Jesus Heals Many
29As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. 30Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her. 31So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.
32That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. 33The whole town gathered at the door, 34and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.
Jesus Prays in a Solitary Place
35Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 36Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37and when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!"
38Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come." 39So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.
G.K. Chesterton said that, “The great human dogma is the wind moves the trees. The great human heresy is that the trees move the wind”. Chesterton is saying that we attempt to think about, and to live in a world in which there is no fundamental cause of anything but us. We are the animators of reality. We trees move the wind. It is up to us to do something in the world, or nothing will be done. We are the sole actors of history. We move the trees, the wind, the waves, the climate, & the world. We are modern people. We move the waves that matter. Ultimately, we are the ones that give meaning to God and Jesus. Most of us think of Jesus Christ as a great teacher or a good friend. But, Jesus as healer/exorcist? That is a reach for us.
We live in a world that is knowledgeable about so many things, so open and so receptive to all points of view. Or do we? Operatively, don’t we think more cause & effect, if you do this, then you’ll get that? These miracle stories may be more of an embarrassment than an encouragement. How do we explain such mind-blowing events to our modern friends without sounding unstable? The gospel challenges us to consider the possibility of a power unleashed among us that is not controlled by us either. We find out from Mark’s account, Jesus is the one who moves the waves that ultimately count. Another thing about sinful humans like you and me, is not only do we think we make the waves, but we are also determined to ride the right wave. We want to be part of the right crowd, a winning formula, and the successful surge. Jesus’ disciples prove just as human as the rest of us when they come hunting for him to keep up his winning streak. Chesterton also suggests that Jesus went off by himself in order to laugh. In other words, when he couldn’t stand the kind of ridiculous expectations that his friends and followers kept making of him, he went off to laugh to keep his sanity. There is a kind of cultural insanity, popular mania that grips us. Often people watch heavily hyped entertainment such as the Super Bowl or go on vacation to Disneyland less because they find them of interest than because they don’t want to be left out of an event other people are talking about.
The same can be said of heavily hyped investment offers like the Ponzi scheme perpetrated by Bernard Madoff. It is a mystery where the fifty billion dollars went, invested by sophisticated financiers & brokerage houses. Madoff charmed, enticed, and ultimately preyed upon fellow Jews from an exclusive Palm Beach Country Club. Bookish and bespectacled, “Bernie” looked, dressed, and radiated success and confidence. Why he even gave generously to various Jewish charities. Status in associating with Madoff and a waiting list to invest with him knowing you could count on a 1% per month return. Yet, how could these savvy investors be fooled by the old pyramid scheme? Why did so many winners try to ride this loser wave? Madoff pulled off an “affinity fraud” that targets a specific religious, ethnic, and cultural group. Who doesn’t want to identify, invest & be included in a success?
Today in our series on the stewardships, the ministries of Vinland Church, we turn our attention to worship. Worship is a peculiar but indispensable element of our life together. The heart that forms our community. Without worship we forget our place and purpose in God’s world and become self-preoccupied, self-absorbed, and self-centered. God formulated as Trinity confronts us with a largeness, a depth, an immensity we cannot manage or control or reduce to dealing with on our own terms. God is more than we can comprehend. A God that can be understood is no God. We cannot know God in a way that explains everything about him. The only way we can approach God is through worship; holy, holy, holy. Thank you to the many of you who give time & talents to support our worship life; leaders and singers, acolytes, readers, & faith & care members. We appreciate your work, your various ministries. Special thanks to our dedicated & professional music staff, Carol and Michael. We will miss our organized, outgoing Worship Steward, Barb Erickson.
