Thursday, January 21, 2021

Three Questions

 

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. … My sermon consists of three questions, and my focus is Mark 1:15, where we read, “The Kingdom of God is at hand.” Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

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.[1] 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 aired 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[2] 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.[3]

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.[4] 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.’”[5]

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.[6] 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.[7] 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.”[8]

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.”[9] 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.’”[10]

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.



[1] http://www.wix.com/

[2] See my blog entry, “Better Than I Deserve.” http://bit.ly/1Cs9WUr

[3] James Voelz, Mark 1:1 – 8:26 St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House (2013), 41f.

[4] R. T. France, The Gospel of Mark: A Commentary on the Greek Text. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (2002), 4ff.

[5] Mark 1:14-15

[6] France, 28.

[7] http://www.lcms.org/page.aspx?pid=435

[8] Decision, p. 83.

[9] Matthew 5:4

[10] Mark Link, Challenge. Valencia, CA: Tabor Publishing (1988), p. 119.

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