Small seed to mighty bush - Sermon on Mark 4:26-34 - 06.24.2018

Listen to the gospel and sermon here.

GOSPEL: Mark 4:26-34

[Jesus] said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground,27and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. 28The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. 29But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.”  30He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? 31It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; 32yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” 33With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; 34he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it?  In the 4th chapter of Mark, Jesus is in parable mode. He is fresh into his public ministry.  After resisting temptation in the wilderness, Jesus wastes no time taking to the streets to heal and teach.  The author of Mark’s gospel is eager to place Jesus in the public eye. Prior to today’s gospel reading Jesus has offered healings on multiple occasions, even on the Sabbath.  He has dined with sinners and driven out unclean spirits. His actions have ruffled the feathers of religious leaders. His own family even raises a stink and calls him out of his mind.

As baptised Christians reading back we can appreciate Jesus who heals the paralyzed, eats with the unclean and unwanted.  Jesus who speaks with authority and challenges authority. Jesus who embodies empathy and compassion for the least and the forgotten.  We know who Jesus is and what he is up to. We’re privy to the entire story. 

But for the crowds of Jesus’ day who gather around him, they flock with intrigue and curiosity, not really knowing what Jesus is all about.    They surround him with wonder and awe. And whether they’re supportive and empowered by this new radical, challenging, inclusive dude, or they are weary, hesitant, and fearful of his influence...they flock.  They gather. The surround him to see what’s going on.

In all of Jesus’ actions thus far he has shown what the kingdom of God looks like.  So the people have gathered, and now Jesus will use parables to teach them what life in God’s family looks like.   

With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it?  Jesus says, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how.  

The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.

Now I think it’s worth emphasizing that for the majority of the crowd that has gathered, the notion of God’s kingdom is not something of which they are well versed.  In fact, perhaps their best understanding of kingdom is limited to their experience with the roman empire and the jewish authorities. For them a kingdom was big and strong.  It was paved walkways with pillars, large stone structures. Rome’s kingdom was fortified and strong. It was wealth and status. It was militarized and political. 

And although the people surrounding Jesus may not have encountered Romans on a daily basis, they were certainly aware of Rome’s influence, persuasion, and power.  The kingdom, it would seem was impenetrable and solid. It was sturdy and stable. It was not to be messed with.

And so, in the shadow of this fierce empire, the kingdom of rule at the time, Jesus unsuspectingly comes from nowhere to stir up the crowds with intrigue.  And he proposes a different kingdom. 

This one, God’s kingdom…is like a seed.  Not just any seed. A small seed. The smallest seed, in fact.  For Jesus, God’s new kingdom would be a seed sown upon the ground….oh and when it grows….it would grow into the mightiest and greatest shrub of all shrubs.

For the longest time I had this child-like sentimental understanding of the mustard seed.  Jesus uses the mustard seed on several different occasions to talk about both faith and the kingdom.  And Growing up I remember children's’ sermons in which the pastor would show us the small seed in a jar and talk about how this tiny seed will grow into something mighty.  Something established and fruitful. As a kid I had no problem imagining such a transformation. And the connection to God working in the same was somewhat easy to see.

But as I’ve grown older something about this parable seems incredibly off.  In the shadow of the mighty kingdom that people are familiar with, Jesus proposes just about the exact opposite.  The mustard seed was far less than mighty, and Jesus implies that this tiny seed will yield a Kingdom...but the mustard seed doesn’t grow into a mighty tree like we might anticipate in Jesus’ parable.  No, the mustard seed yields a shrub. Albeit and impressive shrub. But a shrub none-the-less

I don’t know, but it feels a bit detrimental to Jesus’ point to pitch the kingdom of the almighty God as a tiny seed the grows into a mighty shrub, doesn’t it?

With what can we compare the kingdom of God?  So maybe Jesus’ illustration of the shrubby kingdom isn’t necessarily about its size and strength.  Perhaps there is something specific, unique, vital even about the mustard seed that teaches a valuable lesson about the Kingdom of God. 

What’s really interesting about the mustard seed isn’t necessarily its size, but its ability to grow.  The plant grows fast. Out of something small the plant quickly expands beyond its initial planting. The mustard plant grows rapidly and produces thousands more seeds.  And when those seeds hit the ground they germinate almost immediately. The mustard seed often spouts earlier than most seeds and requires less water than others. And something we don’t often know or think about is that in many countries the mustard plant is considered a weed.  Does that throw anyone off? The kingdom of God is like a tiny weed?

