"Q"

September 12, 2004

Scripture Reading:  

Rev. Dr. Carol Kerr  

Blue Point Congregational Church

The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost  

THE SERMON:  PART I

Have you ever wondered what it would have been like to walk along with Jesus the years he was alive in Galilee roaming the countryside with his disciples?  Have you wanted to feel the rough texture of the hand woven clothes he wore.  Have you wanted to see the back of his head as he turned to watch a raven and heard his voice say, “That reminds me of something about God I have been meaning to tell you…” Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be with Jesus when he stopped to talk on a hillside, or in a synagogue, or from a fishing boat.  What was Jesus like as a person anyway?   Jesus stripped away from the opinions of others, the layers of sermons, the years of church interpretation and conflict?

The problem is Jesus himself never wrote anything down.  Certainly we don’t have videos, or tape recordings of him.  The best we can do is the gospels.  The best we can do with the gospels is to look for the parts that were written the earliest.  The gospel of Mark is the earliest of the four gospels.  The reason why we think that is because both the gospel of Matthew and the gospel of Luke have the gospel of Mark embedded in them word for word.  It is as if Matthew and Luke sat down to write a full account of the life of Jesus and they had several books with them that they referred to and used as they put together their own versions.  Both Matthew and Luke obviously had the gospel of Mark with them when they were writing.  So, Mark had to be written before these two were.  If you put Matthew, Mark, and Luke side by side you could take a red marker and highlight all of the gospel of Mark.  Then you could go into the gospel of Matthew and highlight in red the same passages you find in Mark.  Likewise you could go into the gospel of Luke and highlight in red the same passages you find in Mark.  All three gospels would have a lot of red highlighted in them.

However, Matthew and Luke have more in common than the gospel of Mark.  In the gospels of Matthew and Luke you can find another set of stories that are exactly the same none of which are in Mark at all.  That is you can take a blue highlighter and highlight a bunch of parts that are in Matthew and are also in Luke.  It is as if Matthew and Luke sat down to write their version of the gospel with the gospel of Mark on hand and at least one other book that they both were referring to, which Mark did not have.  For over a century scholars have called this unknown source “Q” which is the first letter of the German word “quelle” which means “other” as in “the other source.” 

Then on December 1945 a few months after the end of WWII a treasure trove of early Christian manuscripts was discovered along the upper Nile river in a town call Nag Hammadi.  These were primitive books, called codices, covered in leather and containing Christian writings.  These were “Gnostic” Christian writings and not writings that were used much in the majority of Christian churches.  These were books that no one had ever seen before.  One of these is called The Gospel of Thomas.  It consists of 114 sayings that were purported to be spoken by “the living Jesus” to the disciple Thomas in secret.  Stunningly the gospel of Thomas contains none of Mark but a lot of “Q.”  In other words, one could take the same blue highlighter that you used on Matthew and Luke and highlight a bunch of the same passages in Thomas.  Over one third of Thomas are these same sayings.  It is as if whoever wrote Thomas sat down with a pile of books one of which was the same book that Matthew and Luke had when they wrote their accounts.  The Nag Hammadi discovery confirmed the existence at one time of a gospel within the gospels which is now called “Q.”

“Q” is a kind of missing link.  It is a diamond core inside a golden pendant of the gospels.  It was most likely written 15 – 20 years after Jesus died, if not earlier.  When you compile what is highlighted in the blue from the gospel of Matthew and Luke and from the Gnostic gospel of Thomas one finds that “Q” is mostly a collection of wisdom sayings.  Interestingly it doesn’t mention anything about Jesus’ death and resurrection, or much about the disciples.  The only thing about Jesus’ life it includes is his baptism, his temptation, and his healings.  Other than that “Q” is full of sayings Jesus said about God and us.  People back then would use these kinds of codices as instruction manuals from various rabbis. So, “Q” is Jesus’ instruction manual.  Much of what is in it is probably directly from things Jesus said.  “Q” is Jesus’ book of the soul.  “Q” is probably the closest we can get to walking along with Jesus and listing to what he had to say.

So for today I thought we would  listen to not my sermon but Jesus’ sermon – the wisdom sayings of  “Q.”   For the sake of time, I have taken out the baptism account, the temptation, the healings and a few other passages.   May we get a feeling for Jesus the man and Jesus the teacher stripped away from anything else.  Turn to your inserts and let us read Part I responsively.  These are the sayings of Jesus….

