Saturday, April 21, 2012
The 3rd Sunday in Lent, Year B
Then God spoke all these words: 2 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; 3 you shall have no other gods before me. 4 You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, 6 but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments. 7 You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. 8 Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work. 10 But the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; you shall not do any work-- you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it. 12 Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. 13 You shall not murder. 14 You shall not commit adultery. 15 You shall not steal. 16 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 17 You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. (Exodus 20.1-17 NRSV)
The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. 15 Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 He told those who were selling the doves, "Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father's house a marketplace!" 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for your house will consume me." 18 The Jews then said to him, "What sign can you show us for doing this?" 19 Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." 20 The Jews then said, "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?" 21 But he was speaking of the temple of his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. (John 2.13-22 NRSV)
“REMINDERS”
How do you remember things? There are all sorts of ways. There is the classic string around the finger. Sometimes we will ask others to remind us of things that we should not forget. Nowadays, we have electronic watches and calendars and computers that will beep us or make some noise to remind us of appointments and events. Myself, I am a big fan of writing things down. The Post-It note is a great invention. The only problem is that you still have to look at them.
This morning we have one of the greatest reminders by writing things down that ever took place. The book of Exodus is to most people about escaping from slavery in Egypt and crossing the Red Sea. That is the miraculous, action-packed part. That is the big Hollywood part. But about half of the book is concerned with giving the Law and worship. Those are much duller reading for most people. But those are the things that are going to make these freed slaves out in the desert into the people of God and keep them free. It is this part where they form the covenant with God that will define them, make them God’s special people, and shape them over many centuries. And central in this is writing it all down. Moses on the mountain heard God’s commands and was told to write them down to take them to the people.
We call these the Ten Commandments realizing, of course, that God gave other laws to Israel. These seem foundational and capture our attention. They are short, essential, a set by themselves. They give starting point to life. That’s what a lot of controversy concerning them seems to be about, that they define us as a nation. That’s why they are written down and keep being written down. But that is only half of it. They are written down not just to remind us of who we are, though; they are written down to remind us of what God wants from us. They are written not only to be seen, not only to be conspicuous; they are written to be followed. They are more than a symbol, they show us that we belong in relationship to God.
They are about important things. These are not like parking laws. Parking laws bring order to traffic flow, but rarely are matters of life and death. The first ones, of these Ten Commandments, are about God, what our behavior and attitude towards God should be. If there is a foundation, that is it. The others are foundational to society, in them the basic the rights to property, to faithfulness in relationships, to protection against being falsely accused are found. They are the things which make living together possible. They do not cover every possibility but they are a start. A very good start.
It is easy for things to slip our minds. I had to laugh at a friend from college who had left himself a note to read the note that was the actual reminder. But in more serious ways we forget what we should remember. We start out with these and do not pay attention to them for very long. History is filled with the ways we have forgotten these commandments. We forget God and forget that others are objects of God’s care just as much as we are. When asked to summarize all of God’s laws and commands Jesus said: love God and love your neighbor. You can’t do better than that. But before we are given the commands, we see God, the giver.
Another example of how these slip our minds is found in the Gospel reading this morning. Jesus drives the money changers out of the temple. They had forgotten that it was to be a place of worship, not worship of money, not of people, not of activities, but of God. When you forget what it is for, you end up with a lot of silly things, like sheep and goats. It was to be God’s house, where they meet God. Jesus drove them out, remembering what the right purpose of it was. The authorities asked him on what basis he was doing this and his reply was somewhat mysterious. They asked for a sign and the sign was that if they destroyed the temple he would raise it up in three days. They thought he meant the huge temple building. No, he meant his body, which they eventually would kill. A person can get into trouble for pointing out the ways people do not live up to who they think they are. This trouble will lead to his death. It leaves us with the question of what his death will lead to. But he will be raised up on the third day. God will not leave him in death. They were talking about buildings, Jesus about God’s purposes in the world. We, too, need to reconsider what the right purposes of God’s gifts are. The temple authorities had forgotten that.
We need to remember that the goal of the Commandments is to remember God in our lives. Terry Helwig tells the story of when he met with a friend to whom he mentioned his ardent desire to continue on his spiritual journey. The friend suggested that searching for God might be like a fish searching for water, that in fact, just as a fish is surrounded by water, we might be surrounded by the presence of God. Perhaps our seeking God is more recognition. The Commandments are not ends in themselves but the means by which we can see the Creator in our lives and world. We rediscover God’s purpose as we remember what God has given us.
We also need to remember that the Commandments were given to us for our world. They are to change how we see it, particularly how we see others. We are not to go about life, and forget them as well. Brigitte Weeks saw what a neighbor was in a new way one day when frustrated by unemployment and taking a tunnel shortcut in New York City. She ran into many people on their way to work. While feeling very much alone, she remembered: “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,” says the second great commandment. Were these people her neighbors? she wondered. When a young man in a suit and tie almost ran her down and then apologized she realized that they were.
Because we are who we are, we tend to forget things. We remember the stock market, or birthdays, or the score of the game, or what is on sale, but we forget God. We remember our projects or our hopes or our setbacks, but forget the lives of those around us. God has given us some reminders. We are reminded by the sun that comes up, by the rain that falls, the wind and the change of the seasons. We are reminded by the care and love of our families and friends, by the long histories of our nation and churches. We also have these words, that in life we would look up, that we would remember who created us, to whom we belong, and to whom we owe our lives. They are so we live lives that honor God, but most importantly, that through them we draw close to God. How do we remember? It is written down for us. Just look.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
The 1st Sunday in Lent, Year B
To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul. 2 O my God, in you I trust; do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me. 3 Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame; let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. 4 Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. 5 Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long. 6 Be mindful of your mercy, O LORD, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. 7 Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for your goodness' sake, O LORD! 8 Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. 9 He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. 10 All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his decrees. (Psalm 25:1-10 NRSV)
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11 And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." 12 And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him. 14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news." (Mark 1:9-15 NRSV)
“GETTING INTO TROUBLE”
When I started seminary years ago, one of the first things they did was break us new students into groups. In each group was a student who had been there a year or two who would answer any questions we might have. It was good to hear what we needed to know starting out from someone who had just been through it. Janet was leading our group. She was a truck driver who was going to become a minister. We had questions like where the Laundromat was, about car insurance, where to park, and so on. They were those things that would make our day-to-day lives easier. After those questions were answered, one of my classmates asked, “Where do you go to get into some trouble?” He meant, of course, not serious trouble, but the kind of fun that you don’t typically associate with seminary and the ministry. The answer was “East Dubuque, Illinois”, across the river.
The psalm this morning acknowledges that we get into trouble on our own. We don’t have to look very far to find it. There are enemies. But beyond that is our tendency to stray from God. The psalmist recognizes that. The psalmist wants to know God’s ways. He or she wants God to teach him or her, will wait for God to do that. God will instruct sinners in the right way. But also, the psalmist is honest about his or her life. He or she is mindful of God’s mercy and asks for it because he or she has sinned. That is why he or she is depending on God’s steadfast love. There is forgiveness for the past. There is hope for the future as the psalmist learns to live God’s way.
The Gospel reading is also fitting for this season. With last Wednesday, Ash Wednesday, we began the season of Lent. It is the period of forty days before Easter in which we seek forgiveness and a new direction in life and strengthen or renew our discipleship. It is when we pay special attention to following Jesus. This morning we take a look at where he went. After he was baptized, after he heard that voice that declared he was the beloved child of God, he went out to the wilderness. In fact, the Spirit drove him out there. He was with the wild beasts. There, in the wilderness, life is at its minimal. There are no conveniences, no luxuries. There, a person can barely survive. But in that special place new things can happen. It is in imitation of that state of being, that in some traditions people give up luxuries or comforts for this season. It is in imitation of Jesus’ time in the wilderness, that we go back to what is basic, to rediscover our lives, to live how he lived.
There in the wilderness, Jesus was tempted. We might think of the desert as a place that would be free from such things. It is not like East Dubuque, after all. It is a place of utter simplicity. And yet even there, the devil can find Jesus. Temptation is not limited to time or place. It is inside us, trying to separate us from God, trying to separate us from others, from the best in life. There are all sorts of temptations. What would follow you wherever you went, even out to the desert? Would it be a temptation for you to be wasteful of time or resources? Would it be to accumulate things you do not need? Would it be self-indulgence? Would it be how you treat others? Would it be to ignore God as much as possible? There are many things in our lives that are much more serious than whether we give up a treat or some comforts. Temptations come in many forms. But if we stop and think, we all know the things we fight against, over and over again.
At the end of his time in the wilderness, Jesus was victorious. He did not fall to the temptations presented to him. That gives us hope, gives us a goal. And after that experience he began to preach. He presented the good news of God. The time has come; the kingdom of God has come near. We are to repent and believe. Lent is a time to do that.
What if we focused, not on giving one or two things up, but on going to the desert? What if we made use of this time, not paying attention to the sacrifice of some comforts, but on finding new ways of greater faithfulness? Maybe sacrifice should not be the end in itself, but a way to know ourselves better and find the power of God to help us. Perhaps sacrifice will then help us cut free from the bonds within us to find new ways of loving and serving others. Lent is a time when we take time to know God’s ways. That takes serious concentration. It is a different kind of sacrifice. It might involve a trip to the desert. It is a thing we choose; it is a bother or a sacrifice or a time self-discipline that we willingly take on for the hope of a spiritual benefit. It is work to interrupt the harmful and relentless temptations in our days. This is something we do to change that. It is trouble we choose to get into.