We experience weeds as a nuisance.   Ugly, relentless plants, vines, or greens that terrorize our gardens or yards.  Despite our every effort to rid ourselves of the weeds, they always seem to grow back.  Our experience with weeds make the idea of God’s kingdom being a weed a bit distasteful.

With what can we compare the kingdom of God? A small seed that grows into a weedy bush? I suspect that Jesus is actually very intentional in his usage of a mustard seed to describe the kingdom of God.

Much like a mustard seed, small and humbly planted, the breaking in of the Kingdom of God begins with Jesus.  God’s salvific plan planted among us in a tiny baby boy. 

And Much like a mustard seed, the kingdom of God will grow.  Quickly. Rapidly. It will spread. Like an invasive and relentless weed, the kingdom of God will grow.  It will grow into an impressive shrub that will produce a thousand more seeds just like it. Those too will grow.  Despite our every effort to impede the progress of the kingdom, it will grow.

As a new homeowner, I have the pleasure of mowing my own yard.  I recently got a lawn mower and about once a week I trek it around my yard to cut the grass.  I also pull out the weed eater and edge the driveway. Sometimes I even have pull climbing vines off the side of my house.  In the end it's some satisfying work. 

But what drives me crazy everytime is when I back the car out of my driveway, despite how beautiful my yard may look...I always notice the daggum weeds growing between the cracks of my concrete.  Between two poured concrete slabs...weeds find a way to break through. It’s obnoxious. Anybody know what I’m talking about?

What’s really remarkable about these weeds is not necessarily their ability to never die...or their perseverance to find the surface...but if left alone, these weeds have the power to put cracks in my driveway.  To unsettle my foundation. They can be incredibly disruptive. Seeking life even among, through, around, and in between the hardest and darkest places. Persevering through all adversity.

And if that’s true, them maybe it isn’t much of a stretch to think about the kingdom of God as a weed.  A kingdom that seeks life, especially among, through, around and in between the hardest of hearts and the darkest of places.  God’s kingdom that perseveres and not only survives but sets the mark for how every seed after it is to live.

Jesus isn’t naive and uninformed.  I think he knows good and well what he’s saying.  

The kingdom of God is completely contrary to the kingdom of his time.  The kingdom of God is not one of wealth, status and strength. 

It is one of humility, equality, equity, and love.  

The kingdom of God is not one of persuasion, deceitful influence, or personal ambition. 

It is on one community, equity, mutuality, support, and care.  

The kingdom is not fortified and impenetrable.  

It is humble, open, welcoming, inclusive, and empowering.  

The kingdom of God isn’t one that battles the earthy kingdoms toe to toe.  

No, God’s kingdom cracks the very foundations on which our earthly kingdoms rest.  Despite every effort to subdue it.

With what can we compare the kingdom of God?  A small, unsuspecting, mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, and most importantly, it offers life. Like the the birds of the air making their nests in its shade...the kingdom of God is one of life. 

And the good news my friends, is that it never stops growing.  God’s kingdom is invasive in the best way. 

It grows in all the places we wish it didn’t.  

It unsettles our foundation.  

It nudges us and makes us move.  

It calls us to speak out against earthy kingdoms.  

To fester in the cracks of powerful systems.  

To always be seeking life.  

Make no mistake, God’s kingdom is powerful...just not the same kind of power the world would have us to believe.   

It’s the power to choose love above all else.  God’s kingdom will find a way in. 

And it is always for the better.  

It does not, can not, and will not stop growing.  

Hard as we might try to stand in its way, build on top of it, divert it, rip it apart, or ignore it.  

Even on our darkest days as a humanity, the kingdom of God prevails.  

With what can we compare the kingdom of God?  

That’s something to think about today when you pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as is in heaven.”

Amen. 

What is your response to God’s blessing and promise? - Sermon Lent 2B

Listen to the gospel and sermon here.

Genesis 17:1-16

17When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. ²And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous.” ³Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him,

⁴“As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. ⁵No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations. ⁶I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.

⁷I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. ⁸And I will give to you, and to your offspring after you, the land where you are now an alien, all the land of Canaan, for a perpetual holding; and I will be their God.” ⁹God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. ¹⁰This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. ¹¹You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. ¹²Throughout your generations every male among you shall be circumcised when he is eight days old, including the slave born in your house and the one bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring. ¹³Both the slave born in your house and the one bought with your money must be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. ¹⁴Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”

¹⁵God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. ¹⁶I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.”

