Another sermon.

Another sermon I wrote, part of a series my church was doing on 'Reclaiming the Anabaptist Vision'.

I've been thinking about this sermon for a long time now. Since I was asked to speak on the topic, 'Reclaiming the Anabaptist Vision in the broken city', I have thought long and hard on what the Anabaptist vision is… what Reclaiming it would mean.

I have to confess, a lot of my thoughts on this went down a fairly egotistical, self-centred road. In my studies, in my reading, in ways I was trying to lead my life (though very often not successfully), in my theology, in my relationship with God, hadn't I already claimed the Anabaptist vision? And my goal with this sermon would be not to 'myself' rediscover the Anabaptist vision, but to show the congregation what the true Anabaptist vision was. What My Anabaptist vision was. It sounds terrible for me to have thought that, and as I mull these words that I've written, I wonder… am I really so self-centred that I would think that?

My father and I talk a lot. One of the reasons I'm again writing this sermon way too close to the time I'll be presenting it is that I talk with my father when I should be doing other things. One of the topics I love to hear my dad talk about is his father, -my grandfather who was a Mennonite preacher in Pennsylvania, and how the Mennonite faith was changing and had changed in past generations times. One of the major events that happened was (over a period of time) the Mennonite church becoming heavily influenced by Fundamentalism, and Conservative Evangelicalism. My father and I both think of this as a bad thing. And not just as a bad thing, but as the Mennonite church losing what made it Mennonite. I don't want to put words into my fathers mouth, so I'll clarify this as my own words. I thought it was losing its Anabaptist vision, and conforming to a mainstream Christian vision that the original Anabaptists would not have approved of at all.

I love modern Anabaptist scholarship. I eat up John Howard Yoder (writer of 'The Politics of Jesus, among other books). I get goosebumps reading Walter Wink (who has written extensively on 'The Powers that Be'). My father and I can talk for hours about Mennonite books and ideas that excite both of us. When hearing the stories of the early Anabaptist figures- Of Conrad Grebel, Blaurock, Menno Simons, and so many more, I like to imagine: What would it be like to talk to them. I have no idea what Heaven is like, what the reality of the biblical concept really is, but every once in a while, I think about heaven as a concrete place that we'll go when we die, where we'll retain our individuality, and know who we are, and be able to hang out with all the dead people that got to heaven before us. And I love to imagine kicking back and hanging out with Menno Simons, picking his brain, and just being friends.

And I'd imagine us being friends. That on most everything, we would agree. Maybe not the use of the ban. Maybe not on the nature of Jesus' passage through Mary, but on most things.

I have a hard time with the concept of Hell. I think most people do. People that like the idea of Hell frighten me… more than a bit. I don't like Hell. I don't like the theological implications, I don't like the way passages referring to Hell have been interpreted over the centuries, I don't like it. I've decided that I'm going to do something about it. Going back to my imaginative thoughts on heaven, I sometimes imagine getting to Heaven, and discovering that whatever the criteria are for being saved, that I've been saved. I also imagine discovering that the traditional idea of Hell and Heaven is correct. That those that don't believe Jesus is the Son of God that don't… whatever guideline you want to use for those that are in or out, that there are most definitely those who are out. I imagine discovering this… then finding materials for a sign, and markers, and making some signs… and picketing heaven. Abraham did it. Moses did it. If I get to heaven, and find out people aren't being let in, and especially are being thrown in Hell, I'm going to try and change God's mind. And I'll do it at the gates of heaven and invite everyone I know to join me. Sometimes in my imagination, a huge protest is already going on, and I'm not having to start one. Mother Theresa just hands me a sign, and I join the party. What I'm getting at is… I thought Menno Simons would be there beside me. I thought this idea of Hell being unfair was a part of my Anabaptist core.