We can benefit from cutting our dependence on things and habits that enslave us. This takes effort on our part. We can use this time to learn from God the new attitudes and habits that make our lives richer in spirit. J. Barrie Shepherd envisions this new learning in his poem, “Looking for Lent”. Rather than give things up, he wants to take on “the task of noticing whatever had been there unseen from the beginning,” to see “perhaps even the footprints of the gardener himself.” Lent can be a time when we grow in faith by some new direction or activity in our lives. Service or outreach, study or prayer, can be that new thing that can open our eyes to where God is and what God is doing in the world.
Lent is a time when we seek to be better than we were. We seek to know God better and have less to do with those things that lead us away from God. We want to follow Christ in the path that conquers temptation, even if that temptation is to direct no effort into following Christ. Gina Bridgeman recalls Ash Wednesday Mass early in the morning before school. She would leave the sign of the cross on her forehead the rest of the day despite the teasing of her classmates. But she didn’t care. To her it was a sign that helped her say that she was a child of God. These days she also thinks of life beyond Ash Wednesday, beyond having that mark that set her apart. What will show the world that she is still God’s child? The peace of the Lord in her heart? Hands that reach out in compassion to someone in need? A smile to share the joy of Jesus? She chooses things that give up a part of herself to someone else as a tangible way of showing God’s grace. Just like Jesus began his ministry once he came back from the desert, so what we do in this time, the attitudes and decisions we make can increase our faithfulness to what God is doing around us.
This Lent let us go to the desert. Let us walk where Jesus walked. It is quiet there; we will hear God. It is simple there; our needs and purpose will become visible to us. And there is temptation—even there—but we will find God’s power to overcome it. We might have to set aside some of what we brought in there with us. We might find that we are not the same when we come back. And when we come back, let us still listen for God. Let us still live with purpose. Let us begin something new. Let us use this time to make a difference in our souls, our lives, our world. If we look for trouble, let us look for the kind of trouble that changes us.
To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul. 2 O my God, in you I trust; do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me. 3 Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame; let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. 4 Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. 5 Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long. 6 Be mindful of your mercy, O LORD, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. 7 Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for your goodness' sake, O LORD! 8 Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. 9 He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. 10 All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his decrees. (Psalm 25:1-10 NRSV)
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11 And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." 12 And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him. 14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news." (Mark 1:9-15 NRSV)
“GETTING INTO TROUBLE”
When I started seminary years ago, one of the first things they did was break us new students into groups. In each group was a student who had been there a year or two who would answer any questions we might have. It was good to hear what we needed to know starting out from someone who had just been through it. Janet was leading our group. She was a truck driver who was going to become a minister. We had questions like where the Laundromat was, about car insurance, where to park, and so on. They were those things that would make our day-to-day lives easier. After those questions were answered, one of my classmates asked, “Where do you go to get into some trouble?” He meant, of course, not serious trouble, but the kind of fun that you don’t typically associate with seminary and the ministry. The answer was “East Dubuque, Illinois”, across the river.
The psalm this morning acknowledges that we get into trouble on our own. We don’t have to look very far to find it. There are enemies. But beyond that is our tendency to stray from God. The psalmist recognizes that. The psalmist wants to know God’s ways. He or she wants God to teach him or her, will wait for God to do that. God will instruct sinners in the right way. But also, the psalmist is honest about his or her life. He or she is mindful of God’s mercy and asks for it because he or she has sinned. That is why he or she is depending on God’s steadfast love. There is forgiveness for the past. There is hope for the future as the psalmist learns to live God’s way.
The Gospel reading is also fitting for this season. With last Wednesday, Ash Wednesday, we began the season of Lent. It is the period of forty days before Easter in which we seek forgiveness and a new direction in life and strengthen or renew our discipleship. It is when we pay special attention to following Jesus. This morning we take a look at where he went. After he was baptized, after he heard that voice that declared he was the beloved child of God, he went out to the wilderness. In fact, the Spirit drove him out there. He was with the wild beasts. There, in the wilderness, life is at its minimal. There are no conveniences, no luxuries. There, a person can barely survive. But in that special place new things can happen. It is in imitation of that state of being, that in some traditions people give up luxuries or comforts for this season. It is in imitation of Jesus’ time in the wilderness, that we go back to what is basic, to rediscover our lives, to live how he lived.
There in the wilderness, Jesus was tempted. We might think of the desert as a place that would be free from such things. It is not like East Dubuque, after all. It is a place of utter simplicity. And yet even there, the devil can find Jesus. Temptation is not limited to time or place. It is inside us, trying to separate us from God, trying to separate us from others, from the best in life. There are all sorts of temptations. What would follow you wherever you went, even out to the desert? Would it be a temptation for you to be wasteful of time or resources? Would it be to accumulate things you do not need? Would it be self-indulgence? Would it be how you treat others? Would it be to ignore God as much as possible? There are many things in our lives that are much more serious than whether we give up a treat or some comforts. Temptations come in many forms. But if we stop and think, we all know the things we fight against, over and over again.
At the end of his time in the wilderness, Jesus was victorious. He did not fall to the temptations presented to him. That gives us hope, gives us a goal. And after that experience he began to preach. He presented the good news of God. The time has come; the kingdom of God has come near. We are to repent and believe. Lent is a time to do that.
What if we focused, not on giving one or two things up, but on going to the desert? What if we made use of this time, not paying attention to the sacrifice of some comforts, but on finding new ways of greater faithfulness? Maybe sacrifice should not be the end in itself, but a way to know ourselves better and find the power of God to help us. Perhaps sacrifice will then help us cut free from the bonds within us to find new ways of loving and serving others. Lent is a time when we take time to know God’s ways. That takes serious concentration. It is a different kind of sacrifice. It might involve a trip to the desert. It is a thing we choose; it is a bother or a sacrifice or a time self-discipline that we willingly take on for the hope of a spiritual benefit. It is work to interrupt the harmful and relentless temptations in our days. This is something we do to change that. It is trouble we choose to get into.
We can benefit from cutting our dependence on things and habits that enslave us. This takes effort on our part. We can use this time to learn from God the new attitudes and habits that make our lives richer in spirit. J. Barrie Shepherd envisions this new learning in his poem, “Looking for Lent”. Rather than give things up, he wants to take on “the task of noticing whatever had been there unseen from the beginning,” to see “perhaps even the footprints of the gardener himself.” Lent can be a time when we grow in faith by some new direction or activity in our lives. Service or outreach, study or prayer, can be that new thing that can open our eyes to where God is and what God is doing in the world.
Lent is a time when we seek to be better than we were. We seek to know God better and have less to do with those things that lead us away from God. We want to follow Christ in the path that conquers temptation, even if that temptation is to direct no effort into following Christ. Gina Bridgeman recalls Ash Wednesday Mass early in the morning before school. She would leave the sign of the cross on her forehead the rest of the day despite the teasing of her classmates. But she didn’t care. To her it was a sign that helped her say that she was a child of God. These days she also thinks of life beyond Ash Wednesday, beyond having that mark that set her apart. What will show the world that she is still God’s child? The peace of the Lord in her heart? Hands that reach out in compassion to someone in need? A smile to share the joy of Jesus? She chooses things that give up a part of herself to someone else as a tangible way of showing God’s grace. Just like Jesus began his ministry once he came back from the desert, so what we do in this time, the attitudes and decisions we make can increase our faithfulness to what God is doing around us.
This Lent let us go to the desert. Let us walk where Jesus walked. It is quiet there; we will hear God. It is simple there; our needs and purpose will become visible to us. And there is temptation—even there—but we will find God’s power to overcome it. We might have to set aside some of what we brought in there with us. We might find that we are not the same when we come back. And when we come back, let us still listen for God. Let us still live with purpose. Let us begin something new. Let us use this time to make a difference in our souls, our lives, our world. If we look for trouble, let us look for the kind of trouble that changes us.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Transfiguration of the Lord, Year B
Now when the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; for the LORD has sent me as far as Bethel." But Elisha said, "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel. 3 The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, "Do you know that today the LORD will take your master away from you?" And he said, "Yes, I know; keep silent." 4 Elijah said to him, "Elisha, stay here; for the LORD has sent me to Jericho." But he said, "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So they came to Jericho. 5 The company of prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him, "Do you know that today the LORD will take your master away from you?" And he answered, "Yes, I know; be silent." 6 Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; for the LORD has sent me to the Jordan." But he said, "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So the two of them went on. 7 Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. 8 Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground. 9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you." Elisha said, "Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit." 10 He responded, "You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not." 11 As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. 12 Elisha kept watching and crying out, "Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. (2 Kings 2.1-12 NRSV)
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5 Then Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." 6 He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, "This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!" 8 Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus. 9 As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. (Mark 9.2-9 NRSV)
“GLOWING”
Glowing objects get our attention. That is because things don’t normally glow. It is unusual, a rare occurrence, and when it does happen we notice. There are things in nature that we expect to glow—the sun, the moon, fire. But there are all sorts of things we don’t expect to glow. Some of this glowing can be dangerous. My father did not like objects that glowed in the dark. The reason was that he knew about an incident involving a group of women who became known as the “Radium Girls”, the women who worked for the United States Radium Corporation at the factory in Orange, New Jersey, from 1917 to 1926. They painted a radioactive mixture on watch dials so they could be read at night. To get the fine points they needed on the paintbrushes, they licked the tips. In doing so, they ingested the radioactive material. Many became ill, some died. Dad knew that there could be danger behind a glowing light, even one glowing softly in a corner.
