Mark 1:21-45
Martin Luther once claimed that if he had to do without either the works or the teaching of Jesus, he would rather do without the works.
He claimed, “For the works do not help me, but his words give me life, as he himself says.” referencing John 6:63.
It seems safe to say that most preachers, to include Luther, are not fans of miracle stories.
There are many reasons for this, but I will speak to the two prominent issues I find in preaching on such texts.
The first issue is that in an era of reason and science we feel a need to approach these texts constantly reconciling faith with our own scientific reason.
It’s really a flawed approach, considering that scientific reason is as grounded in faith as religion is.
Science is theoretical and any science worth studying - for those who make their living as scientists- is an exploration of the uncharted, undefined, and unknown aspects of the natural world.
Trust in an untested theory is, therefore…. an act of faith.
So, when people try to explain scripture on the history channel through tides, angles of the sun, and yes… alien life;
Do me a favor?
Change the channel!
In addition to the contradicting nature of this method, keep in mind that science seeks answers to the unsolved mysteries in nature, faith seeks answers to the unsolved mysteries of our being.
Miracles are not riddles to be solved, they are stories to be told.
They are stories that remain relevant, because they are stories that continue to perform miracles in our own lives today.
The second issue is an approach to miracles in which we lift them up as a superstition or a supernatural occurrence.
A story that is so magnificent that we become enamored by it, mesmerized by what we deem to be magical.
This approach grasps our attention so tightly that we find ourselves unable to see around the miracle, beyond the miracle.
Like a moth to a flame, we become distracted from the word, reliant on nothing but the fantastic mesmerizing sight of a supernatural occurrence and if we can’t have it, well, then we seem to find it’s just not worth it anymore.
Our faith becomes nothing more than a one legged straw man, leaning on the crutch of miracles.
And that, sisters and brothers, is exactly the same problem Jesus has with miracles in today’s gospel from Mark.
He heals three individuals in today’s gospel along with two less specific accounts involving crowds of people.
He heals a demoniac who enters into the synagogue while he is teaching.
He heals Simon’s mother-in-law.
And he heals a leper.
In each instance Jesus is a little short tempered with one exception; Simon’s mother-in-law.
There are two significant differences.
One, Simon’s mother-in-law is a passive participant in the healing.
She neither asks nor resists Jesus’ attempt to heal her.
Second of all, she serves Jesus following her miraculous healing.
The other two stories seem to take a harsher tone.
 |
| Jesus healing Simon's Mother-in-law |
Jesus not only scolds both individuals, but there is debate in some circles as to whether Jesus was moved by compassion or anger, when he healed the leper.
He’s a bit secretive about all this miracle work on top of it.
Little different from the televised miracle ministries that have become less prevalent today than in decades past.
Regardless, Jesus is pretty touchy about these miracles.
One could even say stingy when he is told in verse 38 that there is a crowd waiting for him back in Capernaum.
His response could certainly be seen as not only stingy, but cold, when he responds to the report of the waiting crowds by laying out an agenda to go to the neighboring towns, leaving the crowds awaiting more miracles and healing.
But are they awaiting Jesus the Christ? The Word made flesh? The teaching he has come to share?
Or are they awaiting what they can get, what they will receive, the show they are hoping to see,
rather than what he has come to do THROUGH them, in THIS world.
~
Monday night my wife found a babysitter and we went to go see the latest Star Wars movie; Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
It was a treat.
Not only because we don’t go to the movies all that often anymore but because, I must admit, I like Star Wars.
It was an interesting approach to the story, however.
I won't give too much away, for those of you still waiting to see it, but the plot revolves around that same galaxy, still a long time ago, yet about 30 years after the defeat of the Empire in "The Return of the Jedi."
There are new bad guys and some new good guys, but a lot of the old characters from the original films return for another round.
In this film, new threats to the galaxy have come to light, and the rebels -now known as the Resistance- are seeking out Luke Skywalker -who has disappeared.
From beginning to end, this is the central plot line;
Where is Luke Skywalker?
The Resistance is searching for him, and so are the new baddies “The First Order”.
What is so interesting is that, only 30 years after the defeat of the Empire, Luke has become a messiah-like hero.
The entire mission of the Resistance revolves around locating Luke as the most important figure, perhaps the only hope, to defeat all galactic evil.
What makes the plot line even more interesting is that Luke has gone missing because he went off into the far reaches of the galaxy to train more Jedi.