Doing research for this sermon, I've done a fair amount of reading of early Anabaptist texts. There's one book in particular that takes quotes from early leaders and organizes them into topics. I was planning on sifting through and picking out the ones that made me feel more proud to be Anabaptist… but I opened up the book, and read this, from Menno Simons "Encouragement to Christian Believers"

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"Little children, fear not, but be comforted in the Lord. For He is such a faithful, pious King, to whom you have sworn and bowed your knees. Not the least of His promises shall fail you. He will be our shield and great reward. Therefore neither doubt nor waver, for it is but a small matter to endure the heat of the sun, tribulation , plunder, persecution, prison, and death for a short time. The messenger is already at the door, who will say to us, Come ye blessed, enter into the glory of thy Lord. Then will our brief mourning be changed to laughter, our momentary pain into endless joy. These tyrants with their bloody mandates will have an end and all our persecutors, executioners, and torturers will cease. We will follow the Lamb, adorned in white garmettns with palms in our hands and crowns upon our head. Neither ill nor pain nor pangs of death will touch us longer, but we will forever exalt, praise, and thank in inexpressibly great joy and glory the Lamb who sits upon the throne.

Behold, my children, all the truly believing pious hearts comfort themselves with this approaching change. With it they possess their souls in patience, knowing well that their reward is great in heaven, and that on the other hand all the ungodly shall have their portion in the eternal, inquenchable fire, under the intolerable, dreadful sentence of God in the depth of hell, if they do not become converted and repent with all their hearts. Woe, woe, to these wretched people. To what an evil day were they born."

I was reading this while walking down the street as I'm wont to do, and when I got to the part about Hell, I just stopped, slack-jawed. It felt like Menno had sucker-punched me in the jaw. Which would be a shock on many different levels. I continued to read through the book… and I found my Anabaptist ideals in there, loud and clear. About believers baptism, about an active faith, about patience through suffering, about a non-violent witness. But I also found a whole lot of theology that not only was I uncomfortable with, I was also very familiar with, having heard it preached by the people who thought the conservative evangelical shift of Mennonites was a *very* good thing. By Fundamentalist and Conservative Evangelical preachers who I consider anathema to what I consider 'The Anabaptist Vision."

And I've come to a very sobering, very humbling realization. I've tried to search my thoughts, explore my theology, look at where my views of God and discipleship and faith come from. And… and I'm not putting a value judgement on this. I don't think my theology is less 'good' because I've discovered it's not as Anabaptist as I thought it was… but my faith and theology has been influenced –definitely as much as, probably more than the Mennonites I look down on- by non-Anabaptist liberal or progressive or Post-Modern or 'emergent' sources.

So… what is the Anabaptist vision? It's awfully hard to nail down. Until now, I've spoken about my recent discovery of it not quite being what I thought it was. From here on in… I want to see if I can strip it down to something that can take the witness of the early Anabaptists, and bring it to the present without making it liberal or conservative. Without leaving too much of my terribly biased, and now very confused mark upon it.

The early Anabaptist story is about a group of people who looked at their world. And they saw change happening. Luther had nailed his 99 theses to the door. The religious world was in an uproar. But the Anabaptists saw that more could be done. More change was needed. They saw that the way things were was broken. And they literally risked it all to try and be a change in the world. To be God's healing hands. And to me… ripping everything else away… that's what we as Mennonites bring to the table. That's our hockey position, to use Tim's analogy. (Even if I don't like it that much, I'm having trouble thinking of anything better at the moment.) That isn't to say that isn't present in other denominations… but when I look at MCC, at the Anabaptist story, at Mennonite churches on all sides of various theological and political spectrums… something of chief importance is to be God's healing hands in the world.

So finally, I come to the city… which was what I had planned on making the entire focus of this sermon, and… well… things got messy. The early Anabaptists saw that there was no religious choice. That faith was being manipulated for power, and power was reigning supreme. They saw this, and started something new. They showed that other options were available and lived out that active faith. How can we bring that to today? To our city?

It's hard. We're in hugely, hugely different circumstances from those original Anabaptists who were hunted and killed and tortured. Two days ago, I was discussing with a friend my horror at seeing Menno Simons quote. And then I noticed I was sipping an icy cold Chai Frappe bought from an independent coffee shop with the motto 'Urban Chic, Urban Cool, Urban 'some other trendy forgettable word.', sitting outside in the warm spring air, discussing theology. I have no real enemies. No one's trying to kill me. Could I hold on to these lovey-dovey bleeding heart ideals if everyone close to me was being hunted down and killed? Could I wish heaven upon the people that were doing it? I don't know. We're in completely different circumstances.