“Q”

-         These are the sayings of Jesus…

PART ONE:

Minister:                Around this time, Jesus went out into the hills seeking solitude and spent the entire night in prayer.  At daybreak, he came down with his disciples.

                              A great crowd of people from all parts of Judea , Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon had come to hear him and be cured of their diseases.

                              Fixing his eyes on the disciples he began to speak: 

People:                 Fortunate are you who are poor, for yours is the realm of God.

     Happy are you who are hungry now, you shall be satisfied.

     Fortunate are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

     Fortunate are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

     Happy are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy.

     Happy are the pure in hearts, for they shall see the face of God.

     Fortunate are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Women:               Fortunate are you when people hate you, exclude you, abuse you and denounce you on my account.

                              Celebrate when that day comes and dance for joy – your reward will be great in heaven.  Remember that their ancestors treated the prophets this way.

Men:                    Love your enemies.  Do good to those who hate you.  Bless those who curse you.  Pray for those who treat you badly.

Women:               When someone strikes you on the right cheek, offer them the other cheek, too. 

                               When someone takes your coat from you, let them have your shirt as well.

                              Give to everyone who asks.  And if someone robs you, don’t demand your property back.

Voice 1:                Treat people as you would like them to treat you

     If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?  Even sinners do the same.  If you do good only to those who do good to you, what merit is there in that?  Even sinners do that.  And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what reward is there in that?  Even sinners lend to sinners.

     Instead, love your enemies and do good, expecting nothing in return.  You will have a great reward, and you will be children of your Father in heaven.  He makes the sun rise on the bad and the good.  He sends rain to fall on both the just and the unjust. 

Men:                    Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate.

                              Do not judge, and you will not be judged.

                              Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.

                              Forgive and you will be forgiven.

Women:               Give, and there will be gifts for you.  A full measure of grain, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap; because the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given back.

Voice 1:                Can one blind person lead another?  Won’t they both fall into a ditch?  The student is not superior to the teacher, but if students are well taught they will become like their teacher.

Voice 2:                Why do you notice the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and not the wooden plank in your own?  How can you say to your brother, “Let me take out the sawdust from your eye,” when you cannot see the plank in your own?

                              Hypocrite!  Remove the plank from your own eye first; then you will see clearly enough to remove the sawdust from your brother’s eye. 

Voice 3:                No good tree produces rotten fruit and no bad tree produces good fruit.  Each tree is known by its own fruit.  People do not pick figs from thorn bushes, nor gather grapes from blackberry brambles.  Good people draw what is good from the treasure of their hearts.  Bad people produce what is bad from the evil within them.  A person’s words flow from what is treasured in their hearts.

Voice 4:                Why do you call me, “Lord, Lord” and then not do what I say?

                              I will show you what the person who comes to me, hears what I have to say and acts accordingly is really like.  That person is like someone building a house, who digs deeply and lays the foundation on bedrock.  The rain pours down, the floods rise in a torrent, and the winds blow and beat upon the house, but it does not fall.  It is built on rock.

                              But the one who listens and does nothing is like the person who builds a house on sand with no foundation.  When the river bursts against it, it collapses immediately and is destroyed.

SERMON: PART II:

How does Jesus strike you so far?  What strikes me is that Jesus was profoundly ethical.  The important thing for Jesus was not what a person thought but how they lived.  Moreover, it wasn’t about living according to standards of purity to make one’s self holy enough to be included among the chosen.  Rather it was about living with a far reaching love for other people.  It was and is a kind of ethics that turns society and the expected upside down.  He took the preaching of John the Baptist to the next level.  Tax collectors, for instance, were not only suppose to be honest, which is one of the things John the Baptist said, but if they were followers of Jesus they were to turn the other cheek if someone struck it, and give their shirt away as well if someone stole their cloak. 

For Jesus living ethically was not just a matter of doing the right thing and not the wrong thing.  Living ethically was a state of being.  It was a path by which one was transformed and became part of the reign of God.   Mark Powelson in his edition of The Lost Gospel of Q writes:  Jesus speaks of a new age and a higher form of happiness and calls upon his listeners to follow.  It is everyone’s responsibility to bring this new age, this realm of God into being.  The realm is open to everyone regardless of their status, background, or ability.

