SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 25 2024 - AGAIN AND AGAIN
February 25, 2024
Deborah Laforet
Again and Again
Let us pray. May the words from my lips and the meditations of my heart be guided by
your Spirit and be words of wisdom for this day. Amen.
Have you ever felt like this? (Show meme of Sylvester the cat banging his head on a
pole, over and over again.) This might occur where children are told to do or not do something
several times and in several ways, but it just keeps happening. It might happen with voting. No
matter how many times you vote for your party, they never seem to get elected, or they get
elected and they break their promises, again. Or maybe you have a friend who keeps sharing that
embarrassing story or that keeps doing that hurtful thing and no matter how many times you tell
them to stop, they just won’t. (Show meme again.)
The heading on this piece of scripture that Candy read for us today is, “A Third Time
Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection.” They could have expanded that title to include,
“And For a Third Time, The Disciples Just Don’t Get it!”
The first time Jesus foretells his death, two chapters earlier, it comes after Peter has
professed Jesus as the Messiah. Following Jesus’ prediction of his death, Peter rebukes Jesus for
saying such things. This is where we hear Jesus tell Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are
setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” He then says to the crowd and his
disciples, “If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and
follow me.”
In the next chapter, the chapter of the Transfiguration, where Jesus and three disciples go
to a mountaintop and Jesus becomes this bright, dazzling light, Jesus repeats his prediction. We
read that the disciples don’t understand and are afraid to ask, but as they walk, the disciples are
arguing. Jesus asks them what they are arguing about, and they’re afraid to tell him because they
were fighting over who was the greatest. Jesus seems to know though. He says, “Whoever
wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” He then takes a child in his arms and says,
“Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me
welcomes not me but the one who sent me.” (This quote will become important later.)
Today we read the third time that Jesus foretells his death. They are very near to
Jerusalem now and Jesus must be feeling very heavy with the knowledge of what is coming. He
again shares with his disciples. Maybe he is even looking for the disciples to finally engage him
in conversation about what he means, maybe offer him some comfort and care, and let him know
he’s not alone. I imagine even Jesus needed these things.
Instead, we get this conversation about who will sit at Jesus’ right and left hand, in his
glory. Jesus is talking about his death, about being mocked, spit upon, flogged, and killed, and
it’s as if the disciples think, “Oh, this again. Well, whenever and however Jesus does die, which
of us gets to share in his glory?” Maybe they’re in denial. Maybe the thought of Jesus’ death in
the way is just too unbelievable, too much to fathom. The fact though is that they aren’t
listening. Jesus will have to endure his death alone, and his disciples will have to figure out
what’s next on their own.
There are many people in our world who suffer injustice and people who are fighting
those injustices that sometimes feel like they banging their head against the wall. Politics keeps
them going in circles. Ignorance and misinformation brings hard won wins back a giant step.
The most vulnerable have to shout to be heard and then are accused of being too loud. (meme)
Catherine created a beautiful video of the many who have fought for their freedom over the
years, from those in slavery, to refugees looking for a home, to the many people who are abused
and even killed because of the colour of their skin. Today, I want to talk about another group that
is fighting for their lives.
On February 9th, I received an email from Affirm United, labelled, “Trans Youth Deserve
Safety.” First New Brunswick, then Saskatchewan, and now Alberta are creating laws that are
harmful to trans and gender nonconforming youth. These laws are taking freedoms away from
youth and their families. Here is the statement from Affirm United:
Affirm United would like to express our continued support for transgender and gender diverse
youth. Youth across the country must be supported to live as their authentic selves.
These newly introduced policies in provincial jurisdictions are not based on evidence and will
cause irreparable harm to trans and gender diverse youth. To base proposed policies in
misinformation and discrimination is irresponsible.
Affirm United stands firm in support of 2S and LGBTQ+ youth, and against any form of
discrimination or intimidation that puts the lives of 2S and LGBTQ+ youth at risk.
To the trans youth witnessing this hatred, know that we see you and honour you, just as you are.
Even if your government tells you otherwise, you deserve to live a life of authenticity and joy. We
see you and we love you.
We live in a world where some youth feel more safe at school than at home, and of
course, we know that it’s a part of development that teens feel closer to their peers than to family.
How many of us had a teacher in middle school or high school that was important to us and with
whom we shared things we may not have shared with our families? During these years, when
pre-teens and teenagers are developing a sense of themselves and their bodies, they are being
told that until they are age 16, a change of pronouns or a name change have to be approved by
family. Educators are being told if a young person, up to the age of 18, discloses a name change
or change of pronouns to them, they have to inform the family. This is creating an unsafe
environment for young people.
