Brett Favre’s Butcher Shop? Emmitt Smith’s
Dance Studio? Larry Allen’s Towing Service? Terrell Owen’s Humble Pies? Brilliant
ideas for Superbowl commercials created by Wix, the website builder.[i] The best? Franco Harris’
Immaculate Wedding Receptions. Who else would brides choose to plan wedding
receptions than one famous for the Immaculate Reception?
When Wix’s clever commercials air Superbowl
Sunday featuring former footballers getting on with their life’s work, you may
ask, “Who are these people? What are they doing? Why should that matter to me?”
Anticipating your questions, I ask them
as they relate to our Gospel. Who are these people? What are they doing? Why should
that matter to me?
First, who are these people? Our passage
mentions John the Baptist, Jesus, Simon, Andrew, James, John and Zebedee. I
covered John last month[ii] and Mark mentioned Zebedee
only as a reference. Hence, I focus on Jesus and his four disciples.
Who was Jesus? We know him by numerous
titles – Lord, Son of Man, Son of David, Lamb of God, Rabbi et cetera. Based on verse one, Mark
preferred Christ, the Son of God. Yet, titles are not enough to portray a
person. As quarterback, running back, receiver or lineman tell us only so much
about the aforementioned footballers, Mark needed more to complete his portrait
of Jesus.
Mark portrayed Jesus differently than
other evangelists. In fact, he complicated Jesus’ identity by offering six
portrayals: (1) man of authority, (2) man of power, (3) someone feared, (4)
someone divine, (5) someone human and (6) someone odd.[iii]
Unlike other ancient biographers, Mark aroused
feelings in readers’ minds and hearts with his style and content. He showed
Jesus, through his deeds, words and suffering as a man making his way through an
anxious world of humans and demons.[iv] While there was no doubt Jesus
was the hero of the story, Mark portrayed him as an unrecognized, rejected,
humiliated, disappointed individual, deserted by his closest allies and
victimized by a hostile environment. … So,
who was Jesus? The answer can fill libraries. Personally, Jesus is my Lord and
Master.
What was Jesus doing? Our Gospel opens, “After
John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and
saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe
in the gospel.’”[v]
Clearly, Jesus proclaimed the gospel of
God. He began his ministry in Galilee after John the Baptist, who also
attempted to reform Judaism, was arrested. Why did Jesus go to Galilee after
Herod, who ruled there, arrested and beheaded John? Was Jesus naïve? Was he
challenging Herod by moving into his territory? On the other hand, did Jesus simply
realize he would reach more people in Galilee than Nazareth?
Jesus’ first message, “The
time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the
gospel,” summarized the first chapter. It was also the most basic
statement of Christian faith – repent and believe in the gospel.
So, what was Jesus doing? Calling people
to repent and believe – to live now as they would in the Kingdom of God. Jesus
saw the reign of God in his lifetime, and when others responded to his message
and recognized God ruled their lives, he formed a community. Jesus needed and called
disciples.
To ask who Jesus was, and what he was
doing means I must ask who his disciples were. Mark knew that he not only
needed to tell the personal story of a prophet from Nazareth but also needed to
inspire others to play their proper part in the movement Jesus founded. So,
when we discuss Jesus in Mark, we not only discuss Christology – the study of
the Christ, but also discipleship – what it means to accompany him as disciple.
The disciples were a central element in
Mark’s story; and discipleship is the proper outcome of a healthy Christology.[vi] In other words, if you are
going to talk about Jesus, you need to know and articulate why you are
following him.
In verses 16-20, Jesus called the core
of his disciples – Simon, Andrew, James and John. Unlike rabbis, Jesus did not
wait for disciples to come to him. He went to them. Unlike Greek scholars,
Jesus did not entice students with his reputation, but like Elijah, he called people
to leave their work and follow him.
Interestingly, Jesus did not call these
men to repent and believe, but recruited and trained them to become fishers of
men, a skill more difficult than fishing in the sea.
So, who were these disciples and what
were they doing? These were fishermen who left their jobs and families and
followed Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who called people to repent and believe
in the Gospel.
Before I answer my third question – why should
that matter to me? – I remind you that for centuries the Church set aside
specific days to remember persons and events significant in the proclamation of
the Gospel.[vii] The Lutheran Service
Book lists January 24th as the Feast of St. Timothy, January 25th
as the Conversion of St. Paul, and January 26th as the Feast of St.
Titus.
Ancient saints are not our only models
of faith. God called countless saints who left opportunities on the table to
serve Christ and His Kingdom. Here is an example of a man from St. Louis.