On the other hand, glowing things can be spectacular and powerful. A few years ago, I was near La Crosse when I noticed something in the sky. It was a bright white light in the winter night sky. At first I thought it was an airplane or helicopter, but it wasn’t moving. It wasn’t the moon; it was about 25 times bigger and it was in the north. Clouds around it hid it and yet couldn’t hide it. It was a glimpse of a spectacular world beyond daily life and routine. It was amazing to behold. Glowing things can also be comforting, just ask any two-year-old about his or her nightlight.
The Gospel reading is of the event called the Transfiguration. Jesus took Peter, James, and John up a mountain. There, his appearance changed. His clothes became dazzling white. They could not help but notice this. Elijah and Moses also appeared and Peter said that they would make dwellings for them. But they were not needed. They were not going to stay on the mountain, but before they left, a cloud overshadowed them and a voice declared that Jesus was the beloved Son and they should listen to him. Then it was all over and they went down from the mountain.
The reading from the Old Testament is of the time that Elijah was taken up into heaven. Before that, Elijah and his disciple Elisha were traveling together. It was already known that the Lord was going to take Elijah away. The company of prophets reminded Elisha about it, but he didn’t want to hear that. There was a second leg of the journey and still Elisha did not leave Elijah. And a third leg and after a miraculous crossing of the Jordan River, the time drew near. Elijah asked Elisha what he could do for him. What he asked for was twice as much presence of the Holy Spirit to be on him as was on Elijah, the great prophet. A chariot of fire separated them and a whirlwind took him into heaven. This glorious scene has changed Elisha.
As we have heard these past few weeks from the Gospel readings, the picture of who Jesus is has been emerging gradually. He is the one sent with the message that the kingdom of heaven is coming near. He is the one who teaches as one with authority to cast out evil. He is the one who heals, restoring others to service. Now, we see part of his glory and hear that he is the Son. All this tells us he is no ordinary man. We should listen to him, we are told. Likewise, the prophet Elisha is someone the people of Israel should heed. He is not an ordinary man but has been given twice the presence of the Holy Spirit that was with his master.
Through the years artists have depicted the special men and women of God with light. Many of the saints, especially Jesus, have been portrayed with light coming from them, especially from their faces or heads. This is to show their special nature or holiness. It is right to honor them, to tell us something about them. But the emphasis in the texts is not on their appearance, as spectacular as that is. It is in the word that they give us from God. It is not in how they look, it is in what they do, what they say, and what we should do. The prophets have the Holy Spirit on them to do so. Jesus is not only the Son of God, he is the Son of God we should listen to. The appearance of these figures is not just to be displayed; it is to guide us in how we live. We should not merely look, we should hear. We should believe.
We have the word to help us. It shines like the lighthouse on the rocky shore to warn us of danger. The words of the prophets have done that throughout history. It is also like the light of the rescuer bringing us to safety. Sometimes, before we hear that word, we need to see who it is who is bringing it to us. Marilyn Morgan Helleberg writes about how seeing Jesus led to an inner change in the most difficult year of her life. In the midst of overwhelming pain she spent a few days at a spiritual retreat center. One of the advisers, suggested that she close her eyes and imagine how it would feel to have Jesus pick her up and hold you close. She tried but could not do it. But in the dining room were pictures of Jesus, in many different expressions. She saw a simple pencil drawing of Jesus with his face half-buried in the soft wool of a little lamb that he snuggled between his cheek and shoulder. It spoke to her of her need for someone to care for her and of Jesus as the one who could do that. She heard him whisper assurances of his love for her. That was the beginning of her healing.
We see the glory of God in Jesus. His appearance shows us that. It is a sign to us that Jesus is greater than anything we have known or can imagine. We have seen him as healer, but this is more. This tells us about who he is, the Son of God. This is more that what he does. The reaction to that vision is to cling to him in faith. Fay Angus tells this story of the time her daughter, age eight, was at the PTA’s annual school Christmas party. Fay had prepared the star-shaped piñata. Her daughter was too shy to participate, despite encouragement, and Fay thought that she would get some candy for her when it was knocked down. What her daughter got after it was all over was the star. She clutched it to her heart and left the candy and trinkets for the others. Faith looks beyond the gifts we receive to see the giver. When we see Jesus we see the glory of God.
On the mountain top, Jesus became bright, brighter than anything on earth could make him. This reminds us that he is unique, heavenly, special. And as if that was not enough, the voice came from the cloud telling us who Jesus is. Part of this we already know; he is a healer, teacher, guide. Glowing things get our attention. The light directs our eyes toward Jesus. We are directed to see him again. We are directed to listen. He is more than we thought he was. He is the Son, the Savior, the Risen One. His light among us is not to frighten; it is not a danger. It is a guide and comfort, so that we will find in him what both we need and will find the greatest good, the glory of God. It is so that we will look beyond the light. Then we will see who he is and believe.
+++++
Now when the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; for the LORD has sent me as far as Bethel." But Elisha said, "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel. 3 The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, "Do you know that today the LORD will take your master away from you?" And he said, "Yes, I know; keep silent." 4 Elijah said to him, "Elisha, stay here; for the LORD has sent me to Jericho." But he said, "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So they came to Jericho. 5 The company of prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him, "Do you know that today the LORD will take your master away from you?" And he answered, "Yes, I know; be silent." 6 Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; for the LORD has sent me to the Jordan." But he said, "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So the two of them went on. 7 Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. 8 Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground. 9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you." Elisha said, "Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit." 10 He responded, "You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not." 11 As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. 12 Elisha kept watching and crying out, "Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. (2 Kings 2.1-12 NRSV)
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5 Then Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." 6 He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, "This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!" 8 Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus. 9 As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. (Mark 9.2-9 NRSV)
“GLOWING”
Glowing objects get our attention. That is because things don’t normally glow. It is unusual, a rare occurrence, and when it does happen we notice. There are things in nature that we expect to glow—the sun, the moon, fire. But there are all sorts of things we don’t expect to glow. Some of this glowing can be dangerous. My father did not like objects that glowed in the dark. The reason was that he knew about an incident involving a group of women who became known as the “Radium Girls”, the women who worked for the United States Radium Corporation at the factory in Orange, New Jersey, from 1917 to 1926. They painted a radioactive mixture on watch dials so they could be read at night. To get the fine points they needed on the paintbrushes, they licked the tips. In doing so, they ingested the radioactive material. Many became ill, some died. Dad knew that there could be danger behind a glowing light, even one glowing softly in a corner.
On the other hand, glowing things can be spectacular and powerful. A few years ago, I was near La Crosse when I noticed something in the sky. It was a bright white light in the winter night sky. At first I thought it was an airplane or helicopter, but it wasn’t moving. It wasn’t the moon; it was about 25 times bigger and it was in the north. Clouds around it hid it and yet couldn’t hide it. It was a glimpse of a spectacular world beyond daily life and routine. It was amazing to behold. Glowing things can also be comforting, just ask any two-year-old about his or her nightlight.
The Gospel reading is of the event called the Transfiguration. Jesus took Peter, James, and John up a mountain. There, his appearance changed. His clothes became dazzling white. They could not help but notice this. Elijah and Moses also appeared and Peter said that they would make dwellings for them. But they were not needed. They were not going to stay on the mountain, but before they left, a cloud overshadowed them and a voice declared that Jesus was the beloved Son and they should listen to him. Then it was all over and they went down from the mountain.
The reading from the Old Testament is of the time that Elijah was taken up into heaven. Before that, Elijah and his disciple Elisha were traveling together. It was already known that the Lord was going to take Elijah away. The company of prophets reminded Elisha about it, but he didn’t want to hear that. There was a second leg of the journey and still Elisha did not leave Elijah. And a third leg and after a miraculous crossing of the Jordan River, the time drew near. Elijah asked Elisha what he could do for him. What he asked for was twice as much presence of the Holy Spirit to be on him as was on Elijah, the great prophet. A chariot of fire separated them and a whirlwind took him into heaven. This glorious scene has changed Elisha.
As we have heard these past few weeks from the Gospel readings, the picture of who Jesus is has been emerging gradually. He is the one sent with the message that the kingdom of heaven is coming near. He is the one who teaches as one with authority to cast out evil. He is the one who heals, restoring others to service. Now, we see part of his glory and hear that he is the Son. All this tells us he is no ordinary man. We should listen to him, we are told. Likewise, the prophet Elisha is someone the people of Israel should heed. He is not an ordinary man but has been given twice the presence of the Holy Spirit that was with his master.
Through the years artists have depicted the special men and women of God with light. Many of the saints, especially Jesus, have been portrayed with light coming from them, especially from their faces or heads. This is to show their special nature or holiness. It is right to honor them, to tell us something about them. But the emphasis in the texts is not on their appearance, as spectacular as that is. It is in the word that they give us from God. It is not in how they look, it is in what they do, what they say, and what we should do. The prophets have the Holy Spirit on them to do so. Jesus is not only the Son of God, he is the Son of God we should listen to. The appearance of these figures is not just to be displayed; it is to guide us in how we live. We should not merely look, we should hear. We should believe.