The most recent news from Alberta proposes policies that go even further and interfere
with the health care between a physician, a young person, and their family. Alberta's new policy
prohibits kids 15 and under from being prescribed hormones and puberty blockers. Doctors with
the Canadian Paediatric Society and the Alberta Medical Association have said the proposed
rules will increase the risk of harm, mental health issues, and suicide among already vulnerable
youth.
Again and again and again. Queer people have had to fight for their right to marry, for
fair employment policies, for recognition of their families, and just to live openly and publicly
without being discriminated against. Now gender nonconforming individuals are fighting for
their right to exist, to have safe places to express themselves, and access to the health care they
need. I’m not saying there shouldn’t be tons of research on hormone therapy and puberty
blockers, especially with our young people, but if these therapies are completely banned and
prohibited, it takes away the opportunity for further research, for doctors to use these methods as
needed, and forces people to go underground, where they definitely will face more risk of harm.
My lament today is for young people who are being made to feel like they an aberration,
something to be controlled and regulated, and in order to be safe or to feel a sense of belonging,
they will have to hide. My lament is for families supporting these young people who are not
being supported by their government, a government who is basing policy on misinformation.
My lament is for those who have been fighting for so many years, for generations, for their
rights, and for the queer and gender diverse people who continue to be silenced, ignored,
harassed, bullied, beaten, and like Jesus, mocked, spit upon, flogged, and killed. How many
times do people have to offer predictions of harm, mental health issues, and suicide, and not only
predictions, but actual statistics and numbers showing harm, mental health issues, and suicide?
What does this mean for us as an Affirming ministry? As a community of faith, we
lament when people are hurting, but as an Affirming ministry, who states they are public,
intentional, and explicit, how do we use our voices, our platform, and our resources, to support
the 2S and LGBTQIA+ community? We cannot wait for these policies to reach Ontario, so what
do we do now? These are important questions for us, and ones I hope we will explore in the next
few months. I have a couple of ideas, and I'm talking with Whit from Pflag, but I’m hoping
others might like to join us.
In two weeks, we celebrate PIE Day. On PIE Day, we hold up the standards to which we
hold ourselves when we seek to live into being an Affirming Ministry - by being Public,
Intentional, and Explicit. Usually, it’s Carolyn and I planning these services, but you folks voted
to be an Affirming ministry. Carolyn and I are here to support that work. Come see one of us
after church if you want to join us in planning for PIE Day and/or other ways we might do this
important justice work together.
The cure for this (meme of banging head on wall) is community, a community that
listens, that is filled with love and care, that supports and advocates, and where all are valued and
celebrated. In these kinds of communities, we might see more of this. (Show meme of Sylvester
the cat being happy and joyful.) It’s up to us. It’s up to as as individuals. It’s up to us a
community of faith, to create such a space. A space where all can belong. A space where all
hear, as expressed by Affirm United, “we see you and honour you, just as you are. You deserve to
live a life of authenticity and joy. We see you and we love you.” May it be so. Amen.
Mark 10:32-45
(Introduce yourself.)
In our reading today, Jesus is telling his disciples for the third time about his
upcoming death and resurrection and for the third time, the disciples are not
hearing him. In this story, after Jesus shares his prediction, the disciples start
talking about who will sit at Jesus’ right hand and left hand. You can almost see
Jesus shaking his head. I am reading from chapter ten of Mark’s gospel, verses 32
to 45.
32 They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of
them; they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. He took the twelve
aside again and began to tell them what was to happen to him, 33 saying, “Look,
we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief
priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand
him over to the gentiles; 34 they will mock him and spit upon him and flog him
and kill him, and after three days he will rise again.”
35 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him,
“Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 36 And he said to
them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” 37 And they said to him, “Appoint
us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” 38 But Jesus
said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup
that I drink or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” 39 They
replied, “We are able.” Then Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will
drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized you will be baptized, 40 but
to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to appoint, but it is for those for
whom it has been prepared.”
41 When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. 42 So
Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the gentiles those
whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are
tyrants over them. 43 But it is not so among you; instead, whoever wishes to
become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wishes to be first
among you must be slave of all. 45 For the Son of Man came not to be served but
to serve and to give his life a ransom for many.”
May God grant us understanding of our sacred text. Amen.