loves his family, his mother and brothers, his adopted father from other parts of the New Testament. But he is telling us something new here. About how family is not only about blood. He says:

“Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

Our true family, be they of blood or brought to us another way, are those who do God’s will. Whether it be in leaders, or family relationships, we must look to the fruits of the people around us. Are they healing and otherwise leading to wholeness and right relationship? Then they will help you connect to God. Are they putting bricks in the wall between you and God? Then you must exercise caution.

Now, this is not to say we must cut off those who would seem to think or operate differently. There is far too much division in this world. Jesus does not write off his family in this moment either, even though they might be seen to be interrupting his ministry. We don’t need more walls, even if they are put up for well-meaning reasons.

Instead, we must reconnect with God and with those who help us stay connected with God, and then go out and try to connect with those who would be building walls. It is foolish work, and we may only do it by removing one brick at a time, but Jesus would say that this internal and external work will help us to remain free. We will not be bound! As we seek healing and wholeness together, we will find our freedom.

Amen.

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