Let us go on

Mark 1: 29-39, NT page 35 As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them. That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And 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. In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” He 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.” And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons. Sermon Some say that Simon’s mother-in-law is the first deacon, the first known officer in Christ’s church, because here in the Gospel of Mark after the fever left her, “she began to serve” the congregation assembled in her house. That is what church officer’s do. Our church has deacons and elders. Their names are listed in your bulletin on the back. The deacons are charged with caring for those members of our church who aren’t able to get here on Sunday mornings, and on days like today when we celebrate communion together, the deacons arrange that communion be brought to them. Elders do the same. And in this sanctuary it is the elders who serve you the communion bread and bring you the cup. Tomorrow night they’ll meet to discuss issues that face our congregation. They’ll vote tomorrow night on whether or not to pursue a new youth director, they also ensure that the grass gets cut and the budget makes sense, and I’ll bet that few of them knew how involved their work was going to be at the church when they were first asked to serve on the Session. I knew a Presbyterian Elder once, who told me that on the night he received a phone call asking him to serve as a church officer, he was so honored he couldn’t help but say yes. Then at the church service when he was installed he was moved to tears when all the past elders laid hands on him in front of the whole congregation, but then when he stood up and wiped his eyes a man handed him a toilet brush and said, “Congratulations. Now get to work.” “[Jesus] came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.” Can you believe that? It’s hard to believe, but what we expect to happen in the Gospel of Mark isn’t usually what happens. The woman raised from the dead immediately gets sent to the kitchen – and not only that, in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus isn’t the person we expect him to be either. He cured many who were sick after healing Simon’s mother-in-law. Cast out many demons, but “in the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.” It might not sound strange to hear that Jesus prayed. Of course he prayed. We could go into the nursery right now and every child there would be able to tell you that Jesus prayed – but here’s where our passage gets strange. While he was off praying “Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.”” Maybe you can imagine this happening. You didn’t know everyone was looking for you, but they were, and you didn’t know you were supposed to be someplace, but they were all expecting you to be, not off praying by yourself but healing their infirmities. Isn’t that what Jesus is supposed to do? Most people think so, and most people who busy themselves trying to be like Jesus listen out for people who need them and go rush right over to help. In my first year of ministry that’s what I did because that’s what I thought I was supposed to do. People would ask me to do things and I would do my best. Folks would invite me to go places and I would. And it’s probably true to say that everyone expects something just a little bit different out of their preacher, so not knowing what kind of preacher I was I’d just do my best to be the kind of preacher that each person expected me to be. After a few months of this my side started to itch. Then this rash developed and it didn’t go away so I went to see the doctor who looked it over and right away told me that I had a case of hives, and no question it was caused by stress. “Now you’re a preacher aren’t you Joe,” the doctor asked. “Yes I am I responded.” “Well, you need to do something to calm yourself down. Have you ever heard of prayer?” Now you ought to pray. You know that already I’m sure, because people have been telling you to do it your whole life, but how many will abandon that little time of prayer when the phone rings or the baby cries or someone else needs you? Here’s the thing about Jesus. He taught his disciples how to pray but he also showed them how – go off by yourself, and don’t wait until everything else is finished because it never will be. Don’t wait until all the poor people are provided for because you’ll always have the poor with you. If you wait until everyone who needs you is satisfied you’ll never be satisfied yourself – so go and pray. But the crowd is asking the disciples where he is, and that’s the thing about a crowd – our culture is telling you to draw a crowd, then satisfy them, but Jesus is always trying to escape. I told you he was different. He heals Simon Peter’s mother-in-law then asks her for something to eat. He draws a crowd, heals a few, then escapes off by himself. And when the disciples finally find him to heal the ones who remain unhealed he 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.” Here’s the thing about Jesus. He healed a lot of people, but there were so many more who were left waiting. He made a lot of people happy, but there were a whole lot more who wanted to kill him. And he was wholly God, the incarnate one who could walk on water, but he didn’t come here to teach us how to play a harp and float in the clouds with the angels – he came here to teach us how to be human. Some of you have been trying to do everything and have done none of it well. Maybe others have been trying to avoid everything and haven’t really lived. Then there are some who have been busy doing so many things, but none of those things are really very important in the grand scheme of things – so pay attention to what Jesus has to teach us here this morning – he saved Simon’s mother-in-law for the same reason he saved you – so you could get busy living. He disappointed his disciples to teach you that you’re never going to be able to make everyone happy, so take care to wait on the Lord. Christ had a voice and a message. It was his purpose to proclaim that message to as many people as he could, and in order to accomplish this purpose he had to prioritize his life. Do not lose direction. Do not be swayed by the crowd. Do not surrender to the anxiety of the ones who hunt for you, because you were born, not to be busy, but to mount up with wings like eagles, to run and not grow weary, to walk and not faint. Amen.