We have the word to help us. It shines like the lighthouse on the rocky shore to warn us of danger. The words of the prophets have done that throughout history. It is also like the light of the rescuer bringing us to safety. Sometimes, before we hear that word, we need to see who it is who is bringing it to us. Marilyn Morgan Helleberg writes about how seeing Jesus led to an inner change in the most difficult year of her life. In the midst of overwhelming pain she spent a few days at a spiritual retreat center. One of the advisers, suggested that she close her eyes and imagine how it would feel to have Jesus pick her up and hold you close. She tried but could not do it. But in the dining room were pictures of Jesus, in many different expressions. She saw a simple pencil drawing of Jesus with his face half-buried in the soft wool of a little lamb that he snuggled between his cheek and shoulder. It spoke to her of her need for someone to care for her and of Jesus as the one who could do that. She heard him whisper assurances of his love for her. That was the beginning of her healing.
We see the glory of God in Jesus. His appearance shows us that. It is a sign to us that Jesus is greater than anything we have known or can imagine. We have seen him as healer, but this is more. This tells us about who he is, the Son of God. This is more that what he does. The reaction to that vision is to cling to him in faith. Fay Angus tells this story of the time her daughter, age eight, was at the PTA’s annual school Christmas party. Fay had prepared the star-shaped piñata. Her daughter was too shy to participate, despite encouragement, and Fay thought that she would get some candy for her when it was knocked down. What her daughter got after it was all over was the star. She clutched it to her heart and left the candy and trinkets for the others. Faith looks beyond the gifts we receive to see the giver. When we see Jesus we see the glory of God.
On the mountain top, Jesus became bright, brighter than anything on earth could make him. This reminds us that he is unique, heavenly, special. And as if that was not enough, the voice came from the cloud telling us who Jesus is. Part of this we already know; he is a healer, teacher, guide. Glowing things get our attention. The light directs our eyes toward Jesus. We are directed to see him again. We are directed to listen. He is more than we thought he was. He is the Son, the Savior, the Risen One. His light among us is not to frighten; it is not a danger. It is a guide and comfort, so that we will find in him what both we need and will find the greatest good, the glory of God. It is so that we will look beyond the light. Then we will see who he is and believe.
+++++
Saturday, March 17, 2012
The 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favor with his master, because by him the LORD had given victory to Aram. The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy. 2 Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel, and she served Naaman's wife. 3 She said to her mistress, "If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy." 4 So Naaman went in and told his lord just what the girl from the land of Israel had said. 5 And the king of Aram said, "Go then, and I will send along a letter to the king of Israel." He went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten sets of garments. 6 He brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, "When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you my servant Naaman, that you may cure him of his leprosy." 7 When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, "Am I God, to give death or life, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Just look and see how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me." 8 But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king, "Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me, that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel." 9 So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and halted at the entrance of Elisha's house. 10 Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean." 11 But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, "I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy! 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean?" He turned and went away in a rage. 13 But his servants approached and said to him, "Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was,'Wash, and be clean'?" 14 So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean. (2 Kings 4.1-14 NRSV)
A leper came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him, "If you choose, you can make me clean." 41 Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, "I do choose. Be made clean!" 42 Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. 43 After sternly warning him he sent him away at once, 44 saying to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." 45 But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesus could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter. (Mark 1.40-45 NRSV)
“THE SHORTEST DISTANCE BETWEEN TWO POINTS”
As we know from geometry, a line is the shortest distance between two points. Most of us take the direct route to something we want, while others and we ourselves, at certain times, may take a longer route with some twists and turns. The readings this morning have to do with healing. The first is the story of Naaman commander of the Aramean army. He suffers from leprosy. On one of their raids the Arameans took a young girl captive from the Israelites and she knows what he should do, go to the prophet Elisha in Samaria. Elisha will cure him of the leprosy. It seems straightforward, until the king sends a letter of recommendation which insults the king of Samaria. The king mistakenly assumes that it is up to him and he is unable to cure him, but the prophet hears about the scene in the palace and directs the king to send Namaan his way. When he does, he sends word that he is to wash in the Jordan and be made clean. It is as simple as that. Except that Naaman feels that is not elaborate enough for a person of his stature and refuses to do it. His pride gets in the way. At several points it looks like he is not going to get that healing, except for those who intervened to keep him looking for it. Eventually he does go to the Jordan and washes and is made clean. Everyone except Elisha is making it more complicated. Some are helping, some hindering.
The Gospel reading is also about a man with leprosy. This man came to Jesus and asked him to cure him. He went right to the one who was able to do it. The two, Naaman and the leper from the Gospel, are very different. They both suffer from a disease which marked them as unclean, which separated them from people. They both seek a cure. Naaman, though, has to be talked into it; the leper from the Gospel seeks out Jesus directly. Naaman and the king of Aram thought that gifts were required to gain the favor of the king and prophet who heals. The leper from the Gospel simply asks. Jesus does not need to be talked into it, but is very willing. There is no mention of Naaman after the healing, but the leper from the Gospel is filled with joy and proclaims what Jesus had done. In fact, when others heard about it, they also sought Jesus out for healing. Jesus is able to heal. The picture of Jesus this gives us is of a person who is willing to heal.
These different men who looked for a cure for their disease remind us of our reactions to illness. Some, like Naaman, make it more difficult by the barriers they throw up. For them, it is not a straight line to healing. Others seek out what they need more directly. Sometimes our healing is through people like the prophet in Samaria or the doctors in Rochester. God often works through people and we need not to forget that. But even when we go to the doctor, we know that the healing that occurs still comes from God. Even that straight line of healing can have a couple stops along the way.
Other times, or, for other people, it is not a straight line to the healing. Things can get in the way. Maybe the healing that needs to take place first is that of attitude. Some people can make their own way difficult. Maybe there is a healing that needs to take place before the healing. There are things that can stop us from getting what we need. It can be fear, or unwillingness to try something new, or clinging to the past, the idea that we ought to be healthy and not sick, that somehow these things do not happen to us. There are many ways we can be led off the path that leads to wholeness. Those are things that need healing also, maybe before anything else can take place. God can do that too.
It is wise to pay attention to all of life, not just the places and times when we are not well. Maybe the time before illness deserves attention, too. John Sherrill tells this story from a trip on a narrow-gauge railroad, which he examined in great detail and with delight. He asked the engineer about a train accident from years ago and asked why that sort of thing didn’t happen all the time. The answer is in the safety valve, which releases the pressure before it can get too high. Exploding boilers are usually the result of tampering to get extra power. John thought about how that is like our lives. We can drive ourselves too hard and then suffer the consequences. Perhaps we need to consider safety valves for our own lives, things like time with friends and family and walks.
How we approach life can matter much for our health, both in preventing illness and in how we find healing when it happens.
We find grace in healing whether it comes through ordinary or extraordinary means. It is from God’s goodness that we find medical care, or time, or that special touch which changes our situations. Scott Walker is a pastor in Texas who saw the long scar on his wrist and recalled how he came to have it. Thirty-six years previously he was working on the assembly line at a school bus factory. He cut through a steel beam with a blow torch, and his wrist grazed the sharp, hot steel beam. He was cut to the bone. Over the years the scar has gone from prominent and jagged and painful to smooth and faded. He attributes this to time’s healing power. But he notes that deaths of family members have hurt him more than that accident. But even then there is healing power from God, as he notes: “A grief we feared would consume us; a disappointment so intense that it maimed us; a shameful mistake that seared our self-image—all of these things can be healed by time and the loving grace of God.”
When we need healing, we might be like the leper in the Gospel, seeking out those things and persons who can help us. Or we might be like Naaman, who almost let his pride prevent him from getting what he wanted. Both found it in God. We might find it quickly, or over a long time, but healing is from God. That is what we see in the stories of these two men and in the stories of many more, that God cares for our lives and is willing to make them right when they are not. God cares for our bodies and souls, the whole person, the before and the after of our maladies. God is a healer that we can come to.
Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favor with his master, because by him the LORD had given victory to Aram. The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy. 2 Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel, and she served Naaman's wife. 3 She said to her mistress, "If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy." 4 So Naaman went in and told his lord just what the girl from the land of Israel had said. 5 And the king of Aram said, "Go then, and I will send along a letter to the king of Israel." He went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten sets of garments. 6 He brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, "When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you my servant Naaman, that you may cure him of his leprosy." 7 When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, "Am I God, to give death or life, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Just look and see how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me." 8 But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king, "Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me, that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel." 9 So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and halted at the entrance of Elisha's house. 10 Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean." 11 But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, "I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy! 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean?" He turned and went away in a rage. 13 But his servants approached and said to him, "Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was,'Wash, and be clean'?" 14 So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean. (2 Kings 4.1-14 NRSV)
A leper came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him, "If you choose, you can make me clean." 41 Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, "I do choose. Be made clean!" 42 Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. 43 After sternly warning him he sent him away at once, 44 saying to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." 45 But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesus could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter. (Mark 1.40-45 NRSV)
“THE SHORTEST DISTANCE BETWEEN TWO POINTS”
As we know from geometry, a line is the shortest distance between two points. Most of us take the direct route to something we want, while others and we ourselves, at certain times, may take a longer route with some twists and turns. The readings this morning have to do with healing. The first is the story of Naaman commander of the Aramean army. He suffers from leprosy. On one of their raids the Arameans took a young girl captive from the Israelites and she knows what he should do, go to the prophet Elisha in Samaria. Elisha will cure him of the leprosy. It seems straightforward, until the king sends a letter of recommendation which insults the king of Samaria. The king mistakenly assumes that it is up to him and he is unable to cure him, but the prophet hears about the scene in the palace and directs the king to send Namaan his way. When he does, he sends word that he is to wash in the Jordan and be made clean. It is as simple as that. Except that Naaman feels that is not elaborate enough for a person of his stature and refuses to do it. His pride gets in the way. At several points it looks like he is not going to get that healing, except for those who intervened to keep him looking for it. Eventually he does go to the Jordan and washes and is made clean. Everyone except Elisha is making it more complicated. Some are helping, some hindering.
