Last Sunday I did what I’m guessing many of you did. I went to church,
hurried home before the snow got too heavy, put on some comfortable
clothes and eventually cuddled up under a blanket on my couch with some
snacks to watch the Super Bowl. But it was a weird day. Of course
there was the crazy snow storm that locked us all in our homes and then
the tragic news about Mayor Collins and the awful car accident and heart
attack he suffered. But at the end of the day, even as the snow fell
we could all take a bit of a break and watch a great football game,
dazzling half time show and entertaining commercials. Well, sort of
entertaining.
Did you see that Nationwide commercial everyone is talking about? The commercial with the young boy talking about all of the things he did not experience because he died and the images of terrible things that can hurt children. I missed part of it because I was tucking my little ones into bed, but the part I missed I was quickly filled in on through social media. My Facebook and Twitter feeds were full of people fuming about this commercial. It really upset people, but not in the way I think the Nationwide people hoped. People were mad, people were saying they were going to switch insurance companies. Some people teased it but mostly people were just angry that they had to watch that. And, I get it. Yes, we should be aware of the tragedies that happen in the world and it is important to be incredibly cautious of the safety of little ones …but come on. Give us a break. We just wanted to be entertained, to laugh, to cheer, to get lost in a game, do we really need to be confronted with such terrible tragedy just so someone can try to sell us insurance?
As I read the Gospel reading for today and think about the world we live in, I feel like there are a lot of people out there that could just really use a break. In the passage from Mark Jesus starts off by healing Simon’s mother-in-law. And then everyone who is sick or possessed with demons is brought to Jesus. It says “the whole city was gathered around the door.” That is a lot of people looking for healing. And then Jesus gets up very early to get a break to pray and Simon and his friends come searching for him to tell him that everyone is looking for him. So Jesus says, let’s go. And off they go to proclaim and heal all around.
I’ve been thinking about all of those people, the ones gathered around the door, the ones hoping for healing. The ones who were sick, had diseases or demons. I’m thinking about their longing, their desperation. I mean, what did they know about Jesus at that point? He just rolls into town, heals a woman and suddenly the entire city is at his door, in need of healing. It sounds like there were a lot of people weighed down by the world… hurting, feeling the pain of being human, looking for a break.
I feel like I can see their faces, because I see them all around me. Let’s be honest, their faces are our faces. We too are in need of healing: weighed down by the world, hurting, feeling the pain of being human, looking for a break. We see the faces of these people when we turn on the news, when we look at our neighbor …when we look in the mirror. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could get a break? A break from the illnesses, sadness, harsh realities of life? Maybe even watch a football game without thinking about how fragile life is?
A couple of weeks ago a good friend of mine got difficult news. She had just completed what she hoped was her final surgery in her battle with breast cancer. She was done with her long run of chemo and relieved to be cancer-free. And then, there were spots …on her bones…it’s not over. For so many reasons this was devastating news. I have been thinking about her all the time. My heart feels heavy for her. It is like a black cloud, a heavy weight that just won’t go away. And for her the weight is much heavier, especially as she watches her very young children and loving husband deal with the news. Especially as she experiences the pain, contemplates the future and attempts to resume some kind of normalcy. And unfortunately I know that this is a story that you are familiar with in some way- either through your own experiences or the experiences of someone you care about. This life is not easy and we don’t need an insurance company to tell us. We are human, we suffer and the people we love suffer and it is hard. Sometimes we just need a break.
Jesus brings a break. If you think about the people that he healed, the rest of their stories, it is a break that he gives them. They are still human, they will suffer again, they will be ill again, they will wrestle demons again in many ways, and they will all die. But for a beautiful, miracle moment … they are whole and healed, they are touched by the divine.
But here we are, all these years later, reading these stories. Reading about people with illness, pain and suffering flocking to Jesus and being healed with a simple touch. We read this while we are surrounded by illness, pain and suffering and we too hope to find Jesus walking into town so we can crowd around his door and receive healing. But Jesus knew he wouldn’t get to every sick person, every hospital, every house, every pain. He knew and so he brought a kind of healing that is once and for all.