Mark 8:31-38

³¹Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. ³²He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ³³But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

³⁴He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ³⁵For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. ³⁶For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? ³⁷Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? ³⁸Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

What is your response to God’s blessing and promise?   As a disciple of Christ...as a member of the body of Christ...as a child of God blessed by God….what is our response?

Let me be clear, God has blessed us, in the waters God promises to rename us as a child of God, grafting us into the eternal promise of prosperity, and everlasting life through Jesus Christ.  God blesses us with unconditional love, promises grace upon grace, blesses us with forgiveness and mercy, promises life to all who believe.  So I was just curious, what is our response to God’s blessing and promise.

Perhaps it is more occasionally appropriate to ask, How is your relationship with God this Lenten season?  Have you found yourself at all challenged?  And as a result growing?  Has Lent challenged you to confront uncomfortable sins or temptations in your life?  Reevaluate the priorities of this world?  Or has Lent compelled you to confess that you’d rather not have your faith challenged during Lent?  Regardless, Lent is an appropriate season not only for introspection and self-examination, but more so for dwelling how God is or isn’t present in your life.   Lent is a good time to ask not only how is your relationship with God, but in what ways are you responding to the blessings and promises God has bestowed on us through Jesus Christ?  

I don’t mean to be so heavy this morning, but our texts are rich with responses to God’s blessing and promise.  And all of these questions and pressure points simmer down to our Spirit-empowered response to God’s blessing and promise.  Make no mistake...God has promised.  God has blessed and continues to bless. Therefore every aspect of our lives is a response to this promise and blessing.  

Enter Abram and Sarai in our story from Genesis this morning.   Abram and Sarai met God several chapters ago when God told Abram to “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.”  And with his wife, nephew, and servants, Abram went.  At seventy five-years old he went.  Destination unknown, but off they went because in that convestation God promises to bless Abram.  His initial response to God’s promised blessing was a faithful and fully God-dependent response.

This morning’s story happens almost 25 years later.  Abram and Sarai have wandered and waited, not so patiently, but they’ve waited.  Throughout their waiting they’ve had their struggles.  They often question God or force matters into their own hands.    

And so in today’s text Abram is all but convinced that he will die of old age before God’s promise is fulfilled.  His only son is illegitimate through his servant Hagar and at 90 and 99 years old, he and Sarai have no descendants.  So this morning God speaks a covenant to Abram and Sarai.  The covenant is one of land and descendants...an exceedingly fruitful and numeran nations.  From which a king shall come.  An everlasting covenant to be God to him and to his descendants after him.  In this covenant, as a sign of God’s promise, God gives Abram a new name.  Abraham, meaning “father of many.”  and to Sarai, Sarah, meaning princess.  Of course they go on to laugh at God and welcome their son Isaac a year later.  Isaac becomes the father of Jacob, and Jacob is later named Israel, the father of the 12 tribes.  The covenant fulfilled.

This is the blessing and promise given to Abraham and Sarah.  Despite their old age, faithful struggles, flawed choices in their wandering, God remains faithful to God’s promise.   Their response is admirable.  

In the gospel of Mark today Jesus begins to teach that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering and death so that he might rise three days later.   In this familiar passage Peter is less than happy with Jesus’ teaching and Peter rebukes Jesus.  Jesus, of course, calls Peter satan and instructs Peter to get behind him.  For Peter is setting his mind not on divine things, but on human things. 

As a disciple of Christ, it seemed completely asinine to Peter that Jesus, the supposed Messiah, would suffer and die.  

In his book, The book of God, Walter Wangerin describes the exchange from Peter’s perspective.  He writes,  “Jesus knelt down by the spring, cold from the earth.  He made a cup of his hands and scooped water.  Just before he started to drink, he said, “I will be killed in Jerusalem, and on the third day be raised--.”  … “I grabbed Jesus’ wrist and shouted, “No!” The water splashed from his hands.  “No, God won’t allow it!” I cried.”

Peter’s response is rash, abrupt, and angry.  Peter, despite all he has witnessed to this point is blinded by his own preconceptions of what God’s messiah can and can’t do.   Jesus’ teaching is not up-to-speed with Peter’s expectations.  Or rather, Peter’s expectations of God and the Messiah were selfish and uninformed.  For Peter, the death of his Messiah was about as improbable as a 90 year old and a 100 year old having a baby.

