This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on Sunday February 22, 2009, Transfiguration of the Lord Sunday
2 Kings 2:1-12
Psalm 50:1-6
2 Corinthians 4:3-6
Mark 9:2-9
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen
Echoes, I love the sound of an echo in the mountains. When I was in the Boy Scouts, I used to love the yells between camps at jamborees, hearing hundreds of scouts call off into the woods waiting for a reply from another group at the other end of the camp.
In seminary we practiced chanting the Psalter like a Cantor on a racquetball court just for the reverb. That was an amazing sound hearing the voices of twenty seminarians singing the word of God. There is a peace that comes over you as you hear the final notes fade away not into the distance, but into your own ears.
There are other kinds of echoes. In literature, echoes can be called foreshadowing; where words spoken in an earlier chapter become prophetic of things happening later. The reverse of the echo is the flashback, recalling the foreshadowing of a bygone time.
This is “Transfiguration of the Lord Sunday.” This is the day when we read the story of Jesus taking Peter, James, and John to the mountain where they receive a vision that brings Jesus together with the greatest heroes of the faith, the two most important men in messianic prophecy. They see him transfigure, watch his appearance change. By their senses they perceive the change to Jesus’ outward appearance. His clothes become whiter than anyone on earth could ever make them. If this weren’t frightening enough, a cloud overshadows them and a voice within the cloud says, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him.”
This scene gives Peter, James, John, and all of us a flash from the past and foreshadowing into the future.
The very command “Listen to Him” harkens the listener steeped in the Torah to Deuteronomy 18:15, “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me (this me is Moses) from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet.” The voice reminds the three apostles that a prophet will be raised up in Israel who shall be heeded, listened to. Jesus is this promised Mosaic prophet.
This voice also reminds the reader of the gospel of the first chapter and the baptism of the Lord; a piece we read only about six weeks ago, “He saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’”[1]
For the one who hears the words of the Gospel, this is both a distant and a recent memory.
The whiteness of Jesus’ clothing, dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them; this image returns the reader to the prophecy of Daniel. The seventh chapter presents us with the Ancient One:
As I watched,
thrones were set in place,
and an Ancient One took his throne,
his clothing was white as snow,
and the hair of his head like pure wool
The images of the Kingdom of God are set in prophecy, and fulfilled in the viewing of Jesus on the mountain. We are told what the prophet would look like, and Jesus’ appearance has come to match this.
This image of bright blinding whiteness makes another appearance in Revelation as the return of Jesus is described, “in the midst of the lampstands I saw one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash across his chest. His head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow;”[2]
So the whiteness is not only a flashback to the past, it is a foreshadowing of future events. It not only represents what was prophesied for the future, it prophesies to the future. There are other flashbacks and foreshadowings which can be found in this passage, but this is enough to make a point. The point is that this is a moment in history where the past, the present, and the future come together, and with this comes the epiphany from the voice that says, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him.”
At that moment in history, Peter, James, and John were given a glimpse into the divine nature of Jesus, and with every epiphany comes fear and confusion. This is the very nature of epiphany as literature.[3] No wonder Peter offered to build three booths; I wouldn’t have had the good sense to offer that foolishness. My foolishness would have been much sillier.
This moment ends with the four coming down off the mountain, talking about what has just happened and what will happen. By this experience, Jesus prepares these three for the future. Jesus prepared them to tell the world who he is. Jesus was preparing the three to take the reins of disciple leadership and teach the next generation and every generation beyond them. Jesus prepared them for his death, for his life, and for what comes next.
Of course, the three are just men, and they will behave like people behave. In the very next chapter, James and John will seek personal glory in the midst of the kingdom. They will beg “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” Jesus models Jack Nicholson’s Colonel Jessup in “A Few Good Men” when Jesus reminds them of the passion to come and asks “Can you handle my glory?”
Peter will be the subject of “instant prophecy” when he cries out that he will never abandon the Lord. Jesus tells Peter surely he will deny his Lord. He will deny his Lord not once but three times. Bluster aside, Peter will seek to save his skin. And this is just what happens, and as the cock crows, Peter knows what he has done.
In the garden at Gethsemane, Peter, James, and John, the three who saw Jarius’ daughter raised from the dead, the three who witnessed the transfiguration, they fail the Lord moments before his arrest. These are the three who saw Jesus in his Glory and participated in some of the most intimate moments of his ministry. And with these benefits, they remained absolutely human.
At this moment in history, we are given a glimpse into the divine nature of Jesus. We are given the vision that brings Jesus together with the greatest heroes of the faith; the two must important men in messianic prophecy. We see him transfigure, watch his appearance change. As Jesus prepared the three for the present and future with a glimpse from the past, we are prepared for the present and the future with a glimpse from the past.
This passage shares the good news that “the kingdom that Jesus is preaching has been implemented. Despite the turmoil of the world, experienced by the Markan Christians, they can recognize that Jesus is superior to their persecutors and is already controlling the world.”[4]
But I imagine that it also comes with the warning that in this world, knowing the greatest God of all, the King of kings and the Lord of lords is no guarantee that our perfection follows. If anything, this story teaches us that those with the greatest advantages will fall victim to sinful nature as deeply as those who deny Jesus by malicious intent. The sins are different, but the sins are still sin.
