Preaching at Saint Mark's Church, Berkeley
The Fifth Sunday after Epiphany, 7 February 2021
“Called to…”
Isaiah 40:21-31
Psalm 147:1-12, 21c
I Corinthians 9:16-23
St. Mark 1:29-39
INI
Over the last few Sundays, we have been reviewing Jesus’ call to the disciples, both men and women who left everything and followed him. It is a remarkable thought to hear and invitation and to totally change one’s life and to follow someone that you know little about. If there is anything that this period in the Church’s Year is about it is Jesus’ teaching and Jesus’ call to us. In the middle of the year, in June, I will celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of my ordination, and I have noticed how, on FaceBook, my classmates are all remembering and pondering on their careers, their ministry, and their decisions to pursue such a call. It is, I think, a time for us as a people to think about how we have been called, and to what. For we are all in ministry, and in a priestly service of prayer and servanthood to both God and neighbor. Today’s readings offer some thoughts on what we might be called to be in our journey with one another and with Christ.
We are called to address the weak and faint-hearted.
We are living in a time when the circumstances that surround us have awakened old fears and perceptions that have shaken our view of life. People are wondering why this all is happening to them, and where God is in the midst of the crises of our time. Second Isaiah addresses the Israel that has been in exile, that has been taken from the land of its mothers and fathers. He addresses their fear and sadness. In the first reading he repeats the complaint that they have over against their God: “Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, ‘My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God’”? This Isaiah then goes on to seek and out and point out the evidence of God’s presence, and to rejoice in the salvation that God continues to offer.
He begins his evidence with his own question, “Have you not known, have you not heard?” Then he looks to our very surroundings themselves. He looks to the foundations of the earth, its peoples, the heavens, and death itself. Isaiah wants us to realize the power and might of God even in the midst of trouble and sorrow. How can we be God’s agents in the midst of these times?
Here is the clue: “(God) gives power to the faint and strengthens the powerless.” Here is the geography of our ministry – to those who are faint of heart, who feel no power or suasion in their lives. Do you know any such individuals? Do you pray for them or do you feed them with either faith or food? I am thinking of the lonely in lockdown, those who feel they’ve been forgotten by national leaders, those who are ill, or those who stand by while loved one’s die. These are the faint-hearted and powerless. And it is in our power to give them strength and courage by our witness of faith and presence.
We are called to see those who await God’s favor.
The psalm for today picks up on this same theme and promise, “The Lord lifts up the lowly.” I’m wondering how many people in this last year have learned how to pray again? I’m wondering how many have lifted up the lives of family, friends, and neighbors, and have asked God to aid and comfort them? I’m wondering how many have rediscovered the psalms, or meditation, or who have hungered for the Eucharist? If there is anything that I have learned to do in this time it is to wait. The psalmist blesses us: “But the Lord has pleasure in those who fear (God), in those who await (God’s) gracious favor.
Again, we might have a role, not only four ourselves but also for those who rely on us, or who look to us for strength, advice, or aid. The psalm has several verbs that might inspire us in our deeds: rebuilds, gathers, heals, binds up, lifts up, provides, has pleasure. All of those actions can be of aid to those who await God’s favor and can be of aid to ourselves as we wait on God. I am reminded of Göthe’s observation, “Zeit ist Gnade.” “Time is grace.” Waiting on God and waiting on others in need is not a punishment or a trial. It is an opportunity to honor God and serve our neighbor. Jesus redeems us for this.
We are called to make our lives a gateway for those who seek God.
The other day Arthur, my husband, made an aside to a relative, “You have the patience of Job!” “What’s Job?” was the reply. We need to realize that the Story with which we have been brought to faith is not known by many anymore. The characters and events of the Bible have little meaning or reference for man people today. Perhaps we can take some advice from Paul in the second lesson for today, “An obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel!” Recognizing his commission from God, Paul then goes on to assess his own life and manner of living in the light of that obligation.
We are in the midst of an argument about eating meat offered to idols – it was a big controversy in the Church at Corinth. Meat from temple sacrifices was offered at local markets for a low price. The conundrum was, if I as an economical consumer bought such low-priced meat and then prepared a meal using it, would all who ate of that meal participated in idol worship. Paul’s answer is interesting. He espouses the freedom we have in Christ (so it might be possible to eat such a meal and not participate) but understands the difficulty for someone new to the faith (so he would avoid such a meal). Paul sums it up with “I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some.”
The individualism and permissiveness of our culture finds this a difficult take on the situation. What Paul wants us to realize that we have to think through our freedoms always with those who are seeking God in our mind. What examples do we give? What model of life and living do we show? As we approach Lent, this might be a point of reflection for us. How does my life display the Good News of Jesus Christ?
We are called not to fear the demons.
What are the demons in your life – the viewpoints and understandings that make life difficult for you? In ancient times demons were both good (for the Greeks) and bad (for the Mesopotamians). In our time, demons have a decidedly negative aspect, and we assign to them difficult our troubling aspects of life. Unlike the Mesopotamians, these demons do not come from outside us, but rather a resident within us – our own self-understanding and recrimination.
Jesus, in the Gospel, confronts these troubles and dismisses them. Often in the Gospels, when we hear of being saved, it is healing that is really being talked about. The demons of life can be healed – this is the message that Jesus gives. That Jesus, who is deeply involved with human life (the incarnation, you see) sees the need to address both physical and spiritual health should be our concern as well. We are aware of the physical aspect of that demand in these days, but perhaps the spiritual part has evaded us. How many of our own personal demons could be exorcised by prayer, or conversation with a spiritual advisor? Our times seem to be calling us to despair, but our faith is calling us to not fear our demons. Christ saves us, heals us, so that we might be a similar agent to others.
Finally, the fact that you are hearing this in your homes, or reading it from a link, means that we do not need, for the time being, to be present in a holy place. We are in a holy place – the holy place of our lives – the lives given to us by God. The obligation to share the Good News can be met in our lives, in our work, in our life amidst others. May God grant us the power and the strength.
SDG