Apparently, Luke fails to train the pupils he acquires.
Disheartened, he isolates himself to some place where he cannot be found.
Kind of like Jesus does in our gospel, seeking isolation in a deserted place.
Maybe himself a little frustrated and disheartened by the pupils that aren't quite getting the lessons being taught.
Much like Luke, Jesus wasn’t seeking to BE the Savior, Jesus was seeking to make saviors out of all people.
And much like Luke, Jesus knows that people are becoming distracted by the tales of his miracles and deeds.
 |
| Luke in Star Wars: The Force Awakens |
Because she RESPONDS to the miracle IN service, in service to Jesus’ new disciples, in service to Jesus.
And she doesn’t stop serving, she is only beginning her service in Mark’s gospel.
She isn’t distracted by the miracle, she responds to the miracle, she lives out the miracle, she works her own miracles by bringing Christ into the world by her own participation in that miracle.
Perhaps my favorite scene in the entire Star Wars movie was when one of the new characters; Finn, goes on a mission with Hans Solo, who now believes but doesn’t fully understand the force.
Han, discovering that Finn doesn’t have a foolproof plan to accomplish their mission asks him how he expects to perform the task at hand to which Finn enthusiastically replies;
“We’ll use the force!”
Prompting Han to advise Finn “The force doesn't work that way!”
Herein lies the problem with our fascination with miracles, with Jesus, with God.
We aren’t supposed to just sit around waiting for the miracle, we are called to hear the Word of God, Jesus the Christ and BE the miracle!
On this 10th day of Christmas we celebrate the birth of Christ.
A wondrous event that happened 2,000 years ago.
Celebrating a Savior who a long time ago, went off into a galaxy far far away.
We sit around resigning ourselves to the fact that he is gone, desperate for him to return, awaiting his return.
But that is not the point of the story.
The point -while we are so distracted by the miracle- is that we are called to be the miracle that brings Him into this world.
On Friday, I read an article in USA Today about a new statue of Jesus.
The statue was unveiled on New Year's Day outside of a church in a Nigerian Village in Africa.
The statue is 28 feet tall, a rather modest statue when compared to the famous “Christ the Redeemer” statue of Rio De Janeiro which itself stands at 98 feet high, towering over the city in Brazil.
The largest statue depicting Jesus can be found in Poland, however, standing at 118 feet tall.
While this new statue being built in Nigeria may not be the biggest depiction of Jesus in the world, it made news for two reasons
The businessman who paid for the white marble interpreted likeness of Jesus boasts it is the largest in Africa.
He also claims that it will bring peace to the war torn region, encouraging coexistence in an area of religious sectarianism.
 |
| "Jesus de Greatest" in Abajah (Nigeria) |
I’m not sure a statue of Jesus can do such a thing.
I do believe that the model of the Christ can, however.
This is what Jesus most fears in the response from the crowds that follow him.
Jesus is not meant to be an idol, towering above cities.
An idol which leaves us resigned and hopeless.
Jesus is meant to be THE Christ, a model made of not clay but a model molded by the lives of those who claim to live lives under his authority by claiming his name as their own.
We aren’t called to bring the sick, the possessed, the demoniacs, the lepers, the hated, the lonely, the poor, and the marginalized to Jesus.
We are called to birth the Christ into this world,
A world that hungers for that miracle now as much as ever,
Reflecting the miracle that is the Christ into this world, through us,
by the miracle of our baptisms,
by the miracle of that meal we will receive this day,
by the miracle that is the Word made flesh in our own lives,
by that cross that we are called to carry out into the darkest sides of this world.
We share in this mission as one Body, trusting in hope of the Christ that we are the Church and in being the Church; WE are the miracle.
May the Christ be with you.
Amen.
Sources
Abrams, J.J. Star Wars: The Force Awakens. USA, 2015.
Gerrish, B A. Saving and Secular Faith: An Invitation to Systematic Theology. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress, Publishers, 1999.
Lehmann, Helmut T and Martin Luther. Luther’s Works Word and Sacrament I (Luther's Works 35:362). Edited by Theodore E. Bachmann. Philadelphia: Augsburg Fortress, Publishers, 1960.
The World Is about to Get a New Giant Jesus Statue. (USA TODAY), December 31, 2015. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/12/31/new-giant-jesus-statue/78122392/.
No comments:
Post a Comment