This passage is filled with echoes. Some of them have bounced back from the days of Moses, some of them bounced back from just a couple of days earlier. This passage has echoes that remind us of Israel in the desert, Jesus during his baptism, and Revelation’s vision of the second coming.
This is a moment in history where the past, the present, and the future come together. These echoes are to be shouted from the mountaintops. They are to be cried from the city square and the temple gates. They are to be shared with the world.
Things change. That’s the nature of our world and our earthly lives. Things change. Our gospel reading today even shows how Peter, James and John’s view, their vision of Jesus changes. It changes with the epiphany from the voice that says, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him.
Our vision of the world must change also. There is no way it cannot. By this experience, Jesus prepares us for the future too. Jesus prepares us to tell the world who he is. Jesus prepares the body which is the church to take the reins of disciple leadership and teach the next generation and every generation beyond them. Jesus prepares the world for his death, for his life, and for what comes next. Listen to him, and share the word of his victory so others may hear the good news too.
[1] Mark 1:10-11
[2] Rev 1:13-14
[3] New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. VIII, Leander Keck, Ed. Nashville: Abingdon, 1995, page 630
[4] Ibid, 631
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Wishing, Willing, Choosing
This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on Sunday February 15, 2009, the 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
2 Kings 5:1-14
Psalm 30
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Mark 1:40-45
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen
The Adventures of Pinocchio was written by Carlo Collodi and published in 1883. I think it is safe to say that we all know at least a little about the mischievous adventures of this animated marionette and his poor father, the woodcarver Geppetto.
The 1940 Disney version involves the wooden puppet being brought to life by a blue fairy, who tells him he can become a real boy if he proves himself “brave, truthful, and unselfish.” Thus begins Pinocchio’s adventures to become a real boy involving many encounters with a host of unsavory characters.
While in Collodi’s original story, the talking cricket is accidently killed by Pinocchio, in the film he fares better. In the Disney version he is translated into a comical and wise partner who accompanies Pinocchio on his adventures, having been appointed by the Blue Fairy to serve as the official conscience for Pinocchio.[1]
And of course, we are all familiar with Jiminy Cricket’s signature song, “When You Wish upon a Star.”
When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
Will come to you
If your heart is in your dream
No request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star
As dreamers do
The reason I mention this is that as I have said before, all translation is interpretation, and this passage has one of the best examples.
Our reading this morning from the New Revised Standard Version began: “A leper came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him, ‘If you choose, you can make me clean.’ Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, ‘I do choose. Be made clean!’”
The New International Version’s rendition of this verse is different. Instead of saying “If you choose” and “I do choose,” it says “If you are willing” and “I am willing.” So, what’s the difference? What’s at stake?
The English teacher would say that one of these verbs is active and the other is passive. This is what the teacher calls “grammatical voice.” An easy way to tell the difference is that in the active voice, action happens. Sending, doing, even seeing and smelling are in the active voice. The passive voice means that action is being done to something. In fact, in the passive voice the verb is prefaced by a form of “to be.” So passive voice examples are being sent, been done, being seen and were smelled. The active voice is preferred in speech and creative writing because it denotes action. Action moves stories along. Something happens; which is far better than when something is happening.
To show how important the differences between active and passive voice is in writing, when Microsoft Word runs its “readability statistics,” one of the statistics is the percentage of passive sentences, and the fewer the better.
So for the English teacher in all of us, the answer to the question “what’s at stake?” is that the man with leprosy and Jesus are both better doing than being. It is better “to choose” than “to be willing.”
Another difference between these two interpretations is that, frankly for my money, “to be willing” seems more wishy-washy than “to choose.” I don’t know if there is a difference in reality, but willingness is one thing, and it doesn’t necessarily lead to action. To choose is to do something. Of course, in a way, this is just another look at the active/passive discussion without using technical jargon like “grammatical voice.”
We’ve been together for three-and-a-half years, so by now I am sure that you who know me best anticipate a discussion on the Greek word used in this gospel. This is where we enter even more interesting vocabulary territory. You see, the word used here is not often rendered as either “is willing” or “choosing.” Usually it is translated as to have a desire for something; to wish, to want, to desire.
We have suddenly opened a brand new can of worms with this. Yes, the Greek word used here can mean to have a desire for something, to wish, to want; and to choose or to be willing.
One of my professors from Austin who was something of a “boy wonder” could not wait to get to seminary so that he could learn the scriptures in their original languages. He figured that this way he would be able to have all of his textual questions answered. He was surprised to discover that when studying scripture in their original languages he actually developed more questions than he had answered.
That’s frustrating if you let it be, but if you let the questions open you further to the mystery and the glory of God good things begin to happen.