The Gospel reading is also about a man with leprosy. This man came to Jesus and asked him to cure him. He went right to the one who was able to do it. The two, Naaman and the leper from the Gospel, are very different. They both suffer from a disease which marked them as unclean, which separated them from people. They both seek a cure. Naaman, though, has to be talked into it; the leper from the Gospel seeks out Jesus directly. Naaman and the king of Aram thought that gifts were required to gain the favor of the king and prophet who heals. The leper from the Gospel simply asks. Jesus does not need to be talked into it, but is very willing. There is no mention of Naaman after the healing, but the leper from the Gospel is filled with joy and proclaims what Jesus had done. In fact, when others heard about it, they also sought Jesus out for healing. Jesus is able to heal. The picture of Jesus this gives us is of a person who is willing to heal.
These different men who looked for a cure for their disease remind us of our reactions to illness. Some, like Naaman, make it more difficult by the barriers they throw up. For them, it is not a straight line to healing. Others seek out what they need more directly. Sometimes our healing is through people like the prophet in Samaria or the doctors in Rochester. God often works through people and we need not to forget that. But even when we go to the doctor, we know that the healing that occurs still comes from God. Even that straight line of healing can have a couple stops along the way.
Other times, or, for other people, it is not a straight line to the healing. Things can get in the way. Maybe the healing that needs to take place first is that of attitude. Some people can make their own way difficult. Maybe there is a healing that needs to take place before the healing. There are things that can stop us from getting what we need. It can be fear, or unwillingness to try something new, or clinging to the past, the idea that we ought to be healthy and not sick, that somehow these things do not happen to us. There are many ways we can be led off the path that leads to wholeness. Those are things that need healing also, maybe before anything else can take place. God can do that too.
It is wise to pay attention to all of life, not just the places and times when we are not well. Maybe the time before illness deserves attention, too. John Sherrill tells this story from a trip on a narrow-gauge railroad, which he examined in great detail and with delight. He asked the engineer about a train accident from years ago and asked why that sort of thing didn’t happen all the time. The answer is in the safety valve, which releases the pressure before it can get too high. Exploding boilers are usually the result of tampering to get extra power. John thought about how that is like our lives. We can drive ourselves too hard and then suffer the consequences. Perhaps we need to consider safety valves for our own lives, things like time with friends and family and walks.
How we approach life can matter much for our health, both in preventing illness and in how we find healing when it happens.
We find grace in healing whether it comes through ordinary or extraordinary means. It is from God’s goodness that we find medical care, or time, or that special touch which changes our situations. Scott Walker is a pastor in Texas who saw the long scar on his wrist and recalled how he came to have it. Thirty-six years previously he was working on the assembly line at a school bus factory. He cut through a steel beam with a blow torch, and his wrist grazed the sharp, hot steel beam. He was cut to the bone. Over the years the scar has gone from prominent and jagged and painful to smooth and faded. He attributes this to time’s healing power. But he notes that deaths of family members have hurt him more than that accident. But even then there is healing power from God, as he notes: “A grief we feared would consume us; a disappointment so intense that it maimed us; a shameful mistake that seared our self-image—all of these things can be healed by time and the loving grace of God.”
When we need healing, we might be like the leper in the Gospel, seeking out those things and persons who can help us. Or we might be like Naaman, who almost let his pride prevent him from getting what he wanted. Both found it in God. We might find it quickly, or over a long time, but healing is from God. That is what we see in the stories of these two men and in the stories of many more, that God cares for our lives and is willing to make them right when they are not. God cares for our bodies and souls, the whole person, the before and the after of our maladies. God is a healer that we can come to.
Friday, February 24, 2012
The 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? 22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to live in; 23 who brings princes to naught, and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing. 24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows upon them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. 25 To whom then will you compare me, or who is my equal? says the Holy One. 26 Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who created these? He who brings out their host and numbers them, calling them all by name; because he is great in strength, mighty in power, not one is missing. 27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God"? 28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. 30 Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; 31 but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:21-31 NRSV)
As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. 31 He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them. 32 That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. 33 And the whole city was gathered around the door. 34 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. 35 In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. 36 And Simon and his companions hunted for him. 37 When they found him, they said to him, "Everyone is searching for you." 38 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." 39 And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons. (Mark 1:29-39 NRSV)
“FEVER OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN”
Years ago when I worked at the University of Iowa I was invited by my boss to attend a weekly meeting called Infectious Disease Grand Rounds. At it, doctors would present cases so that they could all learn from them, so they could become better doctors. Once they asked my boss a question about one of our projects and he turned to me for the answer. That was my moment to shine. My boss’s specialty was antibiotics. Another time Dr. Dennison, a pediatric infectious disease specialist presented a case with a cough, giving clues, letting the doctors figure it out as he went along. I figured it out quickly, because I have a laboratory rather than a clinical background, since it was cultured on Bordet-Gengou Agar. He even imitated the unique cough of the disease since it forces the sufferer to inhale sharply and make a “whooping” sound. It was pertussis, or Whooping Cough. I think that was the only time I was ahead of the doctors. Most of the time, though, I just listened and learned. One presentation was on fevers of unknown origin. They are fevers unlike most, which can be traced to a cause like an infection. Dr. Nassif said that he wished he had some colorful way of introducing the topic. I thought of the Peggy Lee song “Fever”.
This morning the Gospel reading has the story of a fever. At the beginning of Mark’s Gospel we are getting pictures of who Jesus is. This is one of those early pictures. He and the other disciples went to Simon’s house. Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever. We know nothing about it. They told Jesus about her and he took her by the hand and lifted her up and the fever left her. Then she was able to return to her life as it was before the illness and be hospitable to the guests. We do not know the cause of the fever, but we know how it left her. They brought others who were sick or afflicted by demons to Jesus and he healed them.
That is similar to the passage from Isaiah this morning. We are reminded that God is far above us. The heavens are like a curtain, we are like grasshoppers. God can bring the important things of the earth to nothing. Even the most important has only a brief life and then is gone. And the reverse is true. Because of God’s greatness, because God does not grow weary, God can lift up the faint and the weak. Those who wait for the Lord will renew their strength. Despite this greatness, God cares about us.
There is an additional picture of Jesus in this gospel passage. He went out early to a deserted place to pray. The disciples were looking for him and found him. They tell him that people are looking for him. His response is not anger at the interruption, but to tell them of his plan to go to other towns, to other people and take care of their needs. Not only does he have the power to heal far beyond that of the doctors of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, he, like Simon’s mother-in-law, lives to serve. Despite his great power, he cares for people.
Things can stop us from doing what we want in life or being able to do something that serves others. This is a simple lesson that we, or others on our behalf can bring our need to God, who has great power to act for us, power to restore us to being well or doing well. The list is long of those things that interrupt our lives, it includes illnesses, attitudes, losses, circumstances that can stop our lives as we know them.
What Jesus did reminds us that there are times we need to be away from all the activity. This was something important for him to do. This was prayer, not merely rest, though it probably restored him in many ways. And yet, when the need arose, he was ready.
Sometimes we need to be reminded when those things that limit us are under our own power. There are times we are kept from some things by our own decisions. Scott Walker is a pastor from Texas who learned this phase from a friend: “Every time you say yes to one thing, you say no to another.”
It has helped him be more thoughtful about such things like invitation to speak in the community. But to say yes to it meant that he would not have a day off, in order to restore his energy from the week and spend time with his family. So in the end he said no thanks. It has helped him consider what he needs to do to make the priorities in his life possible and to decide what are priorities.
God’s power is present in our lives in many ways to restore us, so that we, like him, may continue to bring the Kingdom of God into the world around us. Part of that power might be in helping us understand what is really important and what we can leave behind. Knowing our purpose in life can help us make other decisions. Jesus put God first and others second in how he lived. He responded to needs but was not overwhelmed by them. When Jesus said yes to prayer, it helped him be able to say yes to the people who needed him.
When circumstances, like a fever, afflict us and are not under our control, we can be restored to health and purpose. God does this in many ways. This is one of the stories that emerged from the ten years after the attacks of 9/11. Steve and Liz Alderman were in France on that day. As news came in, they were able to get in touch with two of their three children. Peter, sadly, had been at a meeting on the 106th floor of the World Trade Center. As they mourned his loss, they found out that he had many friends, because they found that he valued people. Steve retired from his practice as a radiation oncologist and Liz gave up her artwork under the weight of grief. Their lives came to a standstill. Eventually they realized the severity of the depression and found that they could either never move again or start to get back to life in small steps. With time purpose came back into their lives. They also became aware of how many people in the world suffered disasters or mass violence without any help. They set up a foundation in Peter’s honor to train physicians in war- and disaster-torn countries around the world to treat not only the bodies of their patients, but also their emotions. In direct ways and through people, God is still healing all around us.
The Scripture readings for today tell us of a powerful God who is also a caring God. Where are we weak? Let us wait upon the Lord and we will renew our strength. When are we sick? Jesus will lift us up. This is so our lives and God’s purposes will continue. Illness and disaster do not rule the world; God does. What does Jesus have for us when he is a guest in our house? Renewed strength, renewed life.
Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? 22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to live in; 23 who brings princes to naught, and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing. 24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows upon them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. 25 To whom then will you compare me, or who is my equal? says the Holy One. 26 Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who created these? He who brings out their host and numbers them, calling them all by name; because he is great in strength, mighty in power, not one is missing. 27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God"? 28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. 30 Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; 31 but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:21-31 NRSV)
As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. 31 He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them. 32 That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. 33 And the whole city was gathered around the door. 34 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. 35 In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. 36 And Simon and his companions hunted for him. 37 When they found him, they said to him, "Everyone is searching for you." 38 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." 39 And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons. (Mark 1:29-39 NRSV)
“FEVER OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN”
Years ago when I worked at the University of Iowa I was invited by my boss to attend a weekly meeting called Infectious Disease Grand Rounds. At it, doctors would present cases so that they could all learn from them, so they could become better doctors. Once they asked my boss a question about one of our projects and he turned to me for the answer. That was my moment to shine. My boss’s specialty was antibiotics. Another time Dr. Dennison, a pediatric infectious disease specialist presented a case with a cough, giving clues, letting the doctors figure it out as he went along. I figured it out quickly, because I have a laboratory rather than a clinical background, since it was cultured on Bordet-Gengou Agar. He even imitated the unique cough of the disease since it forces the sufferer to inhale sharply and make a “whooping” sound. It was pertussis, or Whooping Cough. I think that was the only time I was ahead of the doctors. Most of the time, though, I just listened and learned. One presentation was on fevers of unknown origin. They are fevers unlike most, which can be traced to a cause like an infection. Dr. Nassif said that he wished he had some colorful way of introducing the topic. I thought of the Peggy Lee song “Fever”.
This morning the Gospel reading has the story of a fever. At the beginning of Mark’s Gospel we are getting pictures of who Jesus is. This is one of those early pictures. He and the other disciples went to Simon’s house. Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever. We know nothing about it. They told Jesus about her and he took her by the hand and lifted her up and the fever left her. Then she was able to return to her life as it was before the illness and be hospitable to the guests. We do not know the cause of the fever, but we know how it left her. They brought others who were sick or afflicted by demons to Jesus and he healed them.
That is similar to the passage from Isaiah this morning. We are reminded that God is far above us. The heavens are like a curtain, we are like grasshoppers. God can bring the important things of the earth to nothing. Even the most important has only a brief life and then is gone. And the reverse is true. Because of God’s greatness, because God does not grow weary, God can lift up the faint and the weak. Those who wait for the Lord will renew their strength. Despite this greatness, God cares about us.
There is an additional picture of Jesus in this gospel passage. He went out early to a deserted place to pray. The disciples were looking for him and found him. They tell him that people are looking for him. His response is not anger at the interruption, but to tell them of his plan to go to other towns, to other people and take care of their needs. Not only does he have the power to heal far beyond that of the doctors of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, he, like Simon’s mother-in-law, lives to serve. Despite his great power, he cares for people.
Things can stop us from doing what we want in life or being able to do something that serves others. This is a simple lesson that we, or others on our behalf can bring our need to God, who has great power to act for us, power to restore us to being well or doing well. The list is long of those things that interrupt our lives, it includes illnesses, attitudes, losses, circumstances that can stop our lives as we know them.
What Jesus did reminds us that there are times we need to be away from all the activity. This was something important for him to do. This was prayer, not merely rest, though it probably restored him in many ways. And yet, when the need arose, he was ready.
Sometimes we need to be reminded when those things that limit us are under our own power. There are times we are kept from some things by our own decisions. Scott Walker is a pastor from Texas who learned this phase from a friend: “Every time you say yes to one thing, you say no to another.”
It has helped him be more thoughtful about such things like invitation to speak in the community. But to say yes to it meant that he would not have a day off, in order to restore his energy from the week and spend time with his family. So in the end he said no thanks. It has helped him consider what he needs to do to make the priorities in his life possible and to decide what are priorities.
God’s power is present in our lives in many ways to restore us, so that we, like him, may continue to bring the Kingdom of God into the world around us. Part of that power might be in helping us understand what is really important and what we can leave behind. Knowing our purpose in life can help us make other decisions. Jesus put God first and others second in how he lived. He responded to needs but was not overwhelmed by them. When Jesus said yes to prayer, it helped him be able to say yes to the people who needed him.
When circumstances, like a fever, afflict us and are not under our control, we can be restored to health and purpose. God does this in many ways. This is one of the stories that emerged from the ten years after the attacks of 9/11. Steve and Liz Alderman were in France on that day. As news came in, they were able to get in touch with two of their three children. Peter, sadly, had been at a meeting on the 106th floor of the World Trade Center. As they mourned his loss, they found out that he had many friends, because they found that he valued people. Steve retired from his practice as a radiation oncologist and Liz gave up her artwork under the weight of grief. Their lives came to a standstill. Eventually they realized the severity of the depression and found that they could either never move again or start to get back to life in small steps. With time purpose came back into their lives. They also became aware of how many people in the world suffered disasters or mass violence without any help. They set up a foundation in Peter’s honor to train physicians in war- and disaster-torn countries around the world to treat not only the bodies of their patients, but also their emotions. In direct ways and through people, God is still healing all around us.
The Scripture readings for today tell us of a powerful God who is also a caring God. Where are we weak? Let us wait upon the Lord and we will renew our strength. When are we sick? Jesus will lift us up. This is so our lives and God’s purposes will continue. Illness and disaster do not rule the world; God does. What does Jesus have for us when he is a guest in our house? Renewed strength, renewed life.
Friday, February 3, 2012
The Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
15 The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet. 16 This is what you requested of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said: "If I hear the voice of the LORD my God any more, or ever again see this great fire, I will die." 17 Then the LORD replied to me: "They are right in what they have said. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I command. 19 Anyone who does not heed the words that the prophet shall speak in my name, I myself will hold accountable. 20 But any prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, or who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded the prophet to speak-- that prophet shall die." (Deuteronomy 18 NRSV)
21 They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. 22 They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 23 Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, 24 and he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God." 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!" 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, "What is this? A new teaching-- with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him." 28 At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee. (Mark 1 NRSV)
“HEALING EVIL”
As a child I had a nervous stomach. It would bother me from time to time and particularly when I was in college. The summer I was an undergraduate research participant in Madison, it got to the point where I went to the doctor about it. It was at the student health center. I don’t know why, but the doctor explained what she was doing in incredibly great detail. Perhaps they wanted to educate us patients about heath care. The first part she called “subjective” and that was what my complaint was. The other part was called “objective” and that was what the doctor could observe on examination and tests. I thought about that. The physical findings should match the complaint. If they don’t match, the illness might be an unknown or mysterious one, or might be “all in the patient’s head”, that is, imaginary.
The reading from the Gospel tells us more about who Jesus was. But first, the reading from Deuteronomy tells us that Moses predicted long ago that another prophet like him would arise. That prophet will proclaim God’s word to the people because they did not want to see God directly. The prophet will tell them what God wants to say and they are to heed it. It will be the words from God and if a person does not heed those words, that person will be held accountable. But the prophet needed to speak only the words God gave to the prophet. If the prophet spoke words other than the ones God gave the prophet he or she would die.
The Early Church saw that Jesus was that prophet. He was raised up from his people. He spoke the word of God truly. He should be listened to. The Gospel of Mark gives us a picture of Jesus at the start of his ministry. As Jesus began his work of declaring God’s word, this incident happened. He taught in the synagogue in Capernaum, and the people were amazed. He taught in a new way, “not like the scribes”, it says. This is not to say that Jesus was a loud or vigorous teacher, whereas the scribes were pedantic or timid. It is that Jesus not only talks, he does something . He not only tells the people that the kingdom of God has come, he brings it into their midst by what he does. What he did was to cast out the unclean spirit of a man who had come into the synagogue. It is a confrontation in which the evil spirits know who Jesus is and he knows who they are. He commands and it is done. Then the people notice and are amazed at his teaching.
The biblical world distinguished between illness and possession by evil spirits, but it was a simpler world. They lacked the diagnostic sophistication of this modern age. Much of what they would call demonic, we might understand differently. I say this because we need to understand the passage as not commanding us all to go out and cast out evil spirits. There are those who think that evil spirits are imaginary. Now I am not one of those persons who says there are no evil spirits, but I am not one who sees them behind every bush, either. Sometimes there is evil in this world that goes beyond anything that can be easily explained. There is evil that sometimes seems to go beyond this world. Perhaps that is where the demonic element is found. Whether demons are real or not, evil is. Whatever we think of demons, we do have the opportunity to make the world a better place by casting out evil. Evil comes into this world and we can be like Jesus when we help heal the world of it.
Sometimes that is by use of the medical skill and knowledge. In generations past mental illness was seen as some kind of personal or moral failure. It is more hopeful that nowadays it is seen as just an illness of the mind. When it is seen as an illness, then people can seek treatment for it. It is not that they are “bad people”; it is that something is wrong with them. A broken arm does not have the stigma (at least usually) that mental illness does. And much in our world needs healing. One of the professors at the University of Iowa would point out that the Russian dictator Josef Stalin was abused as a child. Some of the folks who heard him would dismiss that idea, since they were still thinking in terms of the Cold War and could not say anything that would make the enemy more human. Now, it really is hard to say anything nice about Stalin; he was a ruthless dictator with a truly evil regime. But, it is not hard to see that what we experience when young shapes how we think and act as adults and think, What could have possibly been different if someone had helped Stalin before he rose to power? How would have history been changed if the evil that was done to him had been healed before he inflicted it on others?
