An Incorrect Diagnosis
The Rev. Gina M. Stewart
Pastor
Christ Missionary Baptist Church
Memphis, Tennessee

(This sermon is also available in audio)

For this day, for this noon-day hour, this time of worship, word, and celebration, we give thanks to You, oh God; for You are good, and Your mercy endures forever. For this celebration of diversity where various denominations can come and gather at the foot of the cross to proclaim that Christ is Lord, we say thank you. Breathe now and rain down fresh manna upon us and bless us as we share in this service today. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, our Lord, our strength, and our Redeemer. This we pray for the sake of your Kingdom, and the redeemed of the Lord said, Amen.

I am honored, privileged, and grateful to be here to share again with Calvary Episcopal Church and Dr. Douglas Bailey in this Lenten Preaching Series. It's good for us to be here. I am also grateful that I have more than fifteen minutes to preach, for if that had been the case, I think I would have just read the Scripture and given the benediction.

Calling your attention to Mark, chapter three, I would like to lift up just a few verses from that Epistle, and I am reading from the New International Version, verses 20 - 21.

Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind."

The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of the Lord shall stand forever.

If we were to examine a theme around this noonday series and this Lenten series, I would ask you to entertain for just a few moments an incorrect diagnosis, an incorrect diagnosis. When Christ Missionary Baptist Church, the church that I currently serve as Pastor, was founded in 1967, they initially organized without pastoral leadership. But, after their first meeting, they decided to call a young pastor by the name of Eddie Lewis Currie to shepherd the flock of God. It is important to note that when the call was extended to Ed Currie, he was already pastoring one of the premier churches in Brownsville, Tennessee. Nevertheless, after meeting with 24 members who contacted him, he resigned from the pastorate of First Baptist Church in Brownsville, and moved to Memphis to assume the pastorate of a struggling church, one without even a building to worship in. On many occasions, when he would reflect with our congregation, particularly those times when we would celebrate the history of our church, he would talk about how many of his colleagues, in the infancy stages of our church, thought he had lost his mind. You see, his friends could not fathom how a pastor could resign from an established church with promise and potential, to relocate to Memphis to serve a struggling church - a group of 24 members who did not even have a building. Some of the people closest to him were convinced that Ed Currie had lost his mind.

In most cases, when a person or an individual is referred to as insane or out of their mind, it is generally not perceived as a compliment. It suggests that the person in question has lost the capacity or competency to make contracts, to dispose of property by will, to take care of themselves, to cooperate with a lawyer in the event of a trial, to be held criminally responsible or to be executed. We are also suggesting that the person experiencing symptoms may find it difficult to hold a job, to go to school, to relate to others, or even to cope with life's demands. In most societies, mental illness carries a substantial stigma or a mark of shame. In some cases, they are blamed for bringing on their own illnesses, while others may see them as victims of bad fate, even religious or moral transgressions, or sometimes, even witchcraft. Such a stigma may cause some families to be over-protective, and in some cases, the family may totally reject the family member who is suffering.

When my pastor left Brownsville, Tennessee, to come to Memphis to pastor a struggling church with 24 members, his friends said that he had lost his mind. This was the diagnosis that was assigned to my pastor, and it was also the diagnosis assigned to Jesus by his family. No matter how you slice it, they were convinced that Jesus had lost his mind.

The King James Version and the Revised Standard Version say, "He is beside himself." The Amplified Bible says that his family says, "He is out of his mind, beside himself, or deranged." Phillips Modern English Version says that "his family says that he has gone mad," and the New International Version from which we read today, suggests that the family feared that Jesus was out of his mind.

His family members feared that Jesus had lost his mind, and they were coming to get him and restrain him. His family eventually concludes that he is not only out of his mind, but mentally incompetent. They viewed his activities as irrational and socially deviant, for Jesus had ventured beyond the bounds of ritual purity.

Can you imagine in your homiletical imagination, the conversation that was going on between Jesus and his brothers and sisters? Can't you hear them saying, "Mother, what in the world is wrong with Jesus?" In First Century Palestine, with all of its codes of honor and shame, Jesus is violating and breaking all the rules. He shows no respect to the Scribes or the Pharisees. He keeps company with some interesting personalities that he calls his disciples. Four of them are fishermen. One is a tax collector. There is some Greek guy in the bunch named Philip. There is a guy named Simon who is a Canaanite. James, the son of Alphaeus, and Judas, the son of, it was believed, one of the Judean zealots. He's also hanging out with a guy named Bartholomew. He is punching the clock on the Sabbath. He is hanging out and violating the rules of social protocol. He is touching ceremonially unclean folk - touching lepers, and healing a man with palsy. Not only does he talk to women, but he allows them in his circle. He even dared to declare himself to be lord of the Sabbath, and the latest word is that he is casting out devils. Can't you just hear his family saying, in your homiletical imagination, "We better go and get Jesus and restrain him before he does something to hurt himself. He is beside himself. He is out of his mind. We better go and get him right now because Jesus has lost his mind."