The committees that translate the scriptures and publish bibles have to make decisions about the words they put in print. They have to choose specific words to use and not to use. Every word in our bibles can’t have two or three different choices of definitions and interpretations. If it did, then one bible as we know it would be the size of an Encyclopedia Britannica so decisions have to be made. In this case, the editors of the New International Version chose to go with “are willing” and the editors of the New Revised Standard selected “to choose.” Neither picked wish or desire.
Here’s the good news, the choices that the editorial committees have to make do not have to be made by you and me. We have the power, we have the authority to seek the Holy Spirit and make a choice of how we want to interpret this. We can pick one, or the other, or another still, but there’s one more choice we can make. We can choose all of the above.
What if we choose to allow all of the nuances of this Greek word to flow into our translation, our interpretation of this passage? What would happen if we did use all three translation choices; wishing, willing, and choosing? What would happen is that we would get a fuller idea of the richness of what the man with leprosy asked and what Jesus did, a fullness that no single translation can give us.
Jesus wants to cleanse us—and Jesus wants us to be cleansed. The Lord has a desire for a loving relationship with each and every one of us, with all humanity, with all creation. God’s wish, God’s desire is the restoration of all creation. When the leper says “you can cleanse me if you wish” he is absolutely correct. Jesus answers with “I wish, be cleansed.” Translating the passage this way points out the greatest wish, the greatest desire of the Lord; it is a good translation.
Jesus is willing to heal us. I believe willingness is similar to desire, with one additional element, power. Jesus not only wants to cleanse us, but he has the power to cleanse us and is willing to use that power to restore our relationship with the Almighty. The man with leprosy knew Jesus had the power, he knew Jesus could make him clean if only the Lord was willing. Jesus is able and Jesus is willing to use his power and authority to cleanse us.
Finally, Jesus chooses to cleanse us, heal us, make us whole. With all action there is choice. Not only must there be the want and the power, there should also be conscious choice in the matter. Please note that I did say “should” here. People leave things up to chance all the time, but making the conscious choice to do something, choosing to make a difference, is the hallmark between intent and accident. God intends action.
In our Call to Worship from Psalm 30, David cries to the Lord “you restored me to health, you brought me up from the dead, you restored my life as I was going down to the grave.”
In our gospel reading the Lord Jesus Christ cleansed this unnamed leper because it is what the Lord wished to do, was willing to do, and chose to do. In our Old Testament reading Naaman was cleansed by the Lord God because it is what the Lord wished to do, was willing to do, and chose to do. The Lord seeks every opportunity to make connections, to develop relationships with God’s people.
Notice one more thing; the people God chooses as examples of this relationship are not the perfect people, far from it. It’s not the people without problems that are noticed in scripture, it is people who have flaws.
People with leprosy were considered unclean. To be unclean means being contaminated by a physical, ritual, or moral impurity; the absence of such impurities constitutes cleanness. These concepts have very ancient roots in tribal life, and in advanced religions evolve into a system of ritual laws, administered by the priests. At this stage uncleanness is thought of as what is displeasing to the deities or as what belongs to the sphere of the demonic.[2]
Those who were contaminated by a physical, ritual, or moral impurity were required to separate themselves from the community. When others were within earshot they were required to cry out “unclean” so that the unsuspecting traveler would not be accidently made unclean as well. The unclean were separated from their families, friends, and homes.
The procedures to bring about ritual cleansing involve a waiting period of one, seven, or more days; ritual employing water, fire, or some other cleansing agent; and often a sacrifice of the nature of a sin offering.[3]
At the risk of becoming a social leper himself, Jesus reaches out to the man. Jesus restores him to his family, friends, and home. In our readings today, the cleansing power of Christ, the healing power of God put an end to the need for ritual purification. In Christ we are restored not only to health, but to our people, ourselves, and our Lord.
When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
Will come to you
If your heart is in your dream
No request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star
As dreamers do
It is little known that there are actually two endings to Pinocchio. The original ending of the story is what today we call the end of the first act. The talking cricket is still dead, the blue fairy is not yet in the story, and Pinocchio himself is not redeemed, he does not become a real boy. This ending is no children’s story. It is a frightening tale bordering on horrific.
But the second act was created. In the end, all is restored and made well in the world. The marionette becomes flesh and bone, the cricket lives, and Geppetto, who was quite ill, is healed. The request for all to be restored, no matter how absurd, how extreme it may be, is granted.
Through Christ, we are cleansed. We are restored to right relationship with the Lord. In the Call to Worship we prayed, “I cried out to you and you restored me to health.” This because God wished, was willing, and chose to make it so.
When joy comes in the morning, we too must wish, be willing, and choose to join the Lord in the work of restoration. Is it scary? Sure it is. Imagine being Elisha’s messenger at the door telling a war ready General Naaman to take a bath. But let us do just that. Let us join the Lord Jesus in his restoring work.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiminy_Cricket
[2] “Clean and Unclean,” Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible
[3] Ibid.
2 Kings 5:1-14
Psalm 30
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Mark 1:40-45
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen
The Adventures of Pinocchio was written by Carlo Collodi and published in 1883. I think it is safe to say that we all know at least a little about the mischievous adventures of this animated marionette and his poor father, the woodcarver Geppetto.