Jesus’ ethics started with humility.  The poor, the hungry, the gentle, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers…these were the ones that were the people of God.  For Jesus one was never to presume one was any better than anyone else.  It makes me think that Jesus himself never gloated over others.  Jesus himself always tried to see is own faults before anyone else’s.  He stooped down to be sure he didn’t miss anybody.  Jesus was above all else a man who was so profoundly and powerfully kind.

Let’s now read the next part, Part II, of the sayings of Jesus in the gospel – “Q.”

“Q”

-         These are the sayings of Jesus…

PART II:

Minister:            One day it happened that Jesus was praying in a particular place.  When he finished, one of his disciples said, “Lord, teach us how to pray just as John the Baptist taught his disciples.”

                              He responded, 

                              “Say this when you pray:

All:                       ‘Father, may your named be honored; may your reign begin.  Grant us food we need for each day.  Forgive our failures, for we forgive everyone who fails us.  And do not put us to the test.’”

Voice 1:                Ask and it’ll be given you.  Search and you will find.  Knock and the door will be opened for you.  For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for those who knock, the door is opened.

Voice 2:                Who among you would hand his son a stone when he has asked you for bread?  Who would hand him a snake when it’s  fish he’s asking for?  If you, who are imperfect, know how to give good things to your child, how much more will your heavenly Father give to you when you ask.

All:                       No one lights a lamp and puts it under a bushel basket.  They put it on a stand so that everyone can see the light.  Your eye is the lamp for your body.  When your eye is clear, your entire body fills with light.  But if your eye becomes clouded, your body is in darkness.  Be careful that your  light never fades into darkness.

Voice 3:               Beware, you who call yourselves perfect in your obedience to the law.  You pay the tax on mint, dill and cumin, but you ignore justice, mercy and honesty.  You should practice these things first.

                              You wash the outside of your cups and plates, but inside you are filled with thoughts of greed and theft.  Didn’t the one who made the outside make the inside too?  Wash the inside of the cup and it will all be clean.

Voice 4:               There is nothing covered up now that will not be exposed..  Nothing is secret that will not be revealed.  Every secret you’ve kept will become known.  What you have whispered in hidden places will be shouted from the housetops.

(Soft organ begins playing "God Will Take Care Of You".)

Minister:                Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.   Instead, you should respect the one who holds in his hands both your body and your soul.  What does a sparrow cost?  A few pennies?  Yet not a single little bird is forgotten by God.  And you?  God’s care extends to every hair on your head.  You are worth more than a flock of sparrows.

                              There was once a rich man whose lands yielded a good harvest.  He thought to himself, “What should I do?  I don’t have enough room to store my crops.  I know, I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones so that I can keep all my grain in them.  Then I will say to myself, “I have enough to last me for years.  I can take it easy, eat, drink and have a good time.”

                              But God said to him, “You fool!  This very night you may die.  Then who will own this hoard of yours?”  So it is with those who pile up possessions but remain poor in the treasures of the spirit.

                              Don’t be anxious about your life.  Don’t worry about getting enough food or having clothes to wear.  Life means more than food and the body is more than clothing.  Look at the ravens.  They don’t plant seeds or gather a harvest.  They have neither storehouses nor barns.  Yet God feeds them.  Aren’t you more important than birds?  Can any of you, for all your worrying, add a single moment to your life?  If worry can’t change the smallest thing, then why be anxious about the rest.

                              Look at the lilies that grow wild in the fields.  They don’t weave clothes for themselves.  But I tell you, even King Solomon in all his splendor was not dressed as beautifully as these flowers.  If that is how God clothes the grasses, which are green today and burned in the sun tomorrow, how much more will God provide for you.  How little faith you have!

                              Don’t be blinded by the pursuit of food clothing and possessions.  Stop worrying about these things.  Only those who lack spirit and soul pursue them.  You have a Father who knows what you need.  Set your heart on God and these other things will be given to you.

                              If the owner of a house knows when a thief is coming, he will be on guard and not let anyone break into the house.  You too must be prepared – the son of man will arrive when you least expect him.

(Music ends.)

All:                     Those who grasp and clutch at self will lose it.  Those who let go for self and follow me will find it.