Perhaps where we can begin to heal the world is to start to set it right. There is much in this world that is wrong but not demonic. Sometimes healing evil is in our hands, when we have the opportunity to right a wrong or help someone who is on the wrong path in life get on the right one. It makes the world a better place. Sometimes that is done carefully, quietly, persistently, gently, but other times it might be that kind of confrontation with evil like Jesus had in the synagogue in Capernaum. There was an obituary recently of Stetson Kennedy, 1916-2011. He was unable to serve in the military in WWII due to health so he fought racist terrorist here rather than abroad by infiltrating the Ku Klux Klan and revealing its secrets to journalist and the authorities and in a book. Kennedy first saw racism in how his classmates treated the black people in Jacksonville, Florida, but grew up to do something about it. There are times when we follow Jesus’ teaching by removing evil from our lives, from the lives of others, and our world.
There are other times when we ourselves are in need of healing. That is the time to recall Jesus as the healer. Fay Angus tells the story of a time she found help with fear. She was putting off a medical test both for the discomfort of the test and what it might reveal. She and her husband were in a park, picnicking, watching the family next to them. The children took turns spinning around and falling backward into their father’s arms. The youngest of them was reluctant to do this last part. Finally he did and then he couldn’t stop. He did it over and over. Fay found in this a lesson to trust God with her life and health. Jesus came to heal us from those evil things that limit or harm our lives.
The Gospel tells us that Jesus came into our world to change it. He can cast out its evil. That is a teacher with authority. He does not only give us God’s words, he acts for God around us. He touches our lives. He makes the world a new place. He calls us to follow him into this new world. We follow him into that new world when we oppose evil like he did, and we find it when we let him heal us. It is teaching—with power. It is teaching we can hear. It is teaching that can help us live.
15 The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet. 16 This is what you requested of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said: "If I hear the voice of the LORD my God any more, or ever again see this great fire, I will die." 17 Then the LORD replied to me: "They are right in what they have said. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I command. 19 Anyone who does not heed the words that the prophet shall speak in my name, I myself will hold accountable. 20 But any prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, or who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded the prophet to speak-- that prophet shall die." (Deuteronomy 18 NRSV)
21 They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. 22 They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 23 Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, 24 and he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God." 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!" 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, "What is this? A new teaching-- with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him." 28 At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee. (Mark 1 NRSV)
“HEALING EVIL”
As a child I had a nervous stomach. It would bother me from time to time and particularly when I was in college. The summer I was an undergraduate research participant in Madison, it got to the point where I went to the doctor about it. It was at the student health center. I don’t know why, but the doctor explained what she was doing in incredibly great detail. Perhaps they wanted to educate us patients about heath care. The first part she called “subjective” and that was what my complaint was. The other part was called “objective” and that was what the doctor could observe on examination and tests. I thought about that. The physical findings should match the complaint. If they don’t match, the illness might be an unknown or mysterious one, or might be “all in the patient’s head”, that is, imaginary.
The reading from the Gospel tells us more about who Jesus was. But first, the reading from Deuteronomy tells us that Moses predicted long ago that another prophet like him would arise. That prophet will proclaim God’s word to the people because they did not want to see God directly. The prophet will tell them what God wants to say and they are to heed it. It will be the words from God and if a person does not heed those words, that person will be held accountable. But the prophet needed to speak only the words God gave to the prophet. If the prophet spoke words other than the ones God gave the prophet he or she would die.
The Early Church saw that Jesus was that prophet. He was raised up from his people. He spoke the word of God truly. He should be listened to. The Gospel of Mark gives us a picture of Jesus at the start of his ministry. As Jesus began his work of declaring God’s word, this incident happened. He taught in the synagogue in Capernaum, and the people were amazed. He taught in a new way, “not like the scribes”, it says. This is not to say that Jesus was a loud or vigorous teacher, whereas the scribes were pedantic or timid. It is that Jesus not only talks, he does something . He not only tells the people that the kingdom of God has come, he brings it into their midst by what he does. What he did was to cast out the unclean spirit of a man who had come into the synagogue. It is a confrontation in which the evil spirits know who Jesus is and he knows who they are. He commands and it is done. Then the people notice and are amazed at his teaching.
The biblical world distinguished between illness and possession by evil spirits, but it was a simpler world. They lacked the diagnostic sophistication of this modern age. Much of what they would call demonic, we might understand differently. I say this because we need to understand the passage as not commanding us all to go out and cast out evil spirits. There are those who think that evil spirits are imaginary. Now I am not one of those persons who says there are no evil spirits, but I am not one who sees them behind every bush, either. Sometimes there is evil in this world that goes beyond anything that can be easily explained. There is evil that sometimes seems to go beyond this world. Perhaps that is where the demonic element is found. Whether demons are real or not, evil is. Whatever we think of demons, we do have the opportunity to make the world a better place by casting out evil. Evil comes into this world and we can be like Jesus when we help heal the world of it.
Sometimes that is by use of the medical skill and knowledge. In generations past mental illness was seen as some kind of personal or moral failure. It is more hopeful that nowadays it is seen as just an illness of the mind. When it is seen as an illness, then people can seek treatment for it. It is not that they are “bad people”; it is that something is wrong with them. A broken arm does not have the stigma (at least usually) that mental illness does. And much in our world needs healing. One of the professors at the University of Iowa would point out that the Russian dictator Josef Stalin was abused as a child. Some of the folks who heard him would dismiss that idea, since they were still thinking in terms of the Cold War and could not say anything that would make the enemy more human. Now, it really is hard to say anything nice about Stalin; he was a ruthless dictator with a truly evil regime. But, it is not hard to see that what we experience when young shapes how we think and act as adults and think, What could have possibly been different if someone had helped Stalin before he rose to power? How would have history been changed if the evil that was done to him had been healed before he inflicted it on others?
Perhaps where we can begin to heal the world is to start to set it right. There is much in this world that is wrong but not demonic. Sometimes healing evil is in our hands, when we have the opportunity to right a wrong or help someone who is on the wrong path in life get on the right one. It makes the world a better place. Sometimes that is done carefully, quietly, persistently, gently, but other times it might be that kind of confrontation with evil like Jesus had in the synagogue in Capernaum. There was an obituary recently of Stetson Kennedy, 1916-2011. He was unable to serve in the military in WWII due to health so he fought racist terrorist here rather than abroad by infiltrating the Ku Klux Klan and revealing its secrets to journalist and the authorities and in a book. Kennedy first saw racism in how his classmates treated the black people in Jacksonville, Florida, but grew up to do something about it. There are times when we follow Jesus’ teaching by removing evil from our lives, from the lives of others, and our world.
There are other times when we ourselves are in need of healing. That is the time to recall Jesus as the healer. Fay Angus tells the story of a time she found help with fear. She was putting off a medical test both for the discomfort of the test and what it might reveal. She and her husband were in a park, picnicking, watching the family next to them. The children took turns spinning around and falling backward into their father’s arms. The youngest of them was reluctant to do this last part. Finally he did and then he couldn’t stop. He did it over and over. Fay found in this a lesson to trust God with her life and health. Jesus came to heal us from those evil things that limit or harm our lives.
The Gospel tells us that Jesus came into our world to change it. He can cast out its evil. That is a teacher with authority. He does not only give us God’s words, he acts for God around us. He touches our lives. He makes the world a new place. He calls us to follow him into this new world. We follow him into that new world when we oppose evil like he did, and we find it when we let him heal us. It is teaching—with power. It is teaching we can hear. It is teaching that can help us live.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
The Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
1 The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time, saying, 2 "Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you." 3 So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days' walk across. 4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's walk. And he cried out, "Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" 5 And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.
10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it. (Jonah 3 NRSV)
14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news." 16 As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea-- for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you fish for people." 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him. (Mark 1 NRSV)
“READY OR NOT”
Years ago I did some computer programming. It was simple, very simple compared to nowadays. It usually did something with lab data. This was for mainframe computers that filled a room with printers the size of a piano. The personal computer was years away. I used BASIC, FORTRAN, PL/1. Those are antiques nowadays. My pride and joy was a program that computed Fibonacci Numbers. The Fibonacci series is the sum of the preceding two numbers: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, and so on. There was a mistake in the program:
Do i = 1 to 200
Put page edit
Next i
As the program started I realized the mistake. The commands were out of order and would send 200 sheets of blank paper flying out of the printer. Fortunately there was a cancel button. In the computer lab many such programs were written (on punch cards!) and some had mistakes and did not do what the programmer wanted. And so the consultants had some basic guidelines. One was K.I.S.S. “Keep it simple, stupid.” The more complicated a program was, the harder it was to find and fix mistakes. It is a valuable lesson in many other ways.
God comes into our world whether we are ready for it or not. Many times this is in the form of God wanting us to do something. The readings from Scripture for today have that theme. The word of the Lord comes to the prophet Jonah. It is to proclaim judgment to the people of the city of Nineveh. He is not ready for that and so runs away. But God stops him. That is where the great fish comes in. He ends up on a boat, then overboard, then saved by the fish and returned to land. And the word of the Lord comes to him a second time. The message is the same. This time, though, he is ready and goes to that land, the land which is Israel’s enemy and preaches. It works; the people hear it and turn to the Lord and they are saved from judgment. Sometimes God has to lead us into being ready to serve God.