The 1940 Disney version involves the wooden puppet being brought to life by a blue fairy, who tells him he can become a real boy if he proves himself “brave, truthful, and unselfish.” Thus begins Pinocchio’s adventures to become a real boy involving many encounters with a host of unsavory characters.
While in Collodi’s original story, the talking cricket is accidently killed by Pinocchio, in the film he fares better. In the Disney version he is translated into a comical and wise partner who accompanies Pinocchio on his adventures, having been appointed by the Blue Fairy to serve as the official conscience for Pinocchio.[1]
And of course, we are all familiar with Jiminy Cricket’s signature song, “When You Wish upon a Star.”
When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
Will come to you
If your heart is in your dream
No request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star
As dreamers do
The reason I mention this is that as I have said before, all translation is interpretation, and this passage has one of the best examples.
Our reading this morning from the New Revised Standard Version began: “A leper came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him, ‘If you choose, you can make me clean.’ Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, ‘I do choose. Be made clean!’”
The New International Version’s rendition of this verse is different. Instead of saying “If you choose” and “I do choose,” it says “If you are willing” and “I am willing.” So, what’s the difference? What’s at stake?
The English teacher would say that one of these verbs is active and the other is passive. This is what the teacher calls “grammatical voice.” An easy way to tell the difference is that in the active voice, action happens. Sending, doing, even seeing and smelling are in the active voice. The passive voice means that action is being done to something. In fact, in the passive voice the verb is prefaced by a form of “to be.” So passive voice examples are being sent, been done, being seen and were smelled. The active voice is preferred in speech and creative writing because it denotes action. Action moves stories along. Something happens; which is far better than when something is happening.
To show how important the differences between active and passive voice is in writing, when Microsoft Word runs its “readability statistics,” one of the statistics is the percentage of passive sentences, and the fewer the better.
So for the English teacher in all of us, the answer to the question “what’s at stake?” is that the man with leprosy and Jesus are both better doing than being. It is better “to choose” than “to be willing.”
Another difference between these two interpretations is that, frankly for my money, “to be willing” seems more wishy-washy than “to choose.” I don’t know if there is a difference in reality, but willingness is one thing, and it doesn’t necessarily lead to action. To choose is to do something. Of course, in a way, this is just another look at the active/passive discussion without using technical jargon like “grammatical voice.”
We’ve been together for three-and-a-half years, so by now I am sure that you who know me best anticipate a discussion on the Greek word used in this gospel. This is where we enter even more interesting vocabulary territory. You see, the word used here is not often rendered as either “is willing” or “choosing.” Usually it is translated as to have a desire for something; to wish, to want, to desire.
We have suddenly opened a brand new can of worms with this. Yes, the Greek word used here can mean to have a desire for something, to wish, to want; and to choose or to be willing.
One of my professors from Austin who was something of a “boy wonder” could not wait to get to seminary so that he could learn the scriptures in their original languages. He figured that this way he would be able to have all of his textual questions answered. He was surprised to discover that when studying scripture in their original languages he actually developed more questions than he had answered.
That’s frustrating if you let it be, but if you let the questions open you further to the mystery and the glory of God good things begin to happen.
The committees that translate the scriptures and publish bibles have to make decisions about the words they put in print. They have to choose specific words to use and not to use. Every word in our bibles can’t have two or three different choices of definitions and interpretations. If it did, then one bible as we know it would be the size of an Encyclopedia Britannica so decisions have to be made. In this case, the editors of the New International Version chose to go with “are willing” and the editors of the New Revised Standard selected “to choose.” Neither picked wish or desire.
Here’s the good news, the choices that the editorial committees have to make do not have to be made by you and me. We have the power, we have the authority to seek the Holy Spirit and make a choice of how we want to interpret this. We can pick one, or the other, or another still, but there’s one more choice we can make. We can choose all of the above.
What if we choose to allow all of the nuances of this Greek word to flow into our translation, our interpretation of this passage? What would happen if we did use all three translation choices; wishing, willing, and choosing? What would happen is that we would get a fuller idea of the richness of what the man with leprosy asked and what Jesus did, a fullness that no single translation can give us.
Jesus wants to cleanse us—and Jesus wants us to be cleansed. The Lord has a desire for a loving relationship with each and every one of us, with all humanity, with all creation. God’s wish, God’s desire is the restoration of all creation. When the leper says “you can cleanse me if you wish” he is absolutely correct. Jesus answers with “I wish, be cleansed.” Translating the passage this way points out the greatest wish, the greatest desire of the Lord; it is a good translation.
Jesus is willing to heal us. I believe willingness is similar to desire, with one additional element, power. Jesus not only wants to cleanse us, but he has the power to cleanse us and is willing to use that power to restore our relationship with the Almighty. The man with leprosy knew Jesus had the power, he knew Jesus could make him clean if only the Lord was willing. Jesus is able and Jesus is willing to use his power and authority to cleanse us.