Men.                  When you see clouds in the western sky you say, “It’s going to rain.”  And it does!  When the wind blows from the south, you predict scorching weather.  And it comes!  You know the lay of the land and can read the face of the sky.  So why can't you interpret the here and now?.  

Women:               What is the realm of God like?  How can I describe it to you?  It is like a tiny mustard seed that someone tosses into a garden.  It grows into a tree and birds nest in its branches.

                              To what shall I compare the realm of God?  It is like yeast that a woman takes and mixes with three cups of flour until it all rises. 

Men:                    Enter by the narrow gate.  The path that leads to destruction is wide and easy.  Many follow it.  But the narrow gat and hard road lead to life.  Few discover it.

Voice 1:                I predict that people will come from east and west, north and south to sit with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob at a great banquet in the realm of heaven.  Those who think the realm of God belongs to them will be thrown out into he dark where they will cry tears of bitter regret.

All:                      The last will be first and the first will be last. 

                              Those who praise themselves will be humbled.  Those who humble themselves will be praised.

THE SERMON:  PART III

Jesus was metaphorical.  He didn’t speak in long complicated sentences.  He didn’t quote from a lot of books.  He didn’t parse words.  Rather Jesus used homey expressions to explain what the realm of God was like.  He used images from the countryside and the simple people that were all around him.  He spoke of birds, yeast, mustard seeds, sheep and gates, flowers, and those crazy rich people. 

Jesus reminds me of a parent trying to explain to their child whose grandfather had died before the child had gotten to know him what the grandfather was really like.  The child always assumed this grandfather was mean because in the picture above the mantel he looked terribly stern.  But, the parent knew better.  Likewise, Jesus talks about God like he knew God.  This is just as we would talk about our parents to a child.  We might say something like, “Granddad would search all day for homework you had lost and would be wicked happy when he found it for you.”  Or, “Granddad loved the birds.  He cared so much for them.  He had lots of bird feeders.  And when one had a broken wing he took it in and fixed it.  Just think Granddad cared that much for birds, how much he would have cared about you!”

I worried when I was putting this sermon together that it would get boring reading “Q” together out loud.  After all it really is a list of sayings one after another.  Usually on Sunday we would just take one or two of these sayings and I would elaborate on them.  Although that is a good approach in some ways, in other ways it is like watching a film clip by clip out of order and with a lot of interruptions in between. However, reading all of them at once, it seems to me, drives home his overall message better.  They can wash over us and we can get a feeling for him.

However, these sayings are great standing alone one at a time.  It is because of Jesus use of metaphor.  I can imagine Jesus leaning on a hillside, playing with a piece of grass and saying “Look at this lily how beautiful is.  Just think if God can so clothe the grass how much more he will do for you.”  That is all Jesus would need to say for a while.  The disciples could take this one saying and remember it.  They could go talk to their friends and say, “Get this, Jesus says the flowers are beautiful and so God will make us even more beautiful.”

Let me put it this way, my mother will tell me, “That was a lovely sermon.”  I will perk up and say “Oh!  What part did you like?”  And she will say, “I can’t really remember….”  Jesus gave his disciples things they could remember with these metaphors.  So after the sermon, you can take home this insert and cut it up.  You can take the little stories and tape them up around your house, on the dash board of your car.   And, when the spirit moves you, you can mull over one at time.  Take one with you on a walk.  They are easy to memorize, like a smooth round stone in your pocket.  Soon you will have “Q” down pat. 

Let’s read Part III,  almost to the end…  

“Q”

-         These are the sayings of Jesus…

PART THREE:  

The Great Banquet –

Minister:                A man once gave a great banquet and invited many guests.  As the dinner hour approaches, he sent a servant to tell them,

Voice 1:           Come, everything is ready now.” 

Minister:           One by one, they started making excuses.  The first guest told the servant,

Voice 2:           I’m sorry but I just bought a piece of land and have to go see it.

Minister:           Another guest said,

Voice 3:           You’ll have to excuse me, I’m on my way to take a look at five pares of oxen that I’ve purchased.

Minister:           A third guest explained,

Voice 4:           I just got married and I can’t come.

Minister:           The servant returned to the tell the host about all these excuses.  In a fit of anger the man shouted,

Voice 1:           Go out right now into the streets and alleys and invite the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.

Minister:           Soon , the servant reported back, “I’ve carried out your orders, but there is still room.”