In this exchange Jesus is telling Peter, the disciples, and those around how he will fulfill God’s promise for a Messiah.  It is through the suffering, death, and resurrection of the Son of Man that the blessing and promise of God is made known to all the world.  It must and will happen.  Through the cross God will fulfill the covenant made to Abraham. 

Peter’s response is not a response of faithful discipleship but rather selfishness.  He was not prepared for, nor comfortable with having his faith challenged.  

We are a week and a half into the Lenten season.  About 10 days into a season of wandering with God.  Self-examination and assessment.  A season that challenges our response to God’s blessing and promise in uncomfortable ways.  And I think today’s texts are well-timed within our Lenten experience.  

How is your relationship with God this Lent?  What is your response to God’s blessing and promise?  

Do you experience God’s blessing and promise in a way that resembles Abraham and Sarah?  Willing to trust in God by faith that God will lead to the unknown destination.  And despite your flaws, temptations, and selfish ambitions along the way, do you recognize God’s continued presence.   Do you laugh with joy at God’s promises?  Not because they’re ridiculous but because only God can fulfill such joyous promises?  

Do you experience God’s blessing and promise in a way that resembles Peter?  Unwilling to hear and accept the call to discipleship?  Rebuke any challenge of your faith.  Prefer to focus on human desires and understandings rather than dare trust God’s ridiculous promise?    Perhaps you experience a bit of both.

In both of our stories this morning God speaks of a covenant, a promise that may sound ridiculous.  It may warrant laughter, or a rebuke.  But the truth of these stories is that their characters are forever changed by their encounter of God’s promise and blessing. These exchanges, these covenants forever shape the way they see and interact with God.  Despite their past understandings or immediate response they are changed through their experiences with God and the Son of man.  It affects how they see and hear...how they view the world...It affects, for better or worse, how they understand their faith in God.  Both characters this morning are in the midst of their own Lenten season...examining themselves and their faith in God.

Just like the characters of today’s scripture we might consider our own response in the face of God’s covenant.  Do you remember the covenant God made with you? 

“We give you thanks, O God, that through the water and the Holy Spirit you give your daughters and sons new birth, cleanse them from sin, and raise them to eternal life.  Sustain us with the gift of your Holy Spirit: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and fear of the lord, the spirit of joy in your presence, both no and forever.

Child of God, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever. 

Each and every day we are good to remember that God has has entered into the divine covenant of promise and blessing with each of us.  Baptism is that covenant.  In the waters we were chosen by God.   We enter into death like Christ and are raised with new life.  We are made new.  God makes a covenant with us too.  And as a mark of the covenant we are given a new name. ...child of God.  A new name that signifies a new relationship with our creator.  For all who have faith and believe in God, God extends the promise eternal life.  God blesses with unconditional love, promises grace upon grace, blesses us with forgiveness and mercy, promises life to all who believe.  We belong to God, and our new name is a calling….a calling to live every aspect of our God-given lives as a response to what God has done in Jesus Christ.  God has bestowed us with every good gift for the purpose of building up the kingdom of God. 

And like Abraham and Peter and all the saints before us, the covenant of baptism forever shapes the way we see and interact with God.  It affects and informs how we see and hear...how we view the world...It affects, for better or worse, how we understand our faith in God.  It empowers our response within the world.   And for 6 weeks in Lent we take an intentional assessment of this response.  We are invited to spend forty days examining the nature of our own covenant with God.

So friends, what is your response to God’s abundant promise and blessing?

Jesus speaks plainly to the crowd saying, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake=, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it!  For what will it profit them to to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?

Jesus demands an intimidating response of faith.  Jesus instructs that we are to give up our priorities and the priorities of this world.  In the covenant we are to be aligned with the will of God in the great commandments...love God and love neighbor.  For Jesus, a response to the covenant means praying thy kingdom come, thy will be done...and meaning it.  It means dining with outcast members of society.  It means denying the prosperity of the world by finding favor with the poor and lost.  It means acting against corrupt authority, challenging oppression systems, and restoring justice.  It means risking persecution or suffering for the sake of proclaiming the gospel.  

As a disciple of Christ is your response one that is set on human things or divine things?

As a member of the body of Christ is your response to pick up your cross and follow Jesus

And scary as it may seem, there is nothing we can do to escape the blessing and promise of God in our lives.

Make no mistake, this is the blessing and promise of God.  It’s not to say we won’t have out faults or flaws.  It doesn’t mean we won’t struggle with our new name and our new way of life.  After all the generations of Abram would endure great challenges...barrenness, loss of land slavery, exile…Peter would continue to struggle with his call to discipleship. 