The beginning of Mark’s Gospel is full of these kinds of healing stories. Jesus is busy casting out demons and restoring people. Until he gets to Jerusalem and then it is about a different kind of healing and restoration. One that will be once and for all, for everyone, every where -even the ones who did not get to feel his touch while he walked from town to town. Jesus understands the human condition, the weight of it, the burdens we bear, and offers a kind of hope, peace and joy that is a lasting break from the pain.
Even though life is hard, even though it hurts, because of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, we can know that in the end, love wins. In the end we will be restored with God. Sometimes in life it can become difficult to see this. Everything feels so heavy. Sometimes we forget the Good News of the Gospel, the good news of Christ’s strong and enduring love.
Sometimes, we, even the ones who hear sermon after sermon and read chapter after chapter in the Bible- the ones who pray night after night. Sometimes we long for a break, we long for hope, we long for more faith.
In the reading from Isaiah, the people are also longing for hope, for faith, for a break from oppression, exile and wandering. And we hear these words, “Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?” When these words were spoken by the prophet Isaiah the people of Israel lived in exile. Babylon ruled them and they were powerful and to be feared. The people could see no way out. They were beginning to believe that Babylon’s rule would be everlasting, that Babylon was in control and not their God. And so God basically says “do you forget who I am? I am more powerful than Babylon or any of their Gods.” “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.”
Sometimes we need reminded of God’s power, sometimes we need to remember the hope of Christ. Sometimes we just need a break from the weight of the world. But don’t forget. Don’t forget that it is God that is everlasting. Let us remember what we have heard- in the books of the Old Testament, the Gospels and the witness of believers today. In Mark’s Gospel even the demons know who Jesus is. Let us then, remember and proclaim that in Christ we are restored.
I find that on these long winter days, when it is too cold or too snowy to be outside and life just seems a bit darker, it can be hard to find the light. But in those famous words of Isaiah we hear, “those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” So let us then come to the table, taste and see the healing presence of Jesus Christ, be renewed, restored and strengthened. Let us shed the weights that are heavy and, even if just for a moment, take a break in the strong and everlasting arms of Jesus.
Did you see that Nationwide commercial everyone is talking about? The commercial with the young boy talking about all of the things he did not experience because he died and the images of terrible things that can hurt children. I missed part of it because I was tucking my little ones into bed, but the part I missed I was quickly filled in on through social media. My Facebook and Twitter feeds were full of people fuming about this commercial. It really upset people, but not in the way I think the Nationwide people hoped. People were mad, people were saying they were going to switch insurance companies. Some people teased it but mostly people were just angry that they had to watch that. And, I get it. Yes, we should be aware of the tragedies that happen in the world and it is important to be incredibly cautious of the safety of little ones …but come on. Give us a break. We just wanted to be entertained, to laugh, to cheer, to get lost in a game, do we really need to be confronted with such terrible tragedy just so someone can try to sell us insurance?
As I read the Gospel reading for today and think about the world we live in, I feel like there are a lot of people out there that could just really use a break. In the passage from Mark Jesus starts off by healing Simon’s mother-in-law. And then everyone who is sick or possessed with demons is brought to Jesus. It says “the whole city was gathered around the door.” That is a lot of people looking for healing. And then Jesus gets up very early to get a break to pray and Simon and his friends come searching for him to tell him that everyone is looking for him. So Jesus says, let’s go. And off they go to proclaim and heal all around.
I’ve been thinking about all of those people, the ones gathered around the door, the ones hoping for healing. The ones who were sick, had diseases or demons. I’m thinking about their longing, their desperation. I mean, what did they know about Jesus at that point? He just rolls into town, heals a woman and suddenly the entire city is at his door, in need of healing. It sounds like there were a lot of people weighed down by the world… hurting, feeling the pain of being human, looking for a break.
