Mark 1:29-39 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
As
soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and
Andrew, with James and John. 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.
That
evening, at sunset, they 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.
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.” And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming
the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.
Kindness,
Compassion and Kinship
Mamie
Adams always went to a branch post office in her town because the
postal employees there were friendly. She went there to buy stamps
just before Christmas one year and the lines were particularly long.
Someone pointed out that there was no need to wait in line because
there was a stamp machine in the lobby. "I know," said
Mamie, 'but the machine won't ask me about my arthritis."
We
all feel a need to be a part of community. A sense of belonging. That
someone cares for us even when we feel like we are on the sidelines.
Part of being church is that caring, bringing people on the outside
into the warmth of God's love and grace.
Like today's children's sermon says, Jesus was kind and helpful to the people he met. In today's Gospel lesson we are witness to the miracle of Jesus' healing power. Earlier in Mark 1, Jesus has cast out a demon from a man he met in the synagogue. Verses 21-28 tell this story: Then they entered Capernaum. When the Sabbath arrived, Jesus lost no time in getting to the meeting place. He spent the day there teaching. They were surprised at his teaching—so forthright, so confident—not quibbling and quoting like the religion scholars. Suddenly, while still in the meeting place, he was interrupted by a man who was deeply disturbed and yelling out, “What business do you have here with us, Jesus? Nazarene! I know what you’re up to! You’re the Holy One of God, and you’ve come to destroy us!”
Jesus
shut him up: “Quiet! Get out of him!” The afflicting spirit threw
the man into spasms, protesting loudly—and got out. Everyone there
was incredulous, buzzing with curiosity. “What’s going on here? A
new teaching that does what it says? He shuts up defiling, demonic
spirits and sends them packing!” News of this traveled fast and was
soon all over Galilee.
So
news is spreading and Jesus' cover is blown – even demons know he
is the Messiah! Does Jesus go into hiding, knowing that those in
power will be threatened by him? No, he goes to the home of Simon and
Andrew and finds Simon's mother-in-law sick with fever. I had a fever
last week. For those of us in modern times, a fever may not sound
that serious – after all, we have fever-reducers like Advil and
Tylenol, antibiotics and other medications to deal with the source of
the illness, hospitals with doctors and nurses if our fevers don't
respond. But in Jesus' day, this fever was a very serious situation.
When Andrew and Simon told Jesus about the situation – he just came
and lifted her up. The fever was gone and she started fixing dinner.
Extraordinary. By evening, the whole city was gathered at the door
and Jesus was curing those who were sick with diseases and casting
out demons. The whole city was gathered at the door.
People with demons and diseases were not welcome in community. They were pronounced “unclean” and put on the sidelines. Jesus' act of healing meant their restoration to community. They were able to be a part of society again. They were able to worship again. They were, like Simon's mother-in-law, able to serve again.
I
just had a sinus infection this past week – something I've dealt
with before and will deal with again. While I was sick, I was
isolated – partly because I didn't want to share my sickness with
anyone else – and partly because when I'm sick, I'm like a wounded
animal who crawls off to lick its wounds. But my isolation was not
only temporary, it was self-imposed. Nothing forbade me from leaving
my home and doing what I wanted. I could have gone to the store or to
work or to church. The people that Jesus was healing were pushed
to the outside.
For
those who have been relegated to the sidelines of life, those who
have been denied equal access, those who society has declared
“unclean” or “undesirable” or “unworthy,” the message
that Jesus brings restoration is like cool water in a desert. We are
NOT forgotten. Eugene Peterson's The Message phrases Isaiah 40:27-31
in this way, “Why would you ever complain, O Jacob, or, whine,
Israel, saying, “God has lost track of me. He doesn’t care what
happens to me”?
Don’t you know anything? Haven’t you been listening? God doesn’t come and go. God lasts. He’s Creator of all you can see or imagine. He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath. And he knows everything, inside and out.
He energizes those who get tired, gives fresh strength to dropouts. For even young people tire and drop out, young folk in their prime stumble and fall. But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, They run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind.”
That is the God we believe in. The God that we serve. He gives strength and energy. He lifts up the fallen and they spread their wings and soar like eagles. That restoration is what Jesus came to tell the world about.
He
got a lot of people's attention with his healing ministry. Within the
first book of Mark he has cast demons out of a man in the synagogue,
healed the fever of Simon's mother-in-law, cured many of the city of
Capernaum of diseases and cast out many demons and then cleansed a
leper who (despite Jesus' instruction to tell no one) proclaims the
healing power of Jesus openly. It gets to the point that Jesus
couldn't go into a town without being overwhelmed by the crowds.
But
there is a subtext to these physical healings that many overlook. It
is more than the body that is healed – the spirit is lifted up and
the people are changed by their encounter with Jesus. And the word
spreads! God's love is for everyone – and all are invited to be
part of that community.
In
Mark 2:1-5 we hear another story about physical healing: “When he
returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at
home. So many gathered around that there was no longer room for them,
not even in front of the door; and he was speaking the word to them.
Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by
four of them. And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of
the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug
through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay. When
Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins
are forgiven.”
After
some exchange with the religious scholars who were present, Jesus
tells the man to pick up his mat and go home. And he does. It's a
great story of healing. But I recently got a new perspective on this
familiar Bible story. Father Greg Boyle talks about it in his book,
Tattoos on the Heart. He talks about the four men who brought the
paralytic.