The Gospel reading is of the time Jesus came to Galilee and proclaimed the good news of God. Simon and Andrew were by the sea and Jesus tells them this amazing thing: “Follow me and I will make you fish for human beings.” They responded, very much unlike Jonah, immediately. They were fishermen and Jesus used an image that would be unmistakable to them. It is pretty simple. Just as they used to go gather fish so now they would be gathering human beings into a community of faith, centered on Jesus. James and John do likewise and so the disciples come to follow Jesus with this simple idea. They saw in Jesus someone, not only worth following, but worth dropping all they had, giving up all they had, to do it. They will follow Jesus and bring others to follow Jesus. It was simple.
For two thousand years the church has followed Jesus. It has grown more complicated. The first Christians proclaimed the gospel to the world around them. They, men and women, were fishers of people who, in turn, became part of the people of God. With time, these lands became filled with believers. Then people became Christians as they were born into Christian families, brought into the church through Baptism. The emphasis was shifted to teaching people about their faith, not in proclaiming the good news to those who were unfamiliar with it. There was no unbelieving world around the church. The times have changed and the number of people who have no church or no faith has grown. The church is no longer the center of things. In fact, in some places it is a minority. Perhaps it is time to rediscover the way the gospel can be shared with the world. The church sometimes needs to remember K.I.S.S. It is simple. God has a message and entrusts it to the servants of God.
It is time to remember what Jesus calls us to. It is a way of life in which faith is not just knowledge or status but an approach to life. Brian McLaren was asked to introduce a famous speaker at a conference of pastors. He was prepared until he found out that there had been a mistake. He was supposed to interview Dr. Peter Senge from a remote site by satellite teleconferencing. He prepared for that and was delayed due to technical problems. At last it was on and he asked the speaker what he would like to say to five hundred Christian ministers. He said that he asked a manager of a bookstore on a college campus what books were selling and he said that after the business administration books they were ones on spirituality and in particular about Buddhism. Dr. Senge asked the assembled ministers why they thought that was. McLaren turned the question back on Senge who said this, “I think it’s because Buddhism presents itself as a way of life, and Christianity presents itself as a system of belief. So I would want to get Christian ministers thinking about how to rediscover their own faith as a way of life, because that’s what people are searching for today. That’s what they need most.”
What the speaker was getting at was that the Christian faith is more than a set of beliefs. It is a way we live following Jesus. It is a group of people, the church, and also people acting. It is an institution, but also a movement. Sometimes we forget that, especially when we only think about preserving the institution or our traditions.
All this talk about how the world is changing might frighten us. The future comes whether we are ready for it or not. Much has changed but there are some things that have not. God still loves the world and wants to be a part of it. God has called men and women to follow Jesus and serve others in his name. The plan that God has for the world is still the same as when Jesus proclaimed the good news of the kingdom and the disciples left their nets to follow him. What does the world need? What are people searching for? What do we have to give it?
We begin by rediscovering outreach. The church does not exist for itself. It is like those first disciples, called to proclaim the good news, that they have found Jesus. It can reach the lives of others in amazing ways, as Elizabeth Sherrill found years ago when traveling with Brother Andrew who was noted for meeting with groups of Christians behind the Iron Curtain. Elizabeth and her husband John were planning on following the old advice to travel light when they found Brother Andrew packing a large suitcase. It turned out is was clothes to be left behind for those whose faith had cost them positions and employment in a Communist society. She discovered that thing don’t mean much until they’re shared.
God called Jonah and the first disciples to serve God. The disciples responded immediately to that call but Jonah came to it late. But behind it all was God, wanting a message to go forth into the world. It is simple. What we have, even our faith, is to be shared with others. Let us seek to give what the world needs. The times are changing but God’s love for the world does not. God wants to bring the world to God’s own self. We can bring the message to those who need it. We can catch them. It is as simple as that.
1 The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time, saying, 2 "Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you." 3 So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days' walk across. 4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's walk. And he cried out, "Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" 5 And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.
10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it. (Jonah 3 NRSV)
14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news." 16 As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea-- for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you fish for people." 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him. (Mark 1 NRSV)
“READY OR NOT”
Years ago I did some computer programming. It was simple, very simple compared to nowadays. It usually did something with lab data. This was for mainframe computers that filled a room with printers the size of a piano. The personal computer was years away. I used BASIC, FORTRAN, PL/1. Those are antiques nowadays. My pride and joy was a program that computed Fibonacci Numbers. The Fibonacci series is the sum of the preceding two numbers: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, and so on. There was a mistake in the program:
Do i = 1 to 200
Put page edit
Next i
As the program started I realized the mistake. The commands were out of order and would send 200 sheets of blank paper flying out of the printer. Fortunately there was a cancel button. In the computer lab many such programs were written (on punch cards!) and some had mistakes and did not do what the programmer wanted. And so the consultants had some basic guidelines. One was K.I.S.S. “Keep it simple, stupid.” The more complicated a program was, the harder it was to find and fix mistakes. It is a valuable lesson in many other ways.
God comes into our world whether we are ready for it or not. Many times this is in the form of God wanting us to do something. The readings from Scripture for today have that theme. The word of the Lord comes to the prophet Jonah. It is to proclaim judgment to the people of the city of Nineveh. He is not ready for that and so runs away. But God stops him. That is where the great fish comes in. He ends up on a boat, then overboard, then saved by the fish and returned to land. And the word of the Lord comes to him a second time. The message is the same. This time, though, he is ready and goes to that land, the land which is Israel’s enemy and preaches. It works; the people hear it and turn to the Lord and they are saved from judgment. Sometimes God has to lead us into being ready to serve God.
The Gospel reading is of the time Jesus came to Galilee and proclaimed the good news of God. Simon and Andrew were by the sea and Jesus tells them this amazing thing: “Follow me and I will make you fish for human beings.” They responded, very much unlike Jonah, immediately. They were fishermen and Jesus used an image that would be unmistakable to them. It is pretty simple. Just as they used to go gather fish so now they would be gathering human beings into a community of faith, centered on Jesus. James and John do likewise and so the disciples come to follow Jesus with this simple idea. They saw in Jesus someone, not only worth following, but worth dropping all they had, giving up all they had, to do it. They will follow Jesus and bring others to follow Jesus. It was simple.
For two thousand years the church has followed Jesus. It has grown more complicated. The first Christians proclaimed the gospel to the world around them. They, men and women, were fishers of people who, in turn, became part of the people of God. With time, these lands became filled with believers. Then people became Christians as they were born into Christian families, brought into the church through Baptism. The emphasis was shifted to teaching people about their faith, not in proclaiming the good news to those who were unfamiliar with it. There was no unbelieving world around the church. The times have changed and the number of people who have no church or no faith has grown. The church is no longer the center of things. In fact, in some places it is a minority. Perhaps it is time to rediscover the way the gospel can be shared with the world. The church sometimes needs to remember K.I.S.S. It is simple. God has a message and entrusts it to the servants of God.
It is time to remember what Jesus calls us to. It is a way of life in which faith is not just knowledge or status but an approach to life. Brian McLaren was asked to introduce a famous speaker at a conference of pastors. He was prepared until he found out that there had been a mistake. He was supposed to interview Dr. Peter Senge from a remote site by satellite teleconferencing. He prepared for that and was delayed due to technical problems. At last it was on and he asked the speaker what he would like to say to five hundred Christian ministers. He said that he asked a manager of a bookstore on a college campus what books were selling and he said that after the business administration books they were ones on spirituality and in particular about Buddhism. Dr. Senge asked the assembled ministers why they thought that was. McLaren turned the question back on Senge who said this, “I think it’s because Buddhism presents itself as a way of life, and Christianity presents itself as a system of belief. So I would want to get Christian ministers thinking about how to rediscover their own faith as a way of life, because that’s what people are searching for today. That’s what they need most.”
What the speaker was getting at was that the Christian faith is more than a set of beliefs. It is a way we live following Jesus. It is a group of people, the church, and also people acting. It is an institution, but also a movement. Sometimes we forget that, especially when we only think about preserving the institution or our traditions.
All this talk about how the world is changing might frighten us. The future comes whether we are ready for it or not. Much has changed but there are some things that have not. God still loves the world and wants to be a part of it. God has called men and women to follow Jesus and serve others in his name. The plan that God has for the world is still the same as when Jesus proclaimed the good news of the kingdom and the disciples left their nets to follow him. What does the world need? What are people searching for? What do we have to give it?
We begin by rediscovering outreach. The church does not exist for itself. It is like those first disciples, called to proclaim the good news, that they have found Jesus. It can reach the lives of others in amazing ways, as Elizabeth Sherrill found years ago when traveling with Brother Andrew who was noted for meeting with groups of Christians behind the Iron Curtain. Elizabeth and her husband John were planning on following the old advice to travel light when they found Brother Andrew packing a large suitcase. It turned out is was clothes to be left behind for those whose faith had cost them positions and employment in a Communist society. She discovered that thing don’t mean much until they’re shared.
God called Jonah and the first disciples to serve God. The disciples responded immediately to that call but Jonah came to it late. But behind it all was God, wanting a message to go forth into the world. It is simple. What we have, even our faith, is to be shared with others. Let us seek to give what the world needs. The times are changing but God’s love for the world does not. God wants to bring the world to God’s own self. We can bring the message to those who need it. We can catch them. It is as simple as that.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