So as you reflect and self-assess this season of Lent and beyond, may we remember this good news: Like Abraham and Peter and all the saints before us...God’s promise is not and never will be dependent on our own faithfulness...no matter what, the covenant will not be broken.  

So what is your response to God’s covenant?  At the very least, it is a gift from God.

So Now What!? - Epiphany 5B Sermon

Listen along here.

Mark 1:29-39

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.

So now what!?  Today’s text culminates in a “so now what” moment in Jesus’ ministry.  For 5 weeks we have acknowledged the Epiphany season, Epiphany as the manifestation of Jesus Christ the world.   We’ve heard story after story of Jesus being made known.  Starting with the journey and arrival of the wise men, continuing to Jesus’ baptism, the calling of the first disciples, performing his first healing and a second healing today.  

Along the way each Sunday in Epiphany has taught us a little more about who Jesus is, or even more so, who God is through Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ, the Emmanuel, a babe born in a manger is prophesied to be the savior of the Jewish people, God is one who acts in the silence of a night...one breathes life in the darkness of the world...who defies predictions and expectations...not because God needs to show us up or put us in our place, but because our understanding of the world is so misguided.  Jesus Christ is the incarnation of God.  A light made known to the world.

And if that wasn’t enough for the world Jesus steps out of the crowds to be baptize.  To walk side by side with penitent sinners.  The heavens are torn apart in the best way and God declares Jesus as God’s son, in whom God is well pleased.  God is one who welcomes the sinner and stranger, who offers repentance and forgiveness.

Jesus Christ the teacher, calling strangers from the comforts of their lives and challenging them to see a new thing.  To partake in a journey, not just a physical or emotional journey, but a journey of faith.  Calls them not to abandon their gifts and passions but to embrace their gifts and risk a new identity...and identity tied to Jesus.  God is one who seeks us out from the shore line, who calls us by name and bids us to come and follow.

Jesus Christ the healer, who acts with authority, restoring wholeness to the broken. God is one who restores body, mind, and Spirit….perhaps not always in the way or time that we desire or prefer, but we rest assured in the presence of Jesus that we will all one day be made whole.

These are the stories of Jesus being made known to the world.  Certainly they’re full or richness and depth and shine only a glimmer of light into the true incarnation and resurrection of Jesus that will be unveiled in the rest of Scripture.   But these 5 Sundays of Epiphany guide us to today, on this 5th Sunday of Epiphany where our text culminates with a “so now what?” confrontation between Jesus and the disciples.

Today’s story has three distinct segments.  The first is the healing of the mother-in-law.  Following last week’s story of Jesus healing a man with an unclean Spirit in the synagogue on the Sabbath today’s story continues, “As soon as they left the synagogue they entered the house of Simon and Andrew.”  

They immediately told Jesus about her being in bed with a fever and so Jesus goes to her, takes her by the hand, lifts her up, and she is healed.  This is a subtle yet significant continuation of the previous healing in the synagogue.  Both healings happen within a short time-span and both happen on the Sabbath.

If anything, this continued story tells us that Jesus’ healing power and authority has no boundary or limit.  One healing is in the synagogue, a holy space, a place of worship and Jesus heals a man demonized by an unclean Spirit.  One healing is more private, in a home, where Jesus heals a woman from illness.   In both situations Jesus restores them to wholeness regardless of context, setting, reason, or plea.

So now what?  Well as a result of Jesus’ unconditional healing the word spreads quickly.  By sun down the crowds press upon the house, bringing the sick and demon possessed, all waiting anxiously for Jesus to heal.   His ability to restore people to health and social wholeness is a sign of God’s power, and God-willing the whole town will come to be healed in one form or another.  

So now what?  In the final segment of today’s reading Jesus removes himself from the crowds early in the morning to a deserted place to pray.  In the midst of public recognition and miraculous healing...as people are finally beginning to see the power and authority of this Jesus of Nazareth, he removes himself to pray.  Prayer is next.  For Jesus, prayer is always next.  

And it’s there in the deserted, prayerful place, this small calm in the manifestation Epiphany storm that we witness this “so now what” conversation. For the disciples, who are early into their Jesus-following career they see Jesus’ power and authority as a great success.   The crowds swarming to see, hear, and experience Jesus is a good thing.  After all they didn’t fully know what they were signing up for beyond “come and follow.”