Thomas Dooley captured the imagination
of the world, when, fresh out of medical school and the navy, he went to
Southeast Asia to do medical work among the world’s poorest. This was
especially surprising because Dooley came from a wealthy family and enjoyed a
very good life.
Dooley said, “If people can be born with a desire, I guess mine was to have a good
time, and good times came easy in our home. There was plenty of money; I had my
own horse, went to school abroad, and studied to be a concert pianist.”[viii]
Dooley’s family was deeply religious. He
said, “We were the prayingest family you
ever saw. We prayed when we got up in the morning, when we sat down to eat,
when we finished eating, when we went to bed, and frequently in between.”
His favorite Scripture passage was “Blessed
are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.”[ix] Dooley reflected on this
verse after his ship picked up a thousand refugees drifting off the coast of
Vietnam. In the midst of his backbreaking job of helping these people, he
discovered that the simplest medical treatment brought smiles to pain-filled
faces. He also discovered that helping them made him happier than he had ever
been.
Dooley wrote that those who mourn are
not miserable, but simply more aware of sorrow than pleasure in our world. He
wrote, “If you are sensitive to sorrow
and try to alleviate it, you cannot help but be happy.”
If you are sensitive to sorrow and try
to alleviate it, you cannot help but be happy. Tom Dooley, like the apostles
Jesus called, was aware of God’s Kingdom and was ruled by it.
To get to my third question – Why should
that matter to me? – I ask – Why should it matter to you to know who Jesus was
and what he was doing? Why should it matter to you to know who Christ’s
disciples and Tom Dooley were and what they were doing?
It should matter to you only if you call
yourself Christian. It should matter to you only if Jesus is your Lord and Master.
It should matter to you only if one day you want to be in God’s Kingdom.
If you call yourself Christian, if Jesus
is your Lord and Master, and if you want to be in God’s Kingdom, it should
matter that you repent and believe in the gospel – for – like the people of
Nineveh – time is short. Death offers no 40-day notice. … That is why it
matters to us who Jesus was and what he did. He offers us what no one else can.
He offers eternal life. How will we respond?
Few people, like Tom Dooley, who have
money, respond to Christ’s call as he did. Few people, who have time, respond
as Dooley did. When we enjoy the comfort of money and the leisure of time, Satan
tempts us. So, I end with a story of three devils.
Three
student devils in hell were packing their bags. They were about to be beamed up
to earth for some on-the-job experience.
When
all was ready, they reported to their teacher for last-minute instructions. The
teacher asked them what strategy they decided to use to get people to sin.
The
first little devil said, “I will use the tried-and-true approach. I will tell
people, ‘There is no God, so sin up a storm and enjoy life.’” The teacher
nodded approvingly. Then, he turned to the second devil and asked, “What about
you?”
The
second little devil said, “I will use the contemporary approach. I will tell
people ‘There is no hell, so sin up a storm and enjoy life.” Again, the teacher
nodded approvingly. Then, he turned to the third devil and asked, “What about
you?”
The
third little devil said, “I will use a down-to-earth approach. I will simply tell
people, ‘There is no hurry, so sin up a storm and enjoy life.’”[x]
When you have time, you succumb to the
temptation that salvation will be there when you need it … later. When you have
time, you succumb to the temptation that the church will be there when you need
it … later. When you have time, you succumb to the temptation that you will be
there for others … later.
If you are not there now for others; if
you are not there now for the church; if you are not there now to respond to
Jesus’ call to repent and believe in the gospel, will you have time later?
The good news is that Christ offers salvation
here and now through Word and Sacrament. The good news is that our merciful
Father invites you into his kingdom now. The good news is that all you have to
do is accept God’s invitation – and live each moment guided by the Holy Spirit.
To paraphrase Dave
Ramsey, live like no one else so that – in the fullness of God’s Kingdom – you
can live like no one else. Accept God’s invitation, and may the peace of God
that surpasses all understanding keep your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.[xi] Amen. …
[i] http://www.wix.com/
[ii]
See my blog entry, “Better Than I Deserve.” http://bit.ly/1Cs9WUr
[iii]
James Voelz, Mark 1:1 – 8:26 St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House (2013), 41f.
[iv]
R. T. France, The Gospel of Mark: A Commentary on the Greek Text. Grand Rapids:
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (2002), 4ff.
[v]
Mark 1:14-15
[vi]
France, 28.
[vii] http://www.lcms.org/page.aspx?pid=435
[viii]
Decision, p. 83.
[ix]
Matthew 5:4
[x]
Mark Link, Challenge. Valencia, CA: Tabor Publishing (1988), p. 119.
[xi]
Philippians 4:7
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