John 8:31-36

Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, "You will be made free'?" Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

In an effort to help my oldest son with all the tricky words on his weekly spelling tests, I’m teaching him some memory techniques. Often it involves honing in on the part of the word that he finds tricky and making a simple but somewhat absurd story out of it. The theory goes, if he remembers the simple absurd story, he remembers how to spell the word.

For example, last week a word that proved difficult was Wednesday, with it’s odd “nes” middle that isn’t even pronounced. I pointed out to him that the word Wednesday has three parts. I told him in the beginning two birds get married at a wed-ding. Next, they build a nest; but they don’t want the “t” from a nest (because birds never ever drink nest-tea), so you drop the “t” from nest. So, the birds have the wed-ding, a nest without the ’t', and finish with a normal day. Wed-Nes-Day.

It sounds silly and it is a lot of work to put into memorizing one word, but he learned it. Once he learns the technique and starts creating his own stories, the technique will prove even more effective.

I wasn’t taught this memory technique until later in my education, and I credit it with helping me succeed in seminary. My first seminary course was Biblical Greek language. Vocabulary memorization was a big part of the course. One of the first words I memorized was the Greek root meno, meaning “to remain, continue, or abide.” I remember writing the word meno on a blank flashcard and a song immediately popped into my head – a song from my childhood that I certainly hadn’t thought about or heard in over a decade – a simple silly song that seemed to go on forever, as if it could continue indefinitely – a song that had only one lyric, which sounded enough like the word meno for me to remember it:

Whenever I’d encounter a variation of the word meno, the song "Mahna Mahna" immediately started playing in my head and I knew that it meant “to remain, continue, or abide” because the song did just that – it remained stuck in my head and continued on and on and on.

As I was reflecting on the appointed gospel text for today I noticed Jesus’ phrase, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples.” Continue. Meno. "Mahna Mahna."

The concept of meno – remain, continue, abide – is an important term in John’s gospel, showing up throughout the gospel in Jesus’ sayings including, “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them” (6:56); “You know [the Spirit of Truth] because he abides with you, and he will be in you” (14:17); “I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit” (15:5); and even shows up again in today’s lesson, although most English translations don’t make this clear. “The slave does not abide in the household; the son abides there forever” (8:35).

We can map out important words that John uses alongside his meno-mentions and start to get an understanding of the term’s importance: Word, flesh, blood, truth, disciples, freedom, the Son, forever, the Spirit of Truth, bearing fruit, “he will be in you.”

Meno – remaining, abiding, and continuing – is an important concept because it permeates every aspect of faith in God, most notably, the incarnation, communion, discipleship, truth, freedom, and the nature of the Trinity.

As theologian Gilberto Ruiz succinctly puts it, “The true disciple ‘remains’ in a faith relationship with Jesus, and it is this disciple who will be set free by knowing the truth revealed by Jesus.”*

Now, all that’s well and good and important. After all, we all want in on the truth; we want to be authentic disciples; we want to be free. But, what exactly does this mean for us in our daily lives? What difference does it make for us to know that God has set us free from sin and promises to lead us in truth as we remain/abide/continue in God’s word? How then are we to act in light of this truth?

The answer to these questions brings us back to that song, “Mahna Mahna" from the Muppets. This time, I’m going to play the song in its entirety, along with its original visual context – the very first episode of The Muppet Show from 1976.

Allow me to set the scene. You’ll find two pink Snowths (snout-mouths; that is the official name, I did my research) singing a simple song in unison, when along comes a new character whose name is Mahna Mahna. The Snowths would prefer for him to sing along to their song, but, as you’ll see, Mahna Mahna has his own song to sing.

At its heart, this Muppets song is about non-conformity and the value of the unrestrained expression of the authentic self. It’s a message about freedom.

The pink Snowths are the symbols of oppression; while Mahna Mahna is the symbol of freedom. If you think I’m reaching a bit too far to make this point, I’ll point out that the first version of this musical skit appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1969, in the context of the Civil Rights Movement., the Vietnam War, the Cold War, and Woodstock.

This musical skit is all about remaining true to the source of your freedom, which, for Christians, is Jesus Christ – the Son of God who abides in freedom forever and invites us to do the same.

This musical skit invites us to consider whether we are dutifully lock-step with the status quo, or whether we are allowing our freedom through Christ to liberate us to sing a new song, blaze a new path, and break free from the forces that seek to keep us in line.

The Snwoths are everywhere. Politicians tell us what to believe. Partisan news channels and inflammatory radio shows tell us what to believe. Our bosses tell us what to believe. Our inner monologue tells us what to believe. Our customized and unchecked social media feeds tell us what to believe. And each forces us further away from true freedom and liberation, which can be found only by continuing, abiding, remaining, meno-ing, in the truth of Jesus Christ.

Remaining, abiding, and continuing means allowing the word of God to cut through the muck and mire of our lives; it mean allowing the word of God to penetrate our heart and proclaim the truth that God loves us not because of what we’ve done or not done, but simply because God has chosen to love us and will do so forever.

This musical skit, with its focus on non-conformity also makes me think of our theological heritage, in light of the fact that today is a day set aside to celebrate the anniversary of the Reformation of the church started 499 years ago when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses on the wall of the Wittenberg Castle church. Luther advocated for an approach of Christian life in line with "semper reformanda" – "always reforming." Luther blazed his own path in light of the truth of Jesus as revealed to his in the pages of scripture and tradition. This put him at odds with the powers of his day and is a spiritual legacy we inherit today.

So next time you hear the words continue, remain, or abide; next time you encounter them in scripture, I hope this song and musical skit plays on repeat in your mind, reminding you to be true to yourself and the God who loves you above all.

