“Healing which brings Fame Instead of Faith”
Preached by Linda Jo Peters ~ September 9, 2012
Psalm 125 read
responsively and Mark 7:24-37
Unity Presbyterian Church ~ Terre Haute,
Indiana
Rally Day! Return of Choir and Sunday School!
INTRODUCTION
TO SCRIPTURE
Psalm
125 read responsively When life gets scary, it is good to imagine God surrounding and protecting us like the hills around Jerusalem.
1Those who trust
in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
2As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord
surrounds his people, from this time on and forevermore.3For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the righteous, so that the righteous might not stretch out their hands to do wrong.
4Do good, O Lord, to those who are good, and to those who are upright in their hearts.
5But those who turn aside to their own crooked ways the Lord will lead away with evildoers.
Peace be upon Israel!
Mark
7:24-37
A
new study in the journal Cognition
overturns a decades-old theory about the nature of attention and demonstrates
that even brief diversions from a task can dramatically improve one's ability
to focus on that task for prolonged periods.[1]
This
week Governor Romney took a break from campaigning. He like most politicians when they take time
off received criticism for his choice.
People in all walks of life need down time. Wendy Olson who pastors with her husband Mark
in Trinity Parish, and I are working on a downtime for Presbytery participants
at PYOCA. . Jesus understood this need and often chose to
withdraw for a time of prayer. Now he
seems to be going out of his way to find some quiet away from the demands of
fame. Let’s face it if we knew of
someone who was healing the ill, we would be looking for him/her to help
someone we loved or ourselves. The
encounter with the Gentile is almost hostile and the demand for silence from
those helping the deaf mute is ironic. Now they are asked to be the deaf and
dumb. I can almost hear Jesus say, “What
does this have to do with my purpose?”
We too get frustrated when we are derailed from our goal. Jesus’ purpose was to bring people to faith,
not to become a famous healer.
24From there he set
out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want
anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice,25but a
woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him,
and she came and bowed down at his feet.26Now the woman was a
Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her
daughter.27He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is
not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”28But
she answered him, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s
crumbs.”29Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the
demon has left your daughter.”30So she went home, found the child
lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
31Then he returned
from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee,
in the region of the Decapolis.32They brought to him a deaf man who
had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him.33He
took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his
ears, and he spat and touched his tongue.34Then looking up to
heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.”35And
immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.36Then
Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more
zealously they proclaimed it.37They were astounded beyond measure,
saying, “He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the
mute to speak.”
SERMON
Through
the ages commentators have tried to explain Jesus’ behavior in the face of this
worried mother and her suffering child.
I have heard everything from it was a teachable moment for his disciples
to a lesson for Jesus to learn that his mission was for the whole world not
just the Jews. But I would like to focus
on what Jesus’ priorities were, so that this encounter and the deaf man
frustrated his purpose to proclaim the kingdom of God and how we are to live as
citizens of God’s kingdom.
Today
we are delighted to have the choir back in leadership; to have Bible Study and
Sunday School is back in full force. Youth
Group had their first meeting last week.
We are glad they took a break. We
hope all the volunteers are eager and full of energy for another year of
service. Time off can be precious time
to focus on our purpose. Are we doing
what God has called us to do? As I work
with Wendy planning a time of refreshment for those who participate in the demanding
schedule of Presbytery, I am reminded that Jesus took time away to renew and re-center.
I
am certain Jesus had a clear understanding of his purpose to proclaim the
Kingdom of God. His proclamation came as
amazing healings and stimulating teaching and other miracles. But over and over people just did not get it.
They wanted more bread or one more miracle or perhaps “tell the parable about
the lost son once again, Rabbi.” Listen
to his dialogue with two of his disciples on the very night he was betrayed by
a close companion who should have understood what his purpose was, he said:
4And you know the way to the place
where I am going.”5Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where
you are going. How can we know the way?”6Jesus said to him, “I am
the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through
me.7If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do
know him and have seen him.”8Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the
Father, and we will be satisfied.”9Jesus said to him, “Have I been
with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen
me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10Do
you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that
I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his
works.11Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me;
but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves.
Anyone
who has taught knows the frustration when after a whole semester of study, a
student comes up and asks for an extension on a project they have had weeks to
finalize. Generally they have no eternal
clock that says this needs to done by this date, or they never read the
syllabus or they may have a very legitimate reason for needing the time. A teacher has to listen carefully as Jesus
did to hear the truth and respond in kind.
Sometimes they may even seem to be harsh and unforgiving. But to develop better habits, teachers need
to set boundaries of behavior. Jesus set
boundaries not as inflexible walls but a flexible net to capture our
souls. He wants your undivided attention
not just during the exciting times but every moment is filled with
opportunities to hear God’s call for our life.
The point is that whether you are praying or playing, studying or serving every aspect of our lives needs to be imbued with a relationship with our Creator. Faith is not just for fox holes or ill health. Faith is a daily walk. Moses told the people wandering through the wilderness for forty years:
4Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our
God, the Lord alone.5You shall love the Lord your God with all your
heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.6Keep these
words that I am commanding you today in your heart.7Recite them to
your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away,
when you lie down and when you rise.
When
you lie down and when you get up! Every day all the time pay attention to what
God is doing in your life.
The warrior chief Tecumseh of the Shawnee is credited with this wisdom:
Let every day begin and end in attention
to God’s grace in your life.
When you
rise in the morning, give thanks for the light,
for your life, for your
strength. Give thanks for your food
and for the joy of living. If you see no
reason to give thanks,
the fault lies in yourself.[2]
Let
this be a year of intentional effort to know God’s will for your life, your
family, our church, community and world.
Amen.
