“The Cost of Fame – Lost Message”
Scripture: Psalter of Psalm 147 # 255 (1,3 &6)
and Mark 1:29-39
Preached by Linda Jo Peters ~ February 5, 2012
Celebration of our Lord’s Supper
Unity Presbyterian Church ~ Terre Haute, Indiana
INTRODUCTION
TO SCRIPTURE
Mark
1:29-39We all live in a time where even retired folk complain about not having enough time. But busyness is never enough to fill the void of our relationship with God. What was Jesus’ purpose in healing the sick, in teaching, in calling disciples and even in confrontation with religious leaders? His purpose was to proclaim the kingdom of God. Our job as disciples of Jesus is to remember we have the same purpose. The banners displayed in our Fellowship Center symbolize the six great ends of the church: Proclamation of the Gospel for the Salvation of Humankind; Shelter, Nurture, and Spiritual Fellowship of the Children of God; Maintenance of Divine Worship; Preservation of the Truth; Promotion of Social Righteousness, and Exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the World. Listen to what happens even to the disciples when the demands fame as a healer becomes more important than the message of hopel.
29As
soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew,
with James and John. 30Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and
they told him about her at once. 31He came and took her by the hand and lifted
her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.
32That
evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with
demons. 33And the whole city was gathered around the door. 34And 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. 35In the morning, while it
was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he
prayed. 36And Simon and his companions hunted for him. 37When they found him,
they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” 38He 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.” 39And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming
the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.
SERMON
Jesus has been very busy and now people seek him out not for a transformation of their lives, but to fix whatever is wrong. They are looking for a handyman rather than a restorer.
Jesus has been very busy and now people seek him out not for a transformation of their lives, but to fix whatever is wrong. They are looking for a handyman rather than a restorer.
Jesus is willing to listen and heal but he yearns to
communicate God’s message about the kingdom of God. The healing miracles in Mark exist as part of
the message that the Kingdom of God has arrived in Jesus. The Kingdom of God is
reversing the effects of the fall and the power exerted by the Kingdom of
darkness. Good health and happiness we would all go out of our way to
have. Freedom from suffering is part of
the realized Kingdom of God found in Christ Jesus. The miracles of Jesus demonstrate the power
of the Kingdom of God present in himself to reverse the curse and destroy the
works of evil. Those who witnessed the miracles of Jesus were being convinced
that the Kingdom of heaven was real and present.[1]
This is a Kingdom that requires certain actions on
the part of its citizens. According to
Jesus, if we are citizens of the kingdom of God, we are servants of all; we
love one another as he has loved us; and we live in justice and mercy.[2] Somehow this vital message gets lost in the
fame of healing the sick.It is like a science teacher trying to communicate the scientific method of study.
1. Observation and description of a phenomenon or group of phenomena.
2. Formulation of a hypothesis to explain the phenomena.
3. Use of the hypothesis to predict the existence of other phenomena, or to
predict quantitatively the results of new observations.
4. Performance of experimental tests of the predictions by several independent
experimenters and properly performed experiments.[3]
Where
do most students want to be? At number
4, performing experiments! Believers
want to forget about the life altering aspects of being a disciple of Jesus and
want to get to the miracles. We want
fixed and then get on with our lives. We
want to keep living as we have generally have been living. But life in the Kingdom of God is about not
doing things as we have always done them.
It is about new life. It is new
life together as the body of Christ. We
form a community that restores the value of people through living with justice
and mercy. We are citizens of the
kingdom of God where love and service are our first duty. The healing of suffering in the world is not
an end in itself. Healing happens
because we intentionally live as citizens of the Kingdom of God. In Sarah Henrich’s commentary on this
passage she writes:
It is very important to see that healing is
about restoration to community and restoration of a calling, as well as
restoration to life. For life without community and calling is bleak indeed.[4]
We
have a great calling to be disciples; to demonstrate in our everyday living
that we are Kingdom people. We are to exhibit the Kingdom of Heaven to the
world. Today we celebrate the greatest
resource for restoring us to new life, Here at this table justice and mercy
meet in the kiss of righteousness. Here
at this table we taste brokenness and sacrifice and we are loved. Peter’s mother-in-law is healed and gets up
and serves. We have been healed and
given new life to get up and serve.
[1]
See: http://jesusshaped.wordpress.com/2009/02/24/gospel-of-mark-study-10-the-healer/
and Revelations 21-22.
[2]
See: Mark 9:35 , John 13:34 and Matthew 23:23 and 25: 31ff.
[3]
See: http://teacher.pas.rochester.edu/phy_labs/appendixe/appendixe.html
[4]
See: http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?lect_date=2/5/2012&tab=4