But, like those Anabaptists… we have eyes. They saw what was broken. We can see what's broken in the city around us. Because of their deep commitment to following Jesus, and being disciples… they changed their lives, gave up their lives… maybe not to 'fix' what was broken… but to be God's witnesses within the brokenness around them. And when I was originally putting this sermon together, I was thinking 'and we can change our lives to be God's witnesses too.' And once again, I was smacked with my own blindness.

I thought to myself… where is some of the brokenness in this city, where we can be God's healing hands. I thought of all the poverty in the city. Specifically, the people living on the streets. And I thought… well, where does this come from? Because it's more than just a lack of money. A lot of these people seem seriously… I don't know if 'ill' is the right word, or if there's something more compassionate or politically correct… but… obviously, just 'getting a job' isn't the right solution for most people living on the streets. And I thought about Parkdale, and documentaries I've seen, and articles I've read about when in the late 60s, all the mental institutions were opened up, and people that needed help were forced to be on their own. And I thought 'How can we change our lives to be God's healing hands in this brokenness.' And then I thought of my mom. Who is a forensic psychiatric nurse for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. When people who aren't mentally 'right' in the head try to make it on their own, and screw up royally to the point where they commit horrible crimes… they end up with my mom. Who has devoted her life to being with these people that we as a society have totally turned our back on. We ignore and demonize them, and when they've hit rock bottom… my mom is there, giving them their medicine, being their nurse, trying to keep them in line, and be a compassionate figure in their life. And… I've always thought about how incredibly brave my mom is for doing this, for being a nurse to psychopathic killers… but especially as I was rediscovering for myself what I thought discipleship meant… my mom and I didn't always see eye to eye, and I'd get frustrated at her for not in my mind being 'anabaptist' enough… and now, when I think of what it means to be an Anabaptist, a Mennonite, a disciple of Christ… I think… there's my mom. She's doing it. She's being God's healing hands in the brokenness of our city.

And I thought of Dalton, who I've probably driven over the edge in worry about whether we'd get in touch about scripture verses and worship leader stuff. Dalton who has spent so much time, as assistant to a city councilor being a friend to people in marginalized areas. Who, as receptionist to the mayor befriends everyone who comes into the mayor's office, no matter how angry they are, or how hopeless their situation seems, and is their friend. Who invites them to our church, to be a part of our community. There's a good chance that some of those friends are sitting here listening to me talk now, and it makes me so happy knowing you're here. Dalton, like my mom, like the early Anabaptists, I see you looking at this city, looking at the world around you, and being God's healing hands.

Margaret, with your involvement in Global Closet, I know what an adventure that can be. You're being an example of a disciple. Of following Christ, of living out that Anabaptist vision.

Ilka, Christian, Johanna. You've come here to volunteer in a community that's a far distance away from what you're used to, but you're building houses, helping to run a thrift store, being a helper to the elderly. I know you guys aren't Mennonite, but to my eye, you're still living out that Anabaptist vision.

And this is only a small smattering. A small example from what little I know about the members of our church community.

This is 'a' Anabaptist vision. It's definitely 'my' Anabaptist vision. I don't know how correct it is… and it feels good to admit that. I am certain only in my uncertainty. Another place where me and Menno Simon's differ greatly. He's one of the most 'certain' writers I've ever read.

I want to wrap this up… with an encouragement, and then with a prayer. I want to encourage us to try and find places where we've been blind. I don't know how open my eyes are, but I feel like I'm aware now of a blindness that I've had. I want to encourage us as a church community to see and look and celebrate when we see God's healing hands at work through us. And to keep pursuing that radicalness. To see that brokenness, and become a healing part of it, more, and more, and more. To be transformed by his love, while transforming with his love.

So Lord, God, Abba, daddy, however we see you… I pray that you'll forgive us. Forgive our egotism, our blindness, our excuses. I thank you that you've created us as changeable beings, as people that can learn and grow, that can be different from yesterday to today and from today to tomorrow. I pray that you'll continue to grow in our hearts, and ignite in us passions for the city around us, whether fanning flames that are already there, or springing up new ones where there was nothing, or only ash before. Let your kingdom come, let your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.