Lean on Me

A Sermon for the Second Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 5, Year B)
June 6, 2021

Text: Mark 3:20-35

I speak to you in the name of our loving, liberating, and life-giving God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

This past Tuesday, Jude and I drove to Camp McDowell to pick up Sophie after her five-day session of summer camp. Of course, she had a blast, and when I asked her if she missed us, she said, “No, not even a little bit!” When we got in the car to go home, the first thing I said was, “Tell me everything!” “What was your favorite activity?” “What was your favorite meal?” “How many new friends did you make?” “What was the program like?” I asked her so many questions, and she was happy to answer them. Then, as we were on our way home, I told her how happy it made me that she loved camp as much as I do. I told her that it meant a lot to me to be able to share with her this amazing place that’s been so important to me in my life.

Those who know me well know that one of my absolute favorite places on earth is Camp McDowell—our beloved camp and conference center here in the Diocese of Alabama. I like to describe it to others as the “heart” of our diocese, because that’s really what it is. It’s a place where we can all go to be recharged and renewed in our walk with Christ,  a place where we can all go to get reacquainted with God and to feel a sense of connection with other people. It takes about an hour and twenty minutes to drive one way from Alabaster to Camp McDowell, but that doesn’t really bother me at all. Every chance I get, I’m off to camp, because it holds such a special place in my heart, as it does for so many others.

There’s a reason why Camp McDowell is nicknamed “God’s Backyard,” and all you have to do is spend a little time there to figure out why. Of course, people go there to enjoy the natural beauty of God’s creation. You can go swimming in one of the swimming pools or canoeing in Clear Creek. You can take a hike along the path that leads to the tall, white cross, across the creek from Lower Camp. Or, you can just sit in one of the rocking chairs on the porch in front of Epps Hall while reading a book or enjoying a cup of coffee. All of those things are wonderful and reasons enough to go to camp. But, I would dare to say that the real reason why people like me go to camp every chance they get—why people love it so much—is because camp is a place where you can go and feel loved and accepted by everyone you meet, no matter who you are or where you come from. Camp McDowell is a place that strives every day to demonstrate the radical love and hospitality of Jesus. It’s probably stated best in their mission statement—“to show the way the world could be through worship, learning, rest, and play in the beauty of God’s Backyard.”

I love that statement—“to show the way the world could be.” Every time I come home from camp, I think about those words, wondering to myself, “Why can’t every day be like camp?” Why can’t we love and accept others exactly the way they are every day? Why can’t we leave the worries of the world behind us and just focus on loving each other and enjoying the beauty of God’s creation every day? Wouldn’t the world be a better place? I think it would.

Why can’t every day be like camp? Well, the short answer is, “I think it can be.” We can choose to live every day with the spirit of camp—and the love of Jesus—in our hearts. When we go to camp and return home, we can carry a little bit of camp with us wherever we go. We can remember what it was like while we were there, and we can live our lives in such a way to show others “the way the world could be.” In a sense, going to camp is a lot like showing up to church on Sunday mornings. We come to be surrounded by those who love us and support us, those who remind us that we’re not alone. We come for strength and renewal, not only for ourselves, but also for the life of the world. We come to be strengthened and renewed in the way of Jesus so that we may go forth from this place and proclaim the Good News of God in Christ to a world that desperately needs to hear it, to people who desperately need to hear that they’re perfectly and unconditionally loved by the God who created them, no matter what.

At their best, that’s what places like Camp McDowell do. They form us and provide us with what we need to live in the world as followers of Jesus.

One of my favorite songs from camp, which Sophie reminded me of when I picked her up on Tuesday, is the song, “Lean on Me,” which was actually written in 1972 by the singer/songwriter, Bill Withers, who passed away last year. I’m sure most of us have heard it countless times. The first verse goes like this. Feel free to join in…

Sometimes in our lives
We all have pain
We all have sorrow
But if we are wise
We know that there’s always tomorrow
Lean on me
When you’re not strong
And I’ll be your friend
I’ll help you carry on…
For it won’t be long
Till I’m gonna need somebody to lean on.

Actually, I think this song is perfect for camp, because when you’re there, you really do feel like part of one, big family, full of people you can lean on in those moments when you’re feeling lost or afraid. I think this is the kind of family that Jesus is speaking of at the end of our lesson this morning from the Gospel of Mark when he asks the crowd, rhetorically, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” Then, looking around at those who were siting next to him, Jesus says, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

I don’t think this statement was Jesus’ way of saying that our human families are unimportant or that we shouldn’t care about the relationships we have with our actual family members. I believe Jesus loved his family very much, despite their inability to understand him at times and their attempt to silence him when people started calling him crazy for preaching about the Kingdom of God.

When Jesus says to the crowd, “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother,” I think it’s his way of saying that we also have a spiritual family—a family that anyone can belong to, no matter what you look like or where you come from or who you love, a family where all who want to love and serve God are embraced and welcomed with open arms.

That’s what I think of when I think of places like Camp McDowell. It’s also what I think of when I think about our parish. One of the first things I fell in love with here at Holy Spirit was our commitment to diversity and our willingness to accept people into our family of faith exactly the way God made them. Our work continues on, my friends. There are still corners of the world—even in our own community—where people are disregarded and told they are “less than” because of the color of their skin or who they choose to be in a loving relationship with. We have the ability to be the hands and feet of Christ to those whom the world would rather toss aside and forget. We have the ability “to show the way the world could be” through our words of love and acceptance. This has been on my mind a lot lately, especially since we’re now in the month of June, the time when our LGBTQ brothers and sisters celebrate Pride Month.

And, just to be clear, in case I haven’t already, if you’re a long-time member of this parish or visiting for the first time, this priest loves you and accepts you for who you are, no matter what. I’ll be your priest. But, I’ll also be your brother or your son or your father. I’ll welcome you into our family of faith with loving and open arms.

And, more importantly, I’d venture to say that there are many others sitting here in front of me today who would say the exact same thing.

In the words of the late Bill Withers,

Lean on me
When you’re not strong
And I’ll be your friend
I’ll help you carry on…
For it won’t be long
Till I’m gonna need somebody to lean on.

Amen.

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A video of this sermon is available below, beginning at the 19:05 mark.