5 Epiphany, Year B

Isaiah 40: 21 - 31; Psalm 147: 1 -12, 21c; I Corinthians 9: 1 - 13; Mark 1: 29 - 39

A homily by Fr. Gene Tucker, given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, Illinois; Sunday, February 5, 2012 by Mr. Barney Bruce, Lay Worship Leader

 

“WHICH IS MOST IMPORTANT?”
(Homily text:  Mark 1: 29 - 39)

            (Introductory note:  Greetings, everyone, from Hillsdale, Michigan.  I am here to sing an Evensong for our former Bishop, Peter Beckwith, later on today.  I am deeply thankful for Barney’s leadership this morning as he leads service and delivers this homily to you.)

            Today’s gospel text follows immediately on last week’s reading.  There, we heard that Jesus taught in the synagogue in Capernahum, and there people marveled at His teaching, which had an authority that the scribes of His day didn’t have.  And then, a demon-possessed man confronted Him, identifying Jesus as the “Holy one of God”.

            Now the things that we heard last week are happening again this week:  Jesus is teaching.  He is casting out demons. 

            But He is also doing something new:  He is preaching the good news.  He is healing.  He is praying (alone).

            Now, the shape of Jesus’ earthly ministry has taken shape.  The things that He will do during His ministry are plain to see.  His ministry will consist of:

·         Miraculous healings
·         Casting out the forces of evil
·         Teaching
·         Preaching
·         Praying

            Now, let’s ask ourselves a question:  Of all of these things, which is the most important?

            I think we need to reflect on that question for a moment.    

            We often remember Jesus’ earthly ministry for the miracles and the healings that He did.

            We remember His victories over the demons and the forces of evil.

            We remember His teachings, especially some of the parables, like the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 29 – 37).

           We remember the times He went away to pray, alone.  (Hopefully, we will remember those times that He spent in prayer…for prayer is the necessary support for any ministry that God assigns to us.)

            We  remember His preaching, especially the sermons He gave like the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew, chapters five through seven).

            In order to determine which part of Jesus’ ministry that was the most important, we might analyze each of the things we’ve just listed from this perspective:

            Which part of His ministry has the most lasting effect?

            If we look at Jesus’ ministry from that angle, I think we have to conclude that Jesus’ preaching is the most important.

            In today’s reading, Jesus affirms this, as He says, “Let us go on to the next towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also, for that is why I came out.”  (Italics mine, of course)

            In fairness, I think we have to say that Jesus’ teaching is a close second to His preaching in terms of its importance.  After all, Jesus’ preaching as a strong teaching element to it.  (In fact, all preaching ought to have a strong teaching aspect.)

            Jesus’ preaching and teaching has the most lasting effect, for it is the transformation of the heart and soul which will last into eternity.

            As important as Jesus’ healings are, as important as Jesus’ exorcisms are, their effects will go away once the person healed or delivered passes from this life into the next.

            But the effects of a transformed heart and soul will last forever.

            So, we might ask ourselves, “Why did Jesus heal and why did He defeat the demons, then?”

            I think the answer is simply this:  Jesus’ miracles and His other mighty acts are all proof that the power of God is His power, also.  They are meant to affirm the origin of His preaching and His teaching.  That origin is God the Father.

            No sermon would be complete without asking ourselves the question, “How is this important to me?”

           As I reflect on that question, the following thoughts come to mind:

1.      Jesus is still in the business of mending broken hearts and saving lost souls: The arena in which Jesus’ activity takes place, ultimately, is the human heart.  Of course, God’s truth reaches us through our minds, quite often times. So Jesus’ preaching and teaching remains important for us to hear, to learn, and to apply to our lives.  Hearts are transformed in the process, as God’s truth passes through our minds and into our hearts.

2.      God is still concerned for our physical well-being:  The Lord still has the power to heal.  He still has the power to defeat the forces of evil, whose intent is to separate us from the love of God.  But remember that nothing can separate us from God’s love!  (See Romans 8: 28 – 39 if you need some confirmation of this truth.)  It’s important for us to remember that God the Father sent Jesus Christ into a world which was filled with pain, loss and heartbreak.  Jesus was not exempt from all of these things, for He suffered and died on a cross.  In the process, He was vulnerable to the deepest sort of pain and loss that the world can offer.  And yet, on Easter Sunday morning, He defeated all of those things.  But by entering this world, Jesus sanctifies the suffering of this world.  He takes it on His own self, and then defeats it, too.

3.      In the end, only our relationship to God through Christ will remain:  All of the experience of this world will pass away when our life in this world is done.  All of the pain, the disease, the loss, the heartbreak, will disappear.  God’s ultimate healing of body, mind and spirit will be complete at that time.  We will know God’s love completely and directly, as we see Him face-to-face.

            Thanks be to God, that loving God who sent His only-begotten Son to teach us, to proclaim God’s truth, to save us in this world, and to bring us to eternity with Him.

AMEN.