Amen.

* http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3058

Luke 18:9-14

[Jesus] also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Several years ago, some of you may remember, that I changed the sign out front, by the road, to read, “Jesus is For Losers.” I got the idea from my favorite seminary professor, Mark Allen Powell, who told a story about having seen that at the mall one day, printed on a high school kids’ t-shirt. “Jesus is For Losers.” Shortly after the sign went up, I got a phone call, from someone who lives nearby, complaining about how inappropriate and offensive the sign was for them. And they asked me to take it down.

At first, my professor was offended that day at the mall, too. Not surprised really, but somewhat offended, I think. It seemed like this kid was going out of his way to be cynical and to put down the faith so many of us hold dear by declaring, on a t-shirt: “Jesus is For Losers.” But then Dr. Powell noticed what our not-so-happy neighbor didn’t see on our sign – a Bible book, chapter and verse, just beneath its bold statement – and Dr. Powell realized the shirt was actually a Christian proclamation, witnessing to the Gospel somehow. “Jesus is for losers.”

Of course! “Jesus is FOR losers.” “Jesus IS for losers.” “Jesus is for LOSERS!” No matter how you say it, it is – plain and simple – the message of God’s grace for the sake of the world.

Jesus IS for losers, not against them. Jesus came into the world to dine with outcasts and misfits and sinners; to proclaim the good news to the oppressed, the disadvantaged and the abused; to love the unloveable, the unwanted, the unlucky and the lost. “Jesus is FOR losers.” It is the Gospel in four simple words.

Still, no matter how many times we hear it… no matter how much we preach and teach and worship and learn… this notion of grace is as hard to comprehend as it is to accept and live into as followers of Jesus Christ. And apparently, we’re not much further along enough of the time than the people who listened to Jesus that day so long ago.

See, the prelude to this morning’s parable, as the Bible tells us, is that Jesus was speaking to “some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt.” It means he was speaking to people who were pretty confident that they were on the straight and narrow and who took it upon themselves to judge others who they believed were not. So he tells them this story about the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.

What we’re supposed to know is that Pharisees and Tax Collectors existed on opposite sides of the social spectrum in Jesus’ day, which is precisely why Jesus casts them as players in this particular parable. Pharisees were religious, righteous and “right” about most things when it came to issues of faith and theology – at least as far as most people, and they themselves, were concerned. They followed all the rules. They made all the right sacrifices. They read scripture, gave their offering, showed up for worship – and everyone knew it.

Tax Collectors, on the other hand, weren’t the most popular, well-liked people in town. A Jewish tax collector was seen as a puppet of the occupying Roman authority who often took advantage of the power he had to swindle his fellow Jews out of money – some of which he paid to the Romans, and some of which he kept to line his own pockets.

So it would have captured anyone’s imagination to see these two strolling toward the temple together to pray. The Pharisee, right and righteous as he was, toots his own horn and thanks God for just how good it is to be a Pharisee. “God, I thank you that I am not like other people:” he says, “thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.” And the Tax Collector, standing somewhere off in the distance, prays the opposite. Unable even to raise his eyes toward heaven, beating his breast with shame, guilt and remorse, he begs simply for forgiveness, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”

And I don’t think how or what these two prayed would have been much of a surprise to Jesus’ listeners. Everyone knew Pharisees did what they were supposed to do – that they followed the rules and towed the line. And everyone knew, too, that Tax Collectors were sinners and they were probably thrilled to hear of a tax collector who felt the weight and shame and guilt of his sins. But what would have surprised any of Jesus’ listeners – and what I hope surprises us still – is what Jesus has to say about it all:

Jesus promises that the Tax Collector went home justified, forgiven, redeemed, in spite of his sins, and that “all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.” “All who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Or, to say it another way, “Jesus is for losers.”

What the grace of God does in this parable, as ever, is it levels the playing field on which the Pharisee and the Tax Collector stand. Not only does it bring down the high and mighty, but it raises up the down and out. It exposes the sinfulness of both men and lets the love of God do the rest. And, since you and I don’t come across Pharisees and Tax Collectors in the same way that we might have back in Jesus’ day, we’re invited to fill their places in this parable with names and faces that might be a little more familiar and meaningful for where we live.

Like, maybe we need to see the Democrat and the Republican; or the Christian and the Muslim; or the Lutheran and the Catholic. Maybe we need to imagine the jock and the geek; the starting quarterback and the bench warmer; the kid who aced the test and the one who failed or never even made it to class in the first place. I don’t have to tell you in which shoes to place these “opposites” in, in Jesus’ story – that might be different for each of us. And the point of it is that it doesn’t matter one bit. Jesus is for losers because we’re all losers in more ways than we’d like to admit or can even see too much of the time.

The Bible verse on that t-shirt my professor saw – and on the sign when I posted it – was 1st Timothy, chapter 1, verse 15. Could you all pull out a Bible from one of the chairs in front of you and look up 1st Timothy 1:15 (it’s on p. 963, near the back)? So-and-So would you mind standing and reading the verse out loud for us? And So-and-So, would you stand and read it, too? How about you? And, could you give it a go, too?

“The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners — of whom I am the foremost.”

Grace does not mean God chooses us even though we are sinners. Grace means God chooses us precisely because we are sinners – even the very best and brightest among us. Jesus is for you. Jesus is for me. Jesus is for us. Jesus is for “them.” Jesus is for losers. And because of that, we know none of us is lost for good.

Amen

"Mahna Mahna" – John 8:31-36

Jesus is for Losers – Luke 18:9-14