Year B Fifth Sunday after Epiphany 5 February 2012
Isaiah 40: 21-31 Psalm 147: 1-11 1 Corinthians 9: 16-23 Mark 1: 29-39
1 Corinthians 9:16 “For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!”
There were prophets throughout the Old Testament who knew this compulsion. It happens when God places his word in our lives and with it, a burden to share that word.
This week I was again teaching my singing students. As I was going through one of my student’s songs I stopped to ask her if she knew what the song was about. She didn’t know. So, I tried to tell her as simply and quickly as possible. Though it turned out to be lengthier than I anticipated, it was very enjoyable. The song was, “Let’s all go down to the river”. It spoke about this man walking on the water, healing the blind and raising dead from the grave. It also spoke about Jesus forgiving sin. When we got to that part my student asked me what sin was.
No matter where we are and no matter what our profession, if we are the people of God then we are compelled to preach the Gospel. Some would add, and sometimes use words to do so.
I love explaining stuff about God to people. You’d never have guessed, right?!! It is often really nice to do this explaining to children because it forces you to make very clear and simple sense of hugely theological subjects... like sin. I love it, especially because I do believe that this good news is for all and all should be able to understand it.
This week I’ve been reminded of something that I have mentioned before and I think it needs to be emphasized. When Jesus walked the earth he did so as a man. (This came up in our discussion briefly). We know that Jesus is God, and so we sometimes forget that there was this time in history when Jesus was simply a man – though still the son of God.
Our Gospel reading tells the story of Jesus going to Peter’s place. Peter’s mother-in-law was sick and Jesus healed her. That evening word must have spread because the sick from everywhere landed at Peter’s place and Jesus healed them.
Here is the thing to ponder. Though he was God, Jesus became, for a while, “a little lower than the angels”.... he gave up his God-ness and became human. Jesus was fully man and the power of God was only accessed through his union with the father and the Holy Spirit through prayer. Remember, all those encounters of healing where Jesus first prayed? Also, remember how the Spirit came and rested on him when he was baptised in the Jordan River and then led him into the desert? It was Jesus the fully human man who healed the sick and raised the dead. What are the implications for us?
What? You want me to tell you? Okay.
The life of Jesus is the perfect life. We are not be able to live a perfect Christian life because we are simply not perfect, but we can do a lot more than we currently are.
Jesus showed us how all things are possible, but they are only possible by a relationship of unity with God – a one-ness with the father and reliance on the Holy Spirit. It isn’t actually hard. It is impossible.... but with God all things are possible! Sorry for the contradictions, but what I’m saying is that we have been given the gifts and power to live this life. Why are we settling for less? The Holy Spirit was sent on the day of Pentecost, not just because a bunch of disciples were sad and needing encouraging.... but to empower them to do just what Jesus did. Do you think we need that empowering any less today?
We know that we need to be led by God, to be so in sync with him that we know what he wants us to do at any given moment.... and to have the correct words to say when questioned about our faith, but we don’t tend to be where we spiritually should be. The Holy Spirit’s job is to lead, to teach, to comfort. We have the Spirit.... so what else are we missing?
Mark 1:35-37 “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!””
Although Jesus never seemed to get a lot of rest, we do read many accounts that testify to his going to a solitary place to pray. I tend to think that this is recorded so that we know how important it is.
Prayer is our communication with God. This week I spoke with a friend and we both acknowledged that praying has become hard. We no longer feel we know what to pray.... often it feels like God is doing his own thing regardless of what we want. I guess there is a little frustration that we both feel with the events in our lives. (maybe a little more than a little frustration!)
I mentioned to my friend that I’ve recently been reminded of the Holy Spirit. You see, when we do not know what to pray, the Spirit prays for us. Most importantly, we had both forgotten that an important aspect of prayer is not just to tell God what we want, but to also give him a chance to tell us what he wants. How often have we prayed with this intent?
One of the most important prayers of Jesus is the one where he begs the father to take “the cup” from him. And then he ends with, “but your will be done, not mine”.
“The cup” – Jesus suffering and death on the cross, was not taken from him. His prayer was answered with a cruel “No”. The prayer, “your will be done” was answered.
This is the feeling that those of us with disappointments carry. God has a plan and sometimes we simply can’t accept it. The difference between us and Jesus is that we refuse to say, “your will be done”. It isn’t easy to do.... it is impossible.
How can we say, “your will be done” when we really don’t want it? If we are like this and we do say it, thinking we will put all our effort into trying to feel it, we will simply wear out.... grow quickly weary and tired. We can only honestly say to God, “I know that you are God! You are God of the entire universe. God of Angels, humans and all living creatures. I don’t know how to open my heart to your will. Please send your Holy Spirit to lead me.”
In the light of these very human and common struggles we can understand the reading from Isaiah: (remember that Israel means, “He struggles with God”)
Isaiah 40:37-41 “Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God”?
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
Some translations of the reading from Isaiah have the word “Hope” as “wait”. I think if we put the two together we get an understanding that it is the relationship we have that God that enables us to “Hope and wait” and trust.
We are those whose hope is in the LORD. Sometimes we hurt too much to see the bigger picture and we need help to remember that God really does care infinitely about us and our concerns.
There is a song, “Ten thousand Angels cried”, and there is a part in this song that always catches in my throat... “when he asked the father, “why hast thou forsaken me.....” It is a line that echoes what we often feel, but the next line says, “they watched the saviour die of his own choice”. Because of his great love for us, Jesus, the son of God, was able to say, “Not my will but yours”. But as “Jesus the man”, the truth is more probably that it was because of his relationship with the father that he was able to submit to the father’s will.
St. Paul became all things to all people so that he could relate the Gospel to them effectively. His mission was to preach and in whatever manner, we are called to also proclaim the good news. There is so much more that we could be doing if only we were in closer unity with God and his will. Prayer brings us into unity with God. The Holy Spirit teaches us to pray.
It is a beautiful circle, because after Jesus prayed this was his resolution:
Mark 1:38,39 “Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.”
No comments:
Post a Comment