Finally, Jesus chooses to cleanse us, heal us, make us whole. With all action there is choice. Not only must there be the want and the power, there should also be conscious choice in the matter. Please note that I did say “should” here. People leave things up to chance all the time, but making the conscious choice to do something, choosing to make a difference, is the hallmark between intent and accident. God intends action.
In our Call to Worship from Psalm 30, David cries to the Lord “you restored me to health, you brought me up from the dead, you restored my life as I was going down to the grave.”
In our gospel reading the Lord Jesus Christ cleansed this unnamed leper because it is what the Lord wished to do, was willing to do, and chose to do. In our Old Testament reading Naaman was cleansed by the Lord God because it is what the Lord wished to do, was willing to do, and chose to do. The Lord seeks every opportunity to make connections, to develop relationships with God’s people.
Notice one more thing; the people God chooses as examples of this relationship are not the perfect people, far from it. It’s not the people without problems that are noticed in scripture, it is people who have flaws.
People with leprosy were considered unclean. To be unclean means being contaminated by a physical, ritual, or moral impurity; the absence of such impurities constitutes cleanness. These concepts have very ancient roots in tribal life, and in advanced religions evolve into a system of ritual laws, administered by the priests. At this stage uncleanness is thought of as what is displeasing to the deities or as what belongs to the sphere of the demonic.[2]
Those who were contaminated by a physical, ritual, or moral impurity were required to separate themselves from the community. When others were within earshot they were required to cry out “unclean” so that the unsuspecting traveler would not be accidently made unclean as well. The unclean were separated from their families, friends, and homes.
The procedures to bring about ritual cleansing involve a waiting period of one, seven, or more days; ritual employing water, fire, or some other cleansing agent; and often a sacrifice of the nature of a sin offering.[3]
At the risk of becoming a social leper himself, Jesus reaches out to the man. Jesus restores him to his family, friends, and home. In our readings today, the cleansing power of Christ, the healing power of God put an end to the need for ritual purification. In Christ we are restored not only to health, but to our people, ourselves, and our Lord.
When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
Will come to you
If your heart is in your dream
No request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star
As dreamers do
It is little known that there are actually two endings to Pinocchio. The original ending of the story is what today we call the end of the first act. The talking cricket is still dead, the blue fairy is not yet in the story, and Pinocchio himself is not redeemed, he does not become a real boy. This ending is no children’s story. It is a frightening tale bordering on horrific.
But the second act was created. In the end, all is restored and made well in the world. The marionette becomes flesh and bone, the cricket lives, and Geppetto, who was quite ill, is healed. The request for all to be restored, no matter how absurd, how extreme it may be, is granted.
Through Christ, we are cleansed. We are restored to right relationship with the Lord. In the Call to Worship we prayed, “I cried out to you and you restored me to health.” This because God wished, was willing, and chose to make it so.
When joy comes in the morning, we too must wish, be willing, and choose to join the Lord in the work of restoration. Is it scary? Sure it is. Imagine being Elisha’s messenger at the door telling a war ready General Naaman to take a bath. But let us do just that. Let us join the Lord Jesus in his restoring work.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiminy_Cricket
[2] “Clean and Unclean,” Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible
[3] Ibid.
Sunday, February 08, 2009
Feeling Kind of Scribely
This sermon was heard on at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on Sunday February 8, 2009, the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
There were no services on Sunday February 1st due to the ice storm that covered the Ozarks and extended through Kentucky. Several members of the congregation asked if I would be able to recycle my sermon from the first to the eighth. While I did not recycle, I did combine many of the thoughts and words from that sermon on Mark 1:21-28 and combined it with the Mark 1:29-39 passage.
Isaiah 40:21-31
Psalm 147:1-11, 20c
1 Corinthians 9:16-23
Mark 1:21-39
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen
It sure has been a couple of weeks here in the Ozarks. You have come into the sanctuary, a place of safety, and you have me in before you bringing the message of God’s grace and salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. I haven’t felt this inadequate in ministry in a good long time.
Marie and I were without power for three days. Trees were splintering in the creek bed just south of the manse. Branches hung precariously over a power line, and everything was caked with ice. While we were cold for half of a week there are others who are still without power.
Believe you me, I gave thanks and praise to the Lord our God when power was restored to the manse. I was thankful when I discovered that the church did not lose power and the pipes were not frozen. I was even more thankful to find the pump in the cellar working overtime from the melt.
I was thankful when I was able to get in touch with members of this part of the body of Christ. I was thankful too when I was finally able to get off of our street and see what was going on in town. I was thankful for the crews from all over the region that have come to lend a hand restoring power to people in the area. I felt great joy as I heard of everyone’s incremental restoration of essential services.
Still, I would love nothing more than to with my own breath fix all that was broken by the storm. In the Old Testament, they would call that breath ruach, the wind that blew across the abyss to create life as we have come to know it.
Actually, that’s not quite true, the breath that blew across the abyss created life as we were intended to know it. There is a big difference between life as we were supposed to know it and life as we have come to know it.