Today’s gospel illustrates the basic need for solitude. Our very survival depends that we stop. Sabbath means to cease. If we must meet, maneuver, minister to humanity we must first meet God. There is so much going on in this passage. Having just come from an exorcism in a synagogue, Jesus heals a woman who immediately plays hostess to a quasi-council meeting. After sundown, Jesus cures more diseases, casts out a few more demons, & insists the evil spirits keep it quiet. But, Jesus cannot keep a low profile or a feasible schedule. Fourteen times in the first two chapters Mark uses the word immediately. For a small town, this ministry is moving fast. In this passage, Mark tells us that the whole town of Capernaum gathered at the door. Pretty good return for a homegrown, Galilean start-up. The disciples are clearly basking in the exponential growth and surge of success. They are riding the wave and have some very glorious and global plans. Yet, in the midst of all the hype, healings, fans, & triumph, Jesus opts to take time-out. Jesus gets up, goes off to a solitary place to pray. Away from godly action, God meets him.
When we think of the seeing the Holy Land, we imagine solitude at the sites. And contemplating the meaning of Jesus’ life and the impact of his death/resurrection.
There was irony in a tour of pastors moving so quickly through the Holy Land. We visited the Mount of Olives where Jesus often gathered with his disciples outside Jerusalem. We sprinted through the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed while he sweated blood on Maundy Thursday. We walked through the Old City along the Via Dolorosa with the stations of the cross on Jesus’ way to Calvary. We toured Bethlehem, the place of Jesus’ birth after crossing the border into Palestine. Our group hustled through the Holy Sepulchre that tradition claims is the location where Jesus was crucified and resurrected. We stopped at the Wailing Wall, the holiest site in the Jewish faith. The wonder is we saw those places in the same day.
My point is we can be with the most Christian company in the most sacred places in the holiest of lands and still not hear or experience God. Our group of pastors was so frantically touring religious sites in the Promised Land we were more exhausted than enthused, more weary than worshipful. My focus was more on scribbling down sermon illustrations than sitting and praying lest I miss the bus.
We in the church can get so involved in our relationships, responsibilities, rewards, & work we forget or take for granted our basic need for solitude, time with God.
This might be something of what the disciples are doing when they come looking for Jesus. One translation says they were hunting for him. When they track him down they’re not sure what he’s doing. They just know, “Everyone is looking for you!”
This is a dramatic lesson. In the midst of all the good, and it is all good, Jesus still takes time to refresh, regroup, recenter, & reorient with God. If Jesus needs to pray & worship to live well, how much more is this essential for the followers of Jesus? John Ortberg said, “We live in a constant state of fear and anxiety because everything depends on us. Our mood will be governed by circumstances. We live in a universe that leaves us feeling deeply vulnerable. We have the chance to share our faith, we shrink back. We cannot give generously, our financial security depends on us. We get caught up chasing the latest man-made wave, because we are afraid of missing out. If someone gets mad at us or disapproves, we get all twisted up. We are slaves to what others think and say.” Ortberg helps us realize the overall impact to our lives, our relationships, and our priorities when we don’t refresh and reorient with God. The way you respond to tests/trials of life is a consequence of the size of your God.
Last week at the Bishop’s Convocation my colleague and friend Pastor Paul Meeker received folded note that simply said, “there is a truck in your church”. Paul told us the inside story at text study saying there is no such thing as bad publicity. Lots of media coverage and community support has been the upshot. Apparently, the driver had a grand mal seizure at the wheel and drove his pick-up into the back of the Our Savior’s sanctuary. There was smoke everywhere because the driver’s foot was glued to the accelerator. The engine was racing, tires kept spinning, while the driver was unconscious. Lots of smoke damage to the church.
Paul said that he assured the guy that it was okay, that insurance would more than cover the damage that was substantial. Then it came to light that the driver was a contractor who specialized in church construction. His buddy who was standing there said, “You know, we have been trying to get him to go to church and we finally did”. Our Savior’s worshipped in their fellowship hall and I am certain Paul reassured those guys that it was okay. Paul is a friend & brother really grounded in God. His life, relationships, and ministry are established and shaped by worship.
In Christ, we can serve with joy, suffer with hope, pray in faith, work with passion.
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