Sunday, February 3, 2013

For I was sent for this purpose

Luke 4: 31-44, NT page 62 He went down to Capernaum, a city in Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbath. They were astounded at his teaching, because he spoke with authority. In the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, “Let us alone! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” When the demon had thrown him down before them, he came out of him without having done him any harm. They were all amazed and kept saying to one another, “What kind of utterance is this? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and out they come!” And a report about him began to reach every place in the region. After leaving the synagogue he entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked him about her. Then he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. Immediately she got up and began to serve them. As the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various kinds of diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on each of them and cured them. Demons also came out of many, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Messiah. At daybreak he departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowds were looking for him; and when they reached him, they wanted to prevent him from leaving them. But he said to them, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose.” So he continued proclaiming the message in the synagogues of Judea. Sermon Twice Life magazine named Emily Post one of the most important Americans of the 20th century. When I first read that fact in a book review of her biography I was shocked enough to keep reading, wondering how a woman known to the world as Miss Manners, notorious for instructing people in matters of writing thank-you notes and using the correct fork at a dinner table, deserved to grace a list with the likes of Albert Einstein, the Wright Brothers, and Henry Ford. The author of the book review goes on to tell the story of a German immigrant who, in the early days of the 20th century, attended a dinner party in New York City that Emily Post and her husband also attended. The German man, who had only a few years ago passed through the gates of Ellis Island to become an American citizen and made a name for himself as a successful businessman had become wealthy enough to qualify for the New York City aristocracy, but he used the wrong fork for the salad course, wiped his dirty hands on the table cloth, and finally, rather than excuse himself to blow his nose with a handkerchief like a civilized person, this man just used his left hand right at the dinner table. There is a way to deal with such people – you suffer through the evening the best you can, pretending to ignore the rougher edges of your guest, and then you never invite him to your house again. But what made Emily Post important is that she had a different idea. In her book, Etiquette: In Society, In Business, In Politics and at Home she wrote down the rules for how one should conduct himself, enabling every new immigrant to the United States to learn how to act like a proper American. How should you dress when invited to a wedding? What should you bring with you? And when you go to speak to the bride and groom, what should you say? The answer to these questions may not seem nearly so profound as developing the theory of relativity or inviting the airplane, but think about how the woman who wore white to your wedding was talked about – or imagine if someone left a pair of live chickens with the other wedding gifts. Or what about the man who compliments the bride by remarking how suited for childbearing she appears to be? These things have happened, because it was appropriate back in the old country so newcomers assumed it would be appropriate here; and rather than have them be left out from proper society because they didn’t know any better, Emily Post wrote a book so they could learn how to get back in. Before her there was no pamphlet new immigrants were handed telling them that the fork farthest from the table is the one you use first, and even though the table cloth is right there, it’s not for wiping your hands on. And in the same way, there was no sign on the synagogue door saying, “during the service, it’s inappropriate to shout out at the preacher” – everyone just knew those were the rules, and as for the people who broke the rules – they would not be invited back. Thank goodness he didn’t clap – then it might really have been over – but what this man did do was he broke a standard of proper behavior right there in the synagogue. However, when the unclean spirit that possessed him caused him to cry out with a loud voice, “Let us alone! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God,” Jesus was not offended. He did not call the ushers to escort the man out, and neither did he politely ignore him hoping that he would not be back next week. Instead Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” The second chapter of this Gospel lesson is not so different. “Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever” in a society where diseases weren’t treated, doctors weren’t called; instead people with diseases left their home until they could be sure that the disease was gone. Men and women who suffered from leprosy left home and lived in leper colonies, the sick could not re-enter society until a priest certified them clean. Just as bad manners meant not being invited back over for dinner, and an unclean spirit meant dismissal from the synagogue, when they asked Jesus about Simon’s mother-in-law’s fever they were probably asking whether or not she should leave. “Then he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. Immediately she got up and began to serve them.” “As the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various kinds of diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on each of them and cured them. Demons also came out of many, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Messiah.” They knew he was the Messiah, because whereas any human being would cast out the person from their home or their church after acting incorrectly or showing the signs of disease, the Messiah can see the difference between the person and the thing that afflicts them. He cast out demons to enable the outcasts of human society to come back in. He cured diseases so that those men and women sent to the borders of the community might come back home. And while we are often tempted to send away the whole person due to unacceptable behavior, unclean spirit, or disease, the Messiah casts out what afflicts them so that the person is not harmed. You see – he does not push away the man with the unclean spirit – he cleans the man of the unclean spirit. He does not push away the alcoholic – he casts out the alcoholism. It is not the addict that he turns away from – instead he embraces the addict and casts out his addiction. He does not turn away from the sick – but cures their disease. Embracing the prostitute as a child of God, he tells her to go and sin no more. He does not guard himself from the impure – but casts out the impure’s impurity. And if you suffer from any such thing there is no need to hide – for unlike the short-sighted who cast judgment on the afflicted, push those who weren’t trained for proper society back where they came from, and look down their nose at those who aren’t as accomplished at hiding their sin from the light of day – Christ did not come to condemn the world but to save it. He will not ever cast you out – for Christ is about the work of casting out your daemons and not you. It is not you who are unclean – and Christ will rid you of every affliction that threatens your purity. And while proper society – maybe all society for that matter – confuses the person with what afflicts him – Christ removes demons and illnesses alike as obstructions – for this is what he came to do – to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow anything that would separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Thanks be to God. Amen.

2 comments:

Jen E. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jen E. said...

Always comforting
Jen E