Anyway, right now, I feel so inadequate that all I have been able to do is invent a word—scribely. It’s the adverbial form of the word scribe. It means “like a scribe.” How’s that? I want to fix everything that is broken and all I can create is a word that means “like a scribe.”
The scribes were great teachers. They knew the scriptures. They were legal scholars responsible for interpreting scripture. Still, their authority was limited.
So Simon, Andrew, James, and John went with Jesus to Capernaum; and when the Sabbath came, Jesus entered the synagogue and taught. What he said was lost to the ages. I think it would be a good guess that he said something like, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” He brought this same message after the arrest of John the Baptist.
The people were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. As I said, the scribes did have authority, but evidence of their lack of great authority was about to come as Jesus exorcised an unclean spirit from a man right in the synagogue. The scribes had very good teachings. They had the Law and the prophets. As good as it was it did not have the authority Jesus had and exercised that day in the synagogue.
I wanted to restore all of us to the way we were before the storm, and it would have been a good restoration. The scribes taught the lessons that were taught for over a thousand years, and these were very good lessons. But these hopes, these lessons, these restorations are lacking compared to the work and authority Jesus previewed that day in a synagogue in Capernaum.
I wanted to be able to restore us to life the way it was before the storm, life we were comfortable living. But this is the restoration to life after the fall; this is the restoration of a scribe. I was joyful, giving thanks to God; as well I should; as we are all required to give thanks. As I was feeling kind of scribely in my thanksgiving prayers, I was not able to apply the authority of Jesus. Scribes can restore life after the fall. Christ restores us to the life God intended us to live in the beginning.
Through our own power, through the authority of the scribes, we can be restored to the way we were before the storm. But only through the power and authority which belongs to Christ alone are we able to be restored to God.
By this time, Jesus’ fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee. Kurt Vonnegut once said you can leave it to a crowd to look to the wrong end of a miracle,[1] and it was true in this case too. The people were looking at the new teaching with authority, not the one who wields that authority. The people were amazed at seeing the healing, not the healer.
So this begs the question, what is the proper response to the one who teaches with authority, what is the proper response to the one who is fully human and fully divine? I believe the answer is found in the next half of our reading.
As soon as they left the synagogue, the five entered the house of Simon and Andrew. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.
Jesus again exercises power with authority. He heals Simon’s mother-in-law who was in bed with a fever. Jesus took her by the hand and lifted her up. So how did she respond after she was restored to health? She began to serve Jesus and the four. She responded to Jesus in service.
She did not go out into the countryside spreading the good news. She did not enter a convent or even seminary to dedicate her life to Jesus. She didn’t go to Africa or Appalachia to serve the fully human fully divine Lord who made her whole. She didn’t have to; she served the Lord where he was. She served him and his companions in Simon and Andrew’s house. This is our first clue about who we are to serve and where. We are to serve God where God is—and where God places us.
Our reading continues: “That evening, at sundown, the people of Capernaum brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons, and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.”
Here we are shown one way to respond to Jesus is to seek Jesus. The people knew the power and the authority he possessed, even if they did not know he was the Son of God and the Son of Man. Remember, Jesus stopped the demons from telling the world exactly who he is. So knowing just the tip of the iceberg of whom Jesus is, the people came to him, seeking him as the font of wellness for those who were ailing. So too, we are to seek Jesus.
The final response in this section begins with this piece from our reading: “In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” He answered, ‘Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.’”
In this piece from the reading, we learn that even Jesus needs to go to a deserted place and pray.
There is a movie called “Pow-Wow Highway” which is the story of two Native American men, Delbert and Red Bow, who make a trek from their reservation in Montana to Santa Fe, New Mexico to get their friend and sister out of jail.[2] Of the two, Red Bow more intensely identifies with his cultural heritage. Yet it is Delbert who insists on stopping at every holy site on the way to New Mexico.
At one point, they arrive in the middle of the night at Bear Butte, just outside of Sturgis, South Dakota where Delbert climbs the holy mountain and waits and prays until dawn. As Delbert gets back to the car, Red Bow asks him, “What in the world are you doing Delbert? We’re headed south to Santa Fe; you’ve got us way up here in the middle of nowhere.”
Delbert carefully replies, “We’re gathering our strength, just gathering our strength to get ready for the journey ahead.”
Delbert knew he and Red Bow needed holy time to gather their strength to get ready for the journey ahead. Jesus knew he needed holy time to gather his strength to get ready for the journey ahead. So too do we need holy time to gather our strength to get ready for the journey ahead.
The final way we are called to respond to the Lord follows after the four sought Jesus out. Jesus told them that they were not returning to Simon and Andrew’s house to heal those who came; they were going on to neighboring towns so that others may hear the message “for that is what I came out to do.” We are to follow Jesus’ example here again, we are to do what we have been sent to do.
It would have been easy, way too easy, for Jesus to become a one trick pony—healing those who were sick and demon possessed. Someone would have built a shrine so Jesus could hang out all day and take care of those who were brought to him. But healing the sick and demon possessed is a result of his ministry, not the root.
