STRUGGLING?

 

Have you ever struggled when doing something? The first few times we do something, we struggle. It might be tying our shoes or riding our bikes without training wheels. At first, it’s difficult, but with practice we get better.

For some, it was throwing strikes, speaking in front of people or learning an instrument. We all struggle with doing things even if we have done them before. I still struggle when I write sermons.

I mention this because in our Gospel today (Mark 6:45-56), the apostles struggled against the wind as they rowed their boats across the sea. They had done this many, many times, but in this case, they struggled.

In this case, the Lord Jesus appeared. He came to them when they did not expect it. He joined them in their boat, and the wind stopped. They were able to continue rowing their boat.

Has God ever come to you in your struggles? Maybe God didn’t prevent you from falling off your bike or help you throw strikes. Maybe there are times when He has or will help you when you are having trouble understanding your Faith. Maybe you need help understanding your part in God’s Kingdom or your family. Maybe God comes to your parents when they struggle to provide for you or help you when you are having problems.

Like the apostles in the boat, God does come to us when we are not expecting it. When we struggle, we need to ask God for help. In fact, even when we are not struggling, we still need God’s help because God is the One who gives us the ability to make the difficult tasks seem easy. With that, let us pray.

Heavenly Father, from whom all fatherhood in heaven and earth is named: Bless these and all children, and give their parents the spirit of wisdom and love, so that the homes in which they grow up may be to them an image of Your Kingdom, and the care of their parents a likeness of Your love. We pray in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Walk with God

 

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. … My sermon is titled What’s Up? My focus is our Gospel (Mark 6:45-56). 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.

If you search the phrase What’s Up? on the web, you will discover a mental health app, a half dozen short-lived tv programs, a forgettable Lerner and Lowe musical, a song by 4 Non Blondes, and finally – and thankfully – an explanation of the phrase by a dictionary website. The phrase generally means to ask how one is doing. For instance, as in, "Hi, Chuck, what’s up?" "Nothing much." Furthermore, Merriam-Webster defines the phrase as “What is the reason for,” as in, “What's up with that?” or What is wrong with that? Therefore, I ask, what’s up with the disciples? What’s up with Jesus? What’s up with you? Now, to stay with the flow of Mark’s account, I will move back and forth between the disciples and Jesus.

First, what’s up with the disciples? If memory serves you well, you remember that several weeks ago I preached on the disciples crossing over to the other side after Jesus fed the crowds.[1] In this passage, Jesus makes his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side.[2] You may also remember that I said that in the gospel parallels, John complements the synoptic gospels. In the parallels of Matthew and Mark, Jesus feeds 5000 and then walks on water. We find the same in John. Yet, in John, after Jesus fed the thousands, we read, “Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.”[3]

Neither Mark nor Matthew mention this. So, several scholars have surmised that if thousands of people were about to make Jesus king, this might have had an impact on his disciples. I mean, think of it. If you were party to a team that was about to claim a championship … If you were on the ground floor of a company that was about to explode …. If you worked for a candidate who was on the verge of being elected … you could benefit. People’s view of you would change in the blink of an eye. They would come to you requesting favors. They may even reward you financially. It happens all the time.

So, what’s up with the disciples? Perhaps they too perceived that the people were about to crown Jesus king. Of course, Scripture is silent on the matter, but we do know that not only did the disciples argue which of them is the greatest, but two of them also petitioned Jesus for positions while the ten fumed about their forward approach.[4] The disciples were, after all, human. Sinfully human like you and me.

The reason Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd, was to avoid a contagious situation. The crowd in John has an insurