5th Sunday after Epiphany February 8, 2015
Mark 1:29-39 Panzer Liturgical
Service
In
my first church, I had one of the worst months imaginable. Within two weeks,
three longtime members of the church died unexpectedly and the wife of our
senior minister was diagnosed with an inoperable cancer. The church and the
staff were devastated, and it didn’t take long for us to feel burdened by all
of the grief and pain surrounding us. I remember believing that there was
nothing I could do to make anyone feel any better. One day, I went home from
work before 5pm and went to bed, not remembering that I was supposed to give
the invocation at our church’s kindergarten graduation that night. After that,
I felt like a total failure.
The
next morning I went to the office of our preschool director to apologize and
beg her forgiveness for not being where I promised I would be. She got up from
her desk and gave me a big hug. And she asked if she could pray for me and
whatever was weighing me down. Soon, I poured out all of my grief and
frustration, but her simple prayer helped me to get up and get on with the
business of ministry.
The
passage from Mark’s gospel lifts up important aspects of Jesus’ ministry. It begins to tell the story of what he came
to do, and what his ministry would look like in the future. Jesus’ ministry was multi-focal… it was a
ministry that touched many parts of life.
And Mark was not just telling us about Jesus casting out demons or
curing people of illness. He also gives
us a glimpse of how life-changing… unorthodox… and miraculous Jesus’ ministry
will be. In these first few scenes, we
see a different kind of teacher, healer, and prophet. Jesus give the title “Messiah” a whole new
meaning.
The
gospel story was told and eventually written down to change the way we
understand and participate in life. Even so, we still tend to focus on what
happens to us in our lives of faith, rather than on the impact Jesus has upon
the way we live. Jesus didn’t want us to see him as miracle worker. He wanted
us to know him as the Word.
Jesus’
disciples didn’t get it either. They kept
bringing people to him, almost as if to prove who Jesus was. But Jesus wanted people to know him through
the Word – through preaching and teaching and living life with him. Jesus wanted people to know about the
authority from which he spoke. He wants
people to know and love God, not just because of what God has done for them,
but just because God is God.
There
is an interesting pattern of ministry that emerges in this text. Jesus’ standard operating procedure (SOP) was
established early on and maintained throughout his ministry. I think we can see in this passage the main
elements of Jesus' ministry in microcosm.
First, he responds to people's needs by healing their infirmities and
meeting their needs. Second, he
proclaims the message of truth, that evil must be confronted so that God’s
peace can reign. Then third, he
withdraws to nurture his relationship with God, and gather strength and focus
to begin it all again.
The
first two are two sides of the same coin:
he proclaims the Gospel by meeting people's needs, by “being”
good news to them, as well as “telling” them good news. Then he goes away to regroup, especially
essential because being in touch and in tune with God is the foundation of all
ministry.
And
this shows us a pattern for ministry, too.
No matter what our calling in life or what our position in the church,
everyone who undertakes any kind of ministry in the name of Jesus needs each of
these elements, although the balance of them will be different for different
people at different times in their lives.
And as a community of faith, we are continually working to get the
balance right. How often do we get
stuck in one stage and forget about the others?
Effective work requires us to recycle ourselves through the process -
continuously. And it’s a lot of work,
but well worth the effort.
There
is one more thing about this passage which strikes me. Jesus’ priorities of ministry are vast and
varied. First, we see the priority of
people. Jesus ministers to the crowds, but Jesus also ministers to one
individual who has fever. Wherever people
are in need, Jesus will be with them.
Healing restores the order in their lives, and to the lives of the
community!
Second,
we see the priority of prayer. Jesus took time to be alone with the
Father. He needed to get away from the
demands of ministry and find spiritual refreshment. Do we neglect the importance of prayer and
solitude in our own ministries? Let’s
face it; many of us are afraid, or at least uncomfortable, with silence. And there is question in my mind many days
what exactly I would do if I heard the voice of God.
And
still, God’s voice prevails. Through
scripture and other readings, through prayer, through Christian conversation. I would not be here today if God’s voice were
not somehow ringing in my ears. And
neither would you. Sometimes we just
have to work on our listening skills.
Lastly,
we see the priority of preaching and teaching.
For Jesus, preaching the good news of the kingdom of God was more
important than spectacular miracles, for many even more lives would be changed
by this more mundane ministry. We look
at healing and helping ministries, and see the glamour and the excitement of
physical change. But if we overlook the
importance of sharing God's word, we are neglecting the most important thing of
all – a changed heart and life!
My friend, the one with inoperable cancer, asked our
congregation for prayer. And my preschool teacher friend helped lead a special
service, with over 100 people gathering to lay hands on Iris and her husband,
Ed on a Sunday afternoon. A few weeks later, when she went to have scans prior
to the beginning of her chemo and radiation therapy, the doctors could find no
sign of her cancer. They classified it as a spontaneous remission. We called it
something else… a healing miracle and gift from God. My friend eventually died from this same kind
of cancer, but she was grateful for the years that she had and for every
opportunity to share the love of her God and the prayers of faithful friends.
Jesus heals because people need healing. And in great compassion, he meets the needs
of those around him. But he also tells
us that in all things, his purpose is to proclaim the good news – the Kingdom
of God is at hand. And when we follow
Jesus, we, too, find renewed purpose in proclaiming God’s word of faith, hope,
and love. It means not only inviting
people to the party, but telling them why we are celebrating. It means having our actions match our words,
living our faith in practice every day, in every way.
Thanks be to God… Amen.
I love you!!
ReplyDelete