He left there because he was not sent to stay in one place; he came to go on so that he may proclaim the message to all of the lost sheep of Israel. For that is what he came out to do. While healing the sick and demon possessed was a part of his ministry, he came to proclaim the message that “the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near.”
We also are to discern what our mission; our vocation is in the kingdom of God. It may be something we can easily do—like Jesus healing the sick. Then again, that may be the symptom and not the source. That may be the tangent and not the whole curve.
Where the first part of our reading today shows us that the Lord has power and authority, the second half teaches us how to respond to the Lord who has power and authority. Jesus shows us restoration and what that entails. It entails service, prayer, and following. For me it is easy to do the scribely thing. In Christ, there is more than being scribely, there is authority. With authority comes responsibility to use it for the glory of the God.
Yes, let us rejoice that we have been restored to power after the storm, but let us remember that there is a restoration beyond the storm of the fall. Let us rejoice that this restoration is available to us through our Lord Jesus Christ, through his power and through his authority, an authority that is far beyond that of the scribes.
[1] Vonnegut, Kurt, Palm Sunday, Delacort
[2] “Pow-Wow Highway” reference from HomileticsOnline, http://homileticsonline.com/subscriber/printer_friendly_installment.asp?installment_id=93000118, retrieved on February 2, 2009.
There were no services on Sunday February 1st due to the ice storm that covered the Ozarks and extended through Kentucky. Several members of the congregation asked if I would be able to recycle my sermon from the first to the eighth. While I did not recycle, I did combine many of the thoughts and words from that sermon on Mark 1:21-28 and combined it with the Mark 1:29-39 passage.
Isaiah 40:21-31
Psalm 147:1-11, 20c
1 Corinthians 9:16-23
Mark 1:21-39
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen
It sure has been a couple of weeks here in the Ozarks. You have come into the sanctuary, a place of safety, and you have me in before you bringing the message of God’s grace and salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. I haven’t felt this inadequate in ministry in a good long time.
Marie and I were without power for three days. Trees were splintering in the creek bed just south of the manse. Branches hung precariously over a power line, and everything was caked with ice. While we were cold for half of a week there are others who are still without power.
Believe you me, I gave thanks and praise to the Lord our God when power was restored to the manse. I was thankful when I discovered that the church did not lose power and the pipes were not frozen. I was even more thankful to find the pump in the cellar working overtime from the melt.
I was thankful when I was able to get in touch with members of this part of the body of Christ. I was thankful too when I was finally able to get off of our street and see what was going on in town. I was thankful for the crews from all over the region that have come to lend a hand restoring power to people in the area. I felt great joy as I heard of everyone’s incremental restoration of essential services.
Still, I would love nothing more than to with my own breath fix all that was broken by the storm. In the Old Testament, they would call that breath ruach, the wind that blew across the abyss to create life as we have come to know it.
Actually, that’s not quite true, the breath that blew across the abyss created life as we were intended to know it. There is a big difference between life as we were supposed to know it and life as we have come to know it.
Anyway, right now, I feel so inadequate that all I have been able to do is invent a word—scribely. It’s the adverbial form of the word scribe. It means “like a scribe.” How’s that? I want to fix everything that is broken and all I can create is a word that means “like a scribe.”
The scribes were great teachers. They knew the scriptures. They were legal scholars responsible for interpreting scripture. Still, their authority was limited.
So Simon, Andrew, James, and John went with Jesus to Capernaum; and when the Sabbath came, Jesus entered the synagogue and taught. What he said was lost to the ages. I think it would be a good guess that he said something like, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” He brought this same message after the arrest of John the Baptist.
The people were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. As I said, the scribes did have authority, but evidence of their lack of great authority was about to come as Jesus exorcised an unclean spirit from a man right in the synagogue. The scribes had very good teachings. They had the Law and the prophets. As good as it was it did not have the authority Jesus had and exercised that day in the synagogue.
I wanted to restore all of us to the way we were before the storm, and it would have been a good restoration. The scribes taught the lessons that were taught for over a thousand years, and these were very good lessons. But these hopes, these lessons, these restorations are lacking compared to the work and authority Jesus previewed that day in a synagogue in Capernaum.
I wanted to be able to restore us to life the way it was before the storm, life we were comfortable living. But this is the restoration to life after the fall; this is the restoration of a scribe. I was joyful, giving thanks to God; as well I should; as we are all required to give thanks. As I was feeling kind of scribely in my thanksgiving prayers, I was not able to apply the authority of Jesus. Scribes can restore life after the fall. Christ restores us to the life God intended us to live in the beginning.
Through our own power, through the authority of the scribes, we can be restored to the way we were before the storm. But only through the power and authority which belongs to Christ alone are we able to be restored to God.
By this time, Jesus’ fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee. Kurt Vonnegut once said you can leave it to a crowd to look to the wrong end of a miracle,[1] and it was true in this case too. The people were looking at the new teaching with authority, not the one who wields that authority. The people were amazed at seeing the healing, not the healer.
