"Prophet Mystic Lover Sage" | The Rev. Heidi Thorsen | July 7, 2024
Sermon Preached: July 7, 2024 at Trinity on the Green
Year B, Proper 9 (Track 2): Ezekiel 2:1-5 | Psalm 123 | 2 Corinthians 12:2-10 | Mark 6:1-13
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be pleasing to you, O God, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
Prophet, Mystic, Lover, Sage.
When I began college, it seemed like every week was another activity fair inviting students to join one thing or another. I threw myself into these orientation activities, wondering (hopefully) I might have a secret, previously undiscovered aptitude for Japanese Taiko drumming, or whether I was a sorority girl after all. But it was always the religious and spiritual things that drew me the most. At one activity fair, the college Office of Religious Life hosted a quiz. Handing out individual questionnaires, students were invited to answer a series of questions to determine “What spiritual type are you?” People inevitably walked away from the table wearing a button with one of these types:
Prophet, Mystic, Lover, Sage.
Looking back, I can’t remember what type I tested into, though I do have my guesses. I remember that several people walked away from the booth with two or more buttons, finding that one category was simply not enough to describe who they are. One of the great things about this quiz was that each of the categories held a certain kind of appeal. Who wouldn’t want to be called a prophet, a mystic, a lover, a sage? I still think of these terms today, as a way of understanding our different spiritual gifts and inclinations. Let’s walk through them together.
The prophet is one who sees the world not only as it is, but also as it could be. The prophet is a truth teller. They can recognize the brokenness in things, and have the courage to love them anyways, and to try and make them better. Rooted in their values, the prophet might sometimes name things that are unpleasant or uncomfortable - but they will do it out of love. Those among us who resonate with the prophet know that faith and action are always related: what we believe should change how we live in the world.
The mystic is one who is particularly gifted at seeing the divine in the world around them: in the sunshine and the rain, in the chaos of a city street and in silence. Those mystics among us may be particularly gifted at prayer. And they are also the ones most likely to remind us that there is more than one way to pray - whether we are laying our hands on another person and asking for healing, or emptying our minds in meditation, or walking on a beach feeling connected to the sand and the waves - feeling connected to everything. Mystics help us step out of our limited framework, to see the world through God’s eyes.
The lover is one whose kindness and concern for others shines above the rest. Many have the gift of empathy; of feeling deeply the joy and pain of others. Lovers have the heart to reach out to other people, even when they might not be ready to reach back. Through their relationships, lovers express and magnify the love that God has for all of creation. Lovers recognize the holiness of God in everyday friendships, in going above and beyond for neighbors and strangers, in offering open ears and open arms.
Finally, the sage is the wise believer among us, more inclined towards the head than the heart. The sage may be a lover of books and writing and research - but it isn’t the amount of books they have read or degrees they have earned that sets them apart. Instead it is their gift for asking questions and seeking out answers. Even the youngest among us can be a sage, by spiritual disposition. Wisdom has no age limit. It is simply another expression of how we connect with the divine - by seeking to know, explain, and understand.
Prophet, mystic, lover, sage. As I set out to describe these types of spirituality, I was thinking of specific people in our church that embody these gifts - and I was thankful. Thankful that God has made us so different, including how we relate to one another on a spiritual level. I was thankful that even these categories can’t fully explain us, or box us in. We are more beautiful and complicated than a simple questionnaire or typology can ever pin down. And still, it is helpful to think about these distinctions: to think about the language of spirituality that speaks most profoundly to you– and to be aware that other people might need something a little different, or might have something a little different to give.
Looking at our scripture readings for today, you might be inclined to think that this is a sermon about prophets. Jesus identifies himself as a prophet, after all, when he preaches in his hometown and receives a slightly less than warm welcome. “Prophets are not without honor,” Jesus says, “except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house.” Our reading from the Hebrew scriptures is also about prophecy, as Ezekiel is called by God to stand up to his own people, the people of Israel, and to tell them hard truths about the ways that they have fallen away from God during their time of exile in Babylon– 600 years before Jesus’ time.
It is important to recognize the gifts of prophets among us. But this is not the only spiritual gift that we can recognize. Our Gospel passage for today reminds us about the diversity of spiritual gifts, because immediately after Jesus is rejected as a prophet, he goes to his disciples and empowers them to go out and share their gifts of ministry too.
Both of the stories that we encounter in today’s portion from the Gospel of Mark– first the scene where Jesus visits his hometown; and secondly, the scene where Jesus commissions the twelve disciples– are stories that we encounter in other Gospels too. But Mark is the only Gospel narrative where these two scenes, or pericopes as they are sometimes called, stand side by side– next to one another. The order of these stories is important. Jesus realizes that he may not be the best person to reach people in hometown. He realizes that he may not be the best person to reach every individual, at every time and place– at least not in his embodied, particular form. In response to this experience, Jesus sends out the disciples to embrace their role in his ministry. He empowers the disciples to use their gifts, in his name. I wonder if any of the disciples went back to Jesus’ hometown, and were able to reach some of the people who Jesus wasn’t able to reach personally because of his history in that place. Or maybe those people needed a different expression of Jesus’ teaching. Maybe they weren’t ready for a prophet, and instead they needed a lover, a mystic, a sage.
When Jesus sends the disciples to go out among the villages, he orders them “to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts.” I think there is something in this passage about our connection to worldly things, and to not put too much security in the things that we buy and sell and cushion around us. And I think there is also something in this passage about affirming our individual spiritual gifts. Because the one thing the disciples do take with them– once you strip away the bag, the money, everything– is themselves. They are an integral part of Jesus’ ministry, just as they are. There’s no fancy stole to identify their ministry, or a collar to give them authority. Jesus trusts that these people are enough, in and of themselves, to represent the good news of Jesus to the world. I’m sure some of them had the gifts of a prophet, mystic, lover, and sage– and that many of them had a mix of these things. I am sure that no two disciples were alike, each one a unique manifestation of the love of God.
I invite you to think about the gifts that God has planted in you. Are you a prophet, a mystic, a lover, a sage? Your story, your unique way of relating to God is distinct from every other person in the world. How will you let that light shine? How will you let it grow and change, as God continues God’s work in you?
And then, from a different angle, how can you step back and appreciate the spiritual gifts and temperaments that others bring to the table? Remember that Jesus was rejected by people he knew well in the town where he grew up– think about how painful that must have been. Who are you at risk of rejecting, because of your own experiences or your own spiritual orientation? Think about the ways that you can recognize and honor God in everyone you meet.
As a Christian, I believe that Jesus is the unique and perfect manifestation of God– the Word made flesh, living among us. And so I don’t think that Jesus was just a prophet. I believe that Jesus perfectly embodied each of these spiritual facets: prophet, mystic, lover, sage. I give thanks for the gift of God in Jesus Christ, and I give thanks for the gift of God’s presence in each one of you. May the justice, peace, love, and wisdom of God grow up within you– so that the light of God shines in every color, in every place. Amen.