In it Together - Rev. Amanda Hopkins

In it together!  

That was the message that I heard at Shiloh Baptist Church this past Monday during its celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. I think that "being in it together" is an extremely timely message given all that is happening in our country.

This, after all is an election year. It's this year that we are asked to listen to our candidates and chose.  And, as the Doonesbury cartoon in the paper has been showing us, following the campaigns it is not just about choosing the right candidate but- it's about who is pure and good for our country as opposed to whom is detrimental to our society's wellbeing.

That we are all in it together is also a timely message given the economic state of our country. We have a group that calls itself the 99% and that feels disenfranchised from the possibilities and opportunities that seem to exist for only a few. 

This message of unity is also important given questions of immigration, workers visas, green card regulations, and voter registration requirements.

We live in a perpetual state of division. We are bombarded by radically contrasting labels such as good and bad, poor, rich and richer, and legal and illegal.  

Right now we need to hear King's message and indeed God's message of "all of us in it together".  We need to remember that God commands such unity and that it is for our ultimate good.

  In Mark's text we watch as Jesus calls Andrew and Simon and James and John to follow him and believe in the Good News. Jesus proclaims this news to them and they immediately drop everything and follow him.

What has Jesus done?  Jesus has broken into their normal, daily routine and told them to gather the people.  He must have shocked these men with the reality of God in such an indescribable way that they could do nothing but drop their nets and follow him.

In saying yes to Jesus they are taken out of their lives and the preoccupation with their own needs. Instead, they are fishing for people and sharing the good news that God and God's heavenly household has drawn near. From now on they would gather the people together. “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”  We are all in it together!

God also broke into Jonah's life and demanded that he gather the people. God shattered his normalcy, threw him off his boat and then swallowed him up and spit him out in Ninevah.

 Ninevah, is a capitol and a superpower. Built by King Sennacherib, it was a heavily walled and fortified city. It was the very embodiment of power, strength and self certainty. It thrived on being separated from those who paid its taxes, grew its food and supported its armies.  

But even in Ninevah, God's ways brought healing and salvation from destruction. In fact, it is Jonah who chastises God for being soft and saving such an undeserving people. Clearly, gathering people together, and saving them from calamity is part of God's purpose. Being in it together means recognizing that God desires that humanity be saved and restored as God's people. God seeks to gather both the 99% and the 1%.

 God desires to call all his people together. God's call can be so loud that it shatter's the cyclic vibrations of daily life. God's call can turn people from sources of human power and towards the purposes of God. We know that God's purpose means food, healing, and a restoration of people back into society. We also know that God is willing to spare powerful kingdoms if they at some point turn and recognize God. 

We know this about them what does "Being in it together" mean for us as a congregation? How is God calling this people together for God's good purposes?

Where is God urging each of us to leave our daily routines and gather the people together? At what point did God's call become so loud that this person decided to take on yet one more responsibility and volunteer to help with the youth program or that person to decide to join the choir?

What are we saying about God's idea of social security when we walk the Good Friday Pilgrimage through the streets of Rockville in support of the Rockville Community Ministries?  

What are we saying about God's vision of inclusivity, respect and equal value when we participate in Pride?

 When we share our joys and concerns, what do we affirm about God's ultimate vision for our health and restoration?

Who is making food or helping to serve at the shelter? What story do they share about God? In the new member's classes, where have these people felt God's call to come together?

When we come together in music and voice we honor God's unity over human disunity and share God's vision of wholeness, healing, feeding and restoration. We help to proclaim the kingdom of God and show that we are all in it together.

 By arguing with God, like Jonah did or bowing to God's will as Jesus' disciples did, we demonstrate that God is indeed alive and capable of engaging us in our lives. God is here among us now, just as the Christmas promise proclaimed and epiphany affirmed. We honor this promise when we demand from God the unity we need for ourselves and our community.

When we have compassion for our fellow beings then we show that "we are in it together". Jesus had compassion for those whom he healed. God had compassion on the Ninevites. Compassion is what could have saved the life of Dr. Martin Luther King and many other disciples both from our time and before.

Earlier I spoke about the MLK celebrations at Shiloah Baptist Church. A commitment to God's imperative that we all come together. That we tear down of the walls of our heavily fortified and secure centers of power so that we may rely on God's power. So that God's visions of healing, wholeness, and oneness can be proclaimed and enacted.

When we honor God's call to come together we purposely silence the cacophony of sound that comes from daily life. We stifle our tendencies to label and separate and we break down the citadels of human power so that we may gather together and form a truer vision of the Beloved Community.