So this begs the question, what is the proper response to the one who teaches with authority, what is the proper response to the one who is fully human and fully divine? I believe the answer is found in the next half of our reading.
As soon as they left the synagogue, the five entered the house of Simon and Andrew. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.
Jesus again exercises power with authority. He heals Simon’s mother-in-law who was in bed with a fever. Jesus took her by the hand and lifted her up. So how did she respond after she was restored to health? She began to serve Jesus and the four. She responded to Jesus in service.
She did not go out into the countryside spreading the good news. She did not enter a convent or even seminary to dedicate her life to Jesus. She didn’t go to Africa or Appalachia to serve the fully human fully divine Lord who made her whole. She didn’t have to; she served the Lord where he was. She served him and his companions in Simon and Andrew’s house. This is our first clue about who we are to serve and where. We are to serve God where God is—and where God places us.
Our reading continues: “That evening, at sundown, the people of Capernaum brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons, and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.”
Here we are shown one way to respond to Jesus is to seek Jesus. The people knew the power and the authority he possessed, even if they did not know he was the Son of God and the Son of Man. Remember, Jesus stopped the demons from telling the world exactly who he is. So knowing just the tip of the iceberg of whom Jesus is, the people came to him, seeking him as the font of wellness for those who were ailing. So too, we are to seek Jesus.
The final response in this section begins with this piece from our reading: “In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” He answered, ‘Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.’”
In this piece from the reading, we learn that even Jesus needs to go to a deserted place and pray.
There is a movie called “Pow-Wow Highway” which is the story of two Native American men, Delbert and Red Bow, who make a trek from their reservation in Montana to Santa Fe, New Mexico to get their friend and sister out of jail.[2] Of the two, Red Bow more intensely identifies with his cultural heritage. Yet it is Delbert who insists on stopping at every holy site on the way to New Mexico.
At one point, they arrive in the middle of the night at Bear Butte, just outside of Sturgis, South Dakota where Delbert climbs the holy mountain and waits and prays until dawn. As Delbert gets back to the car, Red Bow asks him, “What in the world are you doing Delbert? We’re headed south to Santa Fe; you’ve got us way up here in the middle of nowhere.”
Delbert carefully replies, “We’re gathering our strength, just gathering our strength to get ready for the journey ahead.”
Delbert knew he and Red Bow needed holy time to gather their strength to get ready for the journey ahead. Jesus knew he needed holy time to gather his strength to get ready for the journey ahead. So too do we need holy time to gather our strength to get ready for the journey ahead.
The final way we are called to respond to the Lord follows after the four sought Jesus out. Jesus told them that they were not returning to Simon and Andrew’s house to heal those who came; they were going on to neighboring towns so that others may hear the message “for that is what I came out to do.” We are to follow Jesus’ example here again, we are to do what we have been sent to do.
It would have been easy, way too easy, for Jesus to become a one trick pony—healing those who were sick and demon possessed. Someone would have built a shrine so Jesus could hang out all day and take care of those who were brought to him. But healing the sick and demon possessed is a result of his ministry, not the root.
He left there because he was not sent to stay in one place; he came to go on so that he may proclaim the message to all of the lost sheep of Israel. For that is what he came out to do. While healing the sick and demon possessed was a part of his ministry, he came to proclaim the message that “the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near.”
We also are to discern what our mission; our vocation is in the kingdom of God. It may be something we can easily do—like Jesus healing the sick. Then again, that may be the symptom and not the source. That may be the tangent and not the whole curve.
Where the first part of our reading today shows us that the Lord has power and authority, the second half teaches us how to respond to the Lord who has power and authority. Jesus shows us restoration and what that entails. It entails service, prayer, and following. For me it is easy to do the scribely thing. In Christ, there is more than being scribely, there is authority. With authority comes responsibility to use it for the glory of the God.
Yes, let us rejoice that we have been restored to power after the storm, but let us remember that there is a restoration beyond the storm of the fall. Let us rejoice that this restoration is available to us through our Lord Jesus Christ, through his power and through his authority, an authority that is far beyond that of the scribes.
[1] Vonnegut, Kurt, Palm Sunday, Delacort
[2] “Pow-Wow Highway” reference from HomileticsOnline, http://homileticsonline.com/subscriber/printer_friendly_installment.asp?installment_id=93000118, retrieved on February 2, 2009.
Sunday, February 01, 2009
This is a recorded message...
Dear Friends and Readers,
The Ozarks and points east have been in the throes of an ice storm. We were without power from last Tuesday through last Saturday. The ice conditions also caused the session of First Presbyterian Church in Berryville to cancel worship services on Sunday February 1st.
I'll update this blog next week with a brand new sermon...which will include many notes from the sermon I would have preached on the first.
The Ozarks and points east have been in the throes of an ice storm. We were without power from last Tuesday through last Saturday. The ice conditions also caused the session of First Presbyterian Church in Berryville to cancel worship services on Sunday February 1st.
I'll update this blog next week with a brand new sermon...which will include many notes from the sermon I would have preached on the first.
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