One
evening, I turned on the remote and a message came on the TV. Error CODE 727.
This error indicates that the sports program you're trying to watch is blacked
out in your area. That’s odd because I have it set to channel 4 watching “Jeopardy.”
I switched to channel 220 a NBC Sports Network and the same message appeared. I
call Direct TV and the tech responds that she had to report it to another power
and they would get back to me. When I inquired when it would be fixed, she had
no clue. The following night, the same message appears on our PBS network that
didn’t make sense. This time Susan gets on her computer and logs onto the
Direct TV chat line. I remark that won’t help. But she’s chatting with a tech
who says she will refresh the network feed. I picked up the remote ready to
change the channel and Susan gives me that “teacher look” and says “Don’t you
dare touch that remote. Let Go of the remote.” To myself, who does she thinks
she is talking to like that but in a few minutes, I’m switching channels and
this tech had restored our reception with no error message.
Our
remote is like our traditions. We hold onto to them so tight that they can
become stubborn and our downfall. Sound familiar ladies, you have to tell your
old man to let go of the remote. In the gospel story, Jesus had to tell his men
friends to let go.
“John said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, we saw
someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he
was not following us.’” Now, by all accounts, casting out demons is a good thing. And, truth be told, I
don’t think that the disciples were upset about the demons being cast out. They
were upset because they were being cast out by someone who wasn’t them. They had the corner on
this whole Jesus movement, and if someone else was casting out demons, that’s a
threat—never mind the fact that demons are being cast out!
Maybe it’s time the men in priesthood
let go of their power and trust their laity to take over the leadership of the
faith community. Jesus was stern with his disciples because they felt they were
the only ones allowed to heal. Jesus was reminding his men that there is more
than one model for being Christian and being the Church. Big screens and praise
bands may make some people’s skin crawl. But for others, the ancient liturgies
of the Church have a way of snuffing out the fire of the Spirit. The best
sermons are the ones the pastor most needs to hear himself. It’s time the
priest let go of their remotes, their traditions, that stifle the spirit and
let our lay leaders refresh the church and faith.
Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine
Friends and, especially brother priests, as we gather for our synod meetings.
May we accept the wisdom of Jesus who said: “Whoever is not against us is for
us.” In other words, Jesus is saying, “We’re all in this together!” There’s a
lot of Kingdom to build, and there’s more than enough work for everyone! In a
world that can sometimes feel like everything is falling in on itself, what a
welcome breath of fresh air to hear that, no, in fact, the whole world does not
depend on its priests. We are all in this together!