Now, Jesus' family's comments were not construed, or should not be construed, as negative. They were actually concerned for Jesus' welfare and safety. The translation "out of his mind" translates into "being beside himself," meaning that his spirit was functioning outside of his body. He was standing outside of himself. In a manner of speaking, they were suggesting that Jesus was out of his senses. His behavior, in their opinion, was eccentric, and they were concerned with what seemed to be irrational behavior on the part of Jesus. But, Mark interrupts this family episode long enough to make plain that Jesus was not crazy. Jesus was not demon-possessed, but Spirit-possessed, for it was the Holy Spirit of God, not a demon, that possessed Jesus.

What appeared to be opposition on the homefront, is actually a fundamental realignment of relationships. Separation from one's family is not a condition for discipleship, but a consequence of discipleship. Jesus' zeal for God, his obsession with the righteousness of God, was not demon-possession, but the saving power of God at work in Jesus Christ. What was perceived as mental and emotional imbalance, was Jesus' expression of his experience of new relationships benefiting his ministry and the Kingdom. When the saving power of God is at work, when one is driven by the Holy Spirit of God, when one is constrained by what Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick called "an unenforceable obligation" -- when one is motivated by the inexplicable -- when one dares to be different -- when one dares to be unconventional -- when one dares to be misunderstood -- when one dares to blaze a new trail -- when one dares to strike in another direction -- in the minds of some, it may appear to be crazy.

• John Wesley's wife called him silly - he rode 250,000 miles on horseback, to preach 40,000 sermons in 50 years. Somebody probably called him crazy.
  
  
• Harriet Tubman - a dark complexioned, short-stooped woman, with a bandanna on her head, resembled a typical plantation woman. Yet, she made it inside of enemy lines and displayed remarkable courage, zeal, and fidelity, as the conductor of the Underground Railroad, bringing about 300 slaves to freedom. Thus earning her the name of Moses for delivering her people from bondage - and somebody probably said she was crazy.
  
  
• Sojourner Truth - a valiant, Negro woman, who traveled and told the truth about slavery everywhere she went in spite of her advanced age. She raised money and solicited gifts for distribution in the camps. She lectured; she sang; she taught persons straight out of slavery, and she nursed Negro soldiers at Freedmen Hospital - but somebody probably thought she was crazy.
  
  
• Mary McLeod Bethune - a black woman who dared to open an educational and industrial training school in 1904, now known as Bethune-Cookman College - was probably considered by some to be crazy.
  
  
• John Bunyan spent twelve years in jail for preaching the gospel and conducting divine services of worship without a license - and somebody probably thought he was crazy.
  
  
• John Brown was regarded among abolitionists as a martyr for human freedom because he dared to educate blacks - somebody probably thought he was crazy.
  
  
• Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison protesting against apartheid - and somebody probably thought he was crazy.
  
  
• The Nazis executed Dietrich Bonhoeffer - a German Lutheran theologian, an outspoken opponent of Adolf Hitler, author of The Cost of Discipleship - and somebody probably thought he was crazy.
  
  
• Mother Teresa, had an unusual ministry among the sick and the dying, and somebody probably thought she was crazy.
  
  
• When Calvary Episcopal Church opened their doors not too long ago to the mother of Matthew Shepherd, the young man who was killed because he was gay - somebody probably thought y'all were crazy.
  
  
• When Idlewild Presbyterian Church donated financial resources and land to partner with Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association, better known as MIFA, to birth and bring into existence Idlewild Court (transitional homes for the homeless), when they could have been using the resources to pad their own bank account - somebody probably thought they were crazy. And as the writer of Hebrews would say, "What more can I say for time won't permit me to call the roll?" Hallelujah.

• Of the brave souls who forgot themselves into immortality while others made light of their labors -- the Nat Turners, the Corrie Ten Booms, the Daisy Bates, the Martin Luther King, Jrs., the Rosa Parks, the Frederick Douglasses, and the Ida B. Wells
  

• All the Biblical heroes whose activities may have been viewed as irrational but nevertheless driven by the Holy Spirit of God. How 'bout Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who disobeyed a direct order? How about Esther who risked execution to save her people? The King hadn't sent for her in thirty days, but she said, "If I parish, let me parish, for I am going to see the King."

• How about the prophet Ezekiel who shaved his head, or Amos who called the rich to accountability and social responsibility? How about Hosea, the prophet, who married Gomer, the prostitute? How about Rahab the harlot, who helped the Israelites spies, or Moses, the deliverer who dared to confront Pharaoh?

• We wouldn't want to forget Queen Vashtie, the first feminist who rebelled against male authority, and initiated the ancient equal rights movement; or Peter the Apostle who stood before the Jerusalem counsel. Of course there's Mary, the mother of Jesus, who conceived a baby out of wedlock, and Joanna, one of the women who dared to follow Jesus.
  