Voice 1:           Then go farther out to the roads and country lanes and lead people back until my house if filled.  But not one of those original guests will share this feast.

All:                       You are the salt of the earth.   But if salt loses its taste, it can never be salty again.  It will be worthless.  It won’t even be fit for the manure pile.

Men:                    Suppose someone has a hundred sheep and one of them strays.  Won’t he leave the other ninety-nine on the hillside and search for the one that wandered away?  When he finds it, He’ll lift the sheep onto his shoulders in joy.  Then, coming home, he’ll call out to his friends and neighbors, “Let’s celebrate!  I’ve found the sheep that was lost.”

Women:               If a woman has ten silver coins, and what will she do if she loses one?  She’ll light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully.  When she finds it, she will call her friends and neighbors and say to them, “Let’s celebrate!  I’ve found the coin that was lost.”

Minister:                Jesus was asked, “When will the kingdom of God arrive?”

                               He replied, “You wont’ be able to see the kingdom of God when it comes.  People won’t be able to say ‘it’s here’ or ‘it’s over there.’

                              “The kingdom of God is among you.”

The Servant and the Nobleman

Minister:           A nobleman once went off to a distant land to become king.  Just before he left, he called together his ten most trusted servants and gave each of them ten silver coins.

Voice 1:           See what you can earn with this money while I am gone

Minister:                His fellow citizens, however, hated him and sent a delegation saying

      “We don’t want this man to rule over us!”

      Nevertheless, he received the kingship and returned home.  He summoned the servants to find out what each one had done with the money.

     The first one said,

Voice 2:           I’ve turned the ten coins into one hundred!

Voice 1:           Excellent.  Because you’ve proven trustworthy in this small matter, I’m going to put you in charge of ten towns

Minister:                The second one said,

Voice 3:           I’ve earned five times what you gave me.

Voice 1:           Then you’ll be in charge of five towns.

Minister:           Another servant stepped forward and said,

Voice 4:           Sir here are your coins.  I kept them wrapped in a handkerchief because you’re a hard man and I’m afraid of you.  You always try to get something for nothing.  You reap where you do not sow. 

Voice 1:           Listen to what you’re saying!  You’re trapped by your own words.  You say that I’m a difficult man, that I try to get something for nothing.  If that’s true, why didn’t you do something with the money to make a profit?  You’ve disobeyed me.

Minister:           Turning to the others he said,

Voice 1:           Take the silver coins from him and give them to the fellow who turned ten coins into one hundred.

Voices 2,3,4:   But sir!  He already has a hundred coins.

Voice 1:           Yes and to the person who has something, more will be given and that person will have an abundance.  The person who has nothing of real value will lose even what he thinks he has. 

PART IV:

Minister:           Jesus said to his followers,

All:                  You have stayed close to me through all of my trials.  You will eat and drink with me in the realm of God.    

SERMON:  PART IV

Some of you might be wondering why didn’t the early Christians preserve the codice “Q” and put it in the Bible along with the gospel of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.  I believe the answer is because the gospels in the Bible offer a more complete account of who Jesus was and what happened to him.  I don’t think you can completely separate the teachings from the life of Jesus.  This is because his death and resurrection is the greatest teaching of all.  As the saying goes, actions speak louder than words.  Jesus believed in his teachings so much that he was willing to suffer and die for them.  Furthermore, the resurrection is what anchors the powerfully gentle, radical, and healing teachings of the man to God.  By the way, the Gnostic gospel of Thomas never mentions Jesus’ death or resurrection either.   That is probably why it was never included in the canon either.  (It was not some sort of conspiracy as popular novelists are inclined to suggest.)  In that sense “Q” is almost pre-Christian. 

None the less, I for me, and I hope for you reading “Q” helps me feel like I was with Jesus for a while.  Walking along the country roads, hearing him speak.  It makes me feel like I am right there with him getting the message just as he delivered it.  This was when the dark clouds gathering on the horizon were barely evident.  The horrific death and tremendous Easter was only hinted at.  It offer us a picture of Jesus pure and simple.  For that I am grateful.                   

Let us finish with one last piece…

“Q”

-         These are the sayings of Jesus…

PART IV:

Minister:           Jesus said to his followers,

All:                  You have stayed close to me through all of my trials.  You will eat and drink with me in the realm of God.