I feel like I can see their faces, because I see them all around me. Let’s be honest, their faces are our faces. We too are in need of healing: weighed down by the world, hurting, feeling the pain of being human, looking for a break. We see the faces of these people when we turn on the news, when we look at our neighbor …when we look in the mirror. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could get a break? A break from the illnesses, sadness, harsh realities of life? Maybe even watch a football game without thinking about how fragile life is?
A couple of weeks ago a good friend of mine got difficult news. She had just completed what she hoped was her final surgery in her battle with breast cancer. She was done with her long run of chemo and relieved to be cancer-free. And then, there were spots …on her bones…it’s not over. For so many reasons this was devastating news. I have been thinking about her all the time. My heart feels heavy for her. It is like a black cloud, a heavy weight that just won’t go away. And for her the weight is much heavier, especially as she watches her very young children and loving husband deal with the news. Especially as she experiences the pain, contemplates the future and attempts to resume some kind of normalcy. And unfortunately I know that this is a story that you are familiar with in some way- either through your own experiences or the experiences of someone you care about. This life is not easy and we don’t need an insurance company to tell us. We are human, we suffer and the people we love suffer and it is hard. Sometimes we just need a break.
Jesus brings a break. If you think about the people that he healed, the rest of their stories, it is a break that he gives them. They are still human, they will suffer again, they will be ill again, they will wrestle demons again in many ways, and they will all die. But for a beautiful, miracle moment … they are whole and healed, they are touched by the divine.
But here we are, all these years later, reading these stories. Reading about people with illness, pain and suffering flocking to Jesus and being healed with a simple touch. We read this while we are surrounded by illness, pain and suffering and we too hope to find Jesus walking into town so we can crowd around his door and receive healing. But Jesus knew he wouldn’t get to every sick person, every hospital, every house, every pain. He knew and so he brought a kind of healing that is once and for all.
The beginning of Mark’s Gospel is full of these kinds of healing stories. Jesus is busy casting out demons and restoring people. Until he gets to Jerusalem and then it is about a different kind of healing and restoration. One that will be once and for all, for everyone, every where -even the ones who did not get to feel his touch while he walked from town to town. Jesus understands the human condition, the weight of it, the burdens we bear, and offers a kind of hope, peace and joy that is a lasting break from the pain.
Even though life is hard, even though it hurts, because of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, we can know that in the end, love wins. In the end we will be restored with God. Sometimes in life it can become difficult to see this. Everything feels so heavy. Sometimes we forget the Good News of the Gospel, the good news of Christ’s strong and enduring love.
Sometimes, we, even the ones who hear sermon after sermon and read chapter after chapter in the Bible- the ones who pray night after night. Sometimes we long for a break, we long for hope, we long for more faith.
In the reading from Isaiah, the people are also longing for hope, for faith, for a break from oppression, exile and wandering. And we hear these words, “Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?” When these words were spoken by the prophet Isaiah the people of Israel lived in exile. Babylon ruled them and they were powerful and to be feared. The people could see no way out. They were beginning to believe that Babylon’s rule would be everlasting, that Babylon was in control and not their God. And so God basically says “do you forget who I am? I am more powerful than Babylon or any of their Gods.” “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.”
Sometimes we need reminded of God’s power, sometimes we need to remember the hope of Christ. Sometimes we just need a break from the weight of the world. But don’t forget. Don’t forget that it is God that is everlasting. Let us remember what we have heard- in the books of the Old Testament, the Gospels and the witness of believers today. In Mark’s Gospel even the demons know who Jesus is. Let us then, remember and proclaim that in Christ we are restored.
I find that on these long winter days, when it is too cold or too snowy to be outside and life just seems a bit darker, it can be hard to find the light. But in those famous words of Isaiah we hear, “those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” So let us then come to the table, taste and see the healing presence of Jesus Christ, be renewed, restored and strengthened. Let us shed the weights that are heavy and, even if just for a moment, take a break in the strong and everlasting arms of Jesus.
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