• The Apostle Paul - fought wild beasts and was stoned in Lystra, was shipwrecked, beaten with many stripes, and cast in jail on many occasions.

• And last, but certainly not least, how about Jesus who cast out demons and fever, cleansed the lepers, healed a paralyzed man, restored a withered hand, stopped a woman from hemorrhaging, fed 5000, restored a blind man's sight, calmed the sea, caused the dumb to speak, raised a woman's son from the dead? How about Jesus who dared to be seen in the company of women?

Yes, Jesus lived an intensely sacrificial life. His record is full of serving crowds, dark streets, jammed doors, and thronged seashores. No wonder he hardly had time to eat. In a time with no microwaves, no wonder he had no time to eat. In a time with no McDonalds, no wonder Jesus had no time to eat.

It was because of Jesus' sense of mission, because of Jesus' devotion to the will of the Father, because of Jesus' dedication to helping people, that his family, even though they were concerned, thought that he had lost his mind. And I am glad today that while his family meant well, they made an incorrect diagnosis. Oh, hallelujah, for you see, Jesus was not crazy. Jesus was committed. Jesus was not crazy. Jesus was consecrated. Jesus was not crazy. Jesus was concerned, and it was that same commitment to do the will of the Father that caused Jesus to say in the Garden of Gethsemane, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."

It was that same commitment to do the will of the Father that caused Jesus to look at a crowd mocking him and railing him and say, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." It was that same commitment that prompted Jesus to make himself of no reputation and to become obedient, even to death on a cross, and yes, it was that same commitment that caused Jesus to give his life for sinners like you and I. Oh, what manner of love is this that we should be called the children of God?

I don't know about you today, but I am glad that the diagnosis was incorrect. I am glad that Jesus was not driven by approval ratings. I am glad that Gallup Polls did not drive Jesus. If approval ratings or Gallup Polls had driven him, perhaps he would have altered his mission. But since his will was to do the Will of the Father, he let people think what they wanted to think and went about doing the work of the Kingdom.

As I look back, and as I think back, over the past 34 years of Christ Missionary Baptist Church, I fondly remember Ed Currie. His friends probably did think that he was beside himself - this erudite, educated professional, politically astute, caring preacher of the Gospel. How could he give up an established church to go and begin again with a struggling church with 24 members who didn't even have a building, let alone a bank account?

They also probably thought he was crazy when he licensed a woman 29 years old, hallelujah, to preach the Gospel and ordained her for ministry. They also probably thought he was crazy when he designed my license to preach, after searching from one bookstore to the other and finding that all of the pre-printed licenses for ministry said, "Having given evidence...has called him into the Gospel ministry." There was not one that said, "her."

I am glad today that Ed Currie was intensely committed to doing the Will of God - even if it meant being misunderstood, even if it meant being criticized, even if it meant being rejected by his peers. For it was because of an Ed Currie, who was motivated by the Holy Spirit of God, that He could prepare the hearts of the people so that a Gina Stewart could become a pastor; so that a Gina Stewart from South Memphis could become a pastor of a Baptist congregation. Who wouldn't serve a God like this?

Yes, Jesus' family probably had ample reason to think that he was beside himself - for when you dare to do the unconventional, whenever you dare to step outside of the tradition, whenever you dare to do that which others have not done, folks will think that you have lost your mind.

But, Jesus' life revolved around another center than that of immediate relatives or even humankind in general. For Jesus, that center was doing the will of God. I believe Romans 5:8 captures it best when the writer says, "Perhaps, for a righteous man, one would die, but God has commended His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

That's good news. On this day, as we celebrate what Christ has done, and we celebrate the diversity that's represented in this sanctuary, let me just warn you: if you dare to follow Jesus, somebody might incorrectly diagnose you.

Hallelujah. Let us pray.

Oh Lord, our Lord, how excellent is your name in all the earth. How we thank you for that innumerable host of witnesses who've already gone before us. They were not driven by insanity or emotional imbalance, but were driven by the Holy Spirit of God to pursue the impossible: to envision a future that others have yet to see, who dared to do the Will of God even if it meant being labeled as eccentric or out of our minds. How we thank you for Calvary Episcopal Church, a church in downtown Memphis, that would dare to not only open its doors to Aids victims, but to the homeless, to the left-out, and the locked-out. How we thank you for an Idlewild Presbyterian Church in Midtown Memphis, that dares to use its resources for more than self-seeking interests, but believes in investing in the eternal purposes of God. How we thank you for an Ed Currie, who dared to step outside of his tradition and test the limits, and not only trust you, but obey you. How we thank you for Jesus, who even though he was co-equal with God, did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped or coveted, but became obedient even unto death on a cross. How we thank you for Jesus, who died in our place so that we might have the right to eternal life. It is in that name that we thank you today, and the people of God said together, Amen.

Copyright 2001 The Rev. Gina Stewart

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