When
they arrived with their friend, they found the crowd was too great to
get inside the house where Jesus was. They didn't want to miss the
opportunity, so they literally dug through the roof to lower their
friend into Jesus' presence. They ripped off the roof so they he
could be let inside.
How
many roofs have we been ripping off lately? How excited are we to
introduce our friends to the healing power of Jesus? Are there people
on the sidelines of life that need to meet the one who knows our
names? To meet the God from today's Psalm – the one who rebuilds
Jerusalem, who regathers Israel’s scattered exiles. Who heals the
heartbroken and bandages their wounds. The God who counts the stars
and assigns each a name.
Our Lord is great, with limitless strength; we’ll never comprehend what he knows and does. God puts the fallen on their feet again and pushes the wicked into the ditch.
We
need to rip some roofs off. We need to go outside and see the people
who are hurting and need Jesus. We need to find every way possible to
get them connected to the one who loves them – and let them know
that he does.
There
are people who are hurting out there. People who need to see the love
of God. We have neighbors who don't have enough to eat, who need a
listening ear, who need a helping hand to get back on their feet,
neighbors who face barriers that we can dismantle. They are
counting on us.
We
have the power to show them God's love. But we have to understand
something very important. They will experience God's love through the
love we show. And they will be able to tell if it is genuine.
...they'll know. They will know if we are helping them out of a sense
of obligation or if our helping them is just an extension of the joy
we have in being loved so much by God.
They
will know we are Christians by our love. By the way we show love to
the world. We affect the way people encounter God through us.
You
see? They'll know! They will figure it out before we even get the
chance to tell them about Jesus and the unfathomable love he has for
every single person. Mahatma Ghandi said, “I like your Christ, I do
not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
Do not let this be our story.
Let
our story be about how we ripped off roofs to introduce a hurting
world to the love of the one who knows our name. Who can't wait to
see us face to face.
Who
are the people that you know that are on the outside waiting for a
roof to be ripped off? Who is just waiting to be invited in?
Right
here in our community we have opportunities to be roof rippers. Maybe
you can help build a Habitat house for a family who has struggled
with shelter. Or maybe you can be a mentor to a young person. Or
perhaps you can just pick up the phone and call someone who is
lonely. I could list dozens of possibilities and a lot of you are
already ripping roofs for people you encounter in your lives.
Our
gospel lesson provides a caution though - it may seem strange that
Jesus “would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew
him.” I believe Jesus was trying to avoid the adulation of the
crowds because of his action, but instead wanted the credit to go
rightfully to God.
Similarly,
God calls us to do the work that brings transformation in a way that
keeps the gospel message central and directs the praise and glory to
God – not to our actions. Human transformation and healing comes
only from God. Those of us who are called to proclaim and to engage
the work of the gospel in a way that touches the lives of those who
are on the fringes, the borders, or even outside the boundaries that
humans have created to keep some persons and groups outside must do
so in a way that glorifies God rather that to bring human reward or
praise.
And
finally – maybe the person on the sidelines is you. Perhaps you
feel like you are outside of the circle of God's love. Let me rip a
roof off for you – let me give you a hint of God's love toward us.
If we can grasp that concept – then the rest is just making sure
that light shines through you.
Soon
it will be Valentine's Day. A great many people will celebrate their
relationships. My cat and I wish you well. We at least wish you no
harm. :) Think about a love relationship that you are part of or have
been a part of. I currently see it in my 19 year old nephew Jack's
romantic relationship. He is at school at HSC in Farmville and his
girlfriend is at Emory & Henry near Abingdon – a long way away.
When he knows he will get to see her, he practically vibrates with
excitement. When they Skype or Snapchat his being is infused with
happiness. Can you recall a time when you just couldn't wait to see
your love – or to hold your child? Your heart so full of love it
just seeps out of your pores? That's just a fraction of how much God
loves us.
Here
is one more illustration - a man named Bill was taking care of his
father as he died of cancer. His father had become frail and depended
on Bill to do everything for him. Although he was physically not what
he had been, his mind remained alert and lively. In the role reversal
common to adult children who care for their dying parents, Bill would
put his father to bed and read him to sleep, exactly as his father
had done for him in childhood. Bill would read from some novel and
his father would lie there, staring at his son, smiling. Bill was
exhausted from the day's care and work and would plead with his Dad,
“look, here's the idea. I read to you, you fall asleep.” Bill's
father would impishly apologize and dutifully close his eyes. But
this wouldn't last long. Soon Bill's father would pop one eye open
and smile at his son. Bill would catch him and whine, “now come
on.” The father would again, oblige, until he couldn't anymore, and
the other eye would open to catch a glimpse of his son. Bill knew
that this evening ritual was really a story of a father who just
couldn't take his eyes off his kid. How much more so God?
“Behold
the One beholding you, and smiling.”
The
last part of our Gospel lesson for today hints at the rest of the
story: 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.” And he went throughout Galilee,
proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.
The
mission statement of the United Methodist Church states that we are
“to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the
world.” Disciples, by biblical definition aren't simply worship
attenders or financial givers, but people who answer the call to
follow Jesus with their lives. And their love.
They'll
know we are Christians by our love. Everyone needs to hear about this
incredible. Unfathomable. Unconditional. Love. When we dive into the
depths of that unfathomable love, then we start to see the people
around us differently. And this love thing starts to spread. And this
just might catch on.