 So there short experience thus far of teaching and healing is by their understanding nothing short of a great success.  So the hunt for Jesus and find him in this deserted place.  “Everyone is searching for you!”  Come on back to the house.  We have a great thing going and let’s not lose momentum.  

The disciples were focused so intently on capitalizing on this opportunity.  Remaining in this one place with Jesus healing one person after another.  Remaining in the safety of success, comfort, and predictability.  For them, leaving wasn’t even a consideration.  Why walk away from a sure thing?!

So now what?  Jesus says, “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.”

It would be easy, comfortable, and certainly enticing to remain in one place.  To stay in the spot where their faith is most affirmed.  To lock Jesus in to this specific location where his ministry would become one of miracles and healings.  People from all over would travel see, hear, and witness Jesus in this place.  It could become their temple.  Some might call it putting Jesus in a box.  No need to travel, explore, encounter strange people and towns.  No need to risk hostility or face adversity.  No risk.  No unknowns.

Sometimes I fear this can become our mentality of discipleship.  Experiencing Jesus within these walls where it is perhaps most comfortable or safe.  Where the presence of God is most tangible and realized.  Surrounded by crowds of people hungry and eager to meet Jesus.  Where healing and wholeness and restoration take place.   We hope that word will spread and people will come from all over to experience Jesus in the precise same way.  It’s comfortable here in our traditions and routines...our liturgy and rites.  Why risk anything.  Why allow Jesus to leave this space.  Why would we ever ask “so now what?”  

Perhaps today’s biggest Epiphany lesson is that Jesus has come to not to remain in one place, structured and secure in one location, but that he has come to travel from town to town, to spread the gospel, seeking out the downtrodden, lost, lonely, and least.  Jesus has come to seek the unknown, venture into uncertainty and proclaim hope in darkness, face adversity, challenge authority, demonstrate love, witness to a new way of life.

And the scary part for the disciples and for us is that to be a disciple of Christ means to follow Jesus into the wilderness.  To leave comfort and certainty for discomfort and the unknown.  To travel town to town, job to job, school to school proclaiming the good news of Christ so all that might hear. All might come and see.

Worship for us is that early-morning deserted place of prayer.  That stillness in the early morning from a crowded world, seeking prayer with God.  The moment where we can discern with clarity and direction.  The location where we happen to all gather with God from our busy lives.  It is here in worship, in comfort and certainty that the “so now what” of our faith is challenged.

We confess that we have turned from God’s way to follow our own ways.  We have spoken or acted abruptly, hurt others, thought more about ourselves than others or less of ourselves than we ought....so now what… Christ says even when we have done wrong God makes us right.  Our sins are forgiven for the sake of Jesus Christ. Be free! That’s what

We hear the Word of God read aloud and psalms chanted...Word of God word of life... so now what...share the good news proclaimed. Let those with ears to hear listen and those with eyes to see see...thanks be to God.  That’s what.

In the night in which he was betrayed our Lord Jesus took bread and gave thanks….he again to the cup, gave thanks and gave to all….eat and drink all of you for the forgiveness of sins….so now what?  ….This is my body given for your, the blood of Christ shed for you...we who are many are one body fro we partake of the one bread...taste and see that the Lord is good! That is what.

The God of glory dwell in you richly, name you beloved, and shine brightly on your path; and the blessing of almighty God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be upon you and remain with you always...so now what?  Go in Peace to Love and serve the Lord!

Friends it is easy, comfortable, and certainly enticing to remain in this place.  To stay in the spot where their faith is most affirmed.  To lock Jesus in to this specific location.  To only experience Jesus right here in worship.   No need to travel, explore, encounter strange people and towns...no need to risk hostility or face adversity.  No risk.  No unknowns.

But the truth is, with Jesus, we’re called to so much more.  And the good news this day is that the comfort and certainty of worship will always give us the hope, strength, courage, and grace to follow Jesus into the unknown.  

Yes, in this place we are sure to meet Jesus safe and secure in this holy house, but with God’s power we are called to ventures of which we cannot see the endings, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  And God will always be with us on the journey.  God will always be ahead of us to calm the storm and shed light on the unknown.

And as baptized, called and claimed children of God, we gather here for worship, here at this early morning respite, and we are affirm that we are forgiven, nourished, restored, fed, and healed.  But soon this worship service will come to a close and we will be sent.  So then what?  

Amen.

© Pastor Daniel Locke, preached 02.04.2018 @ St. Mark's Lutheran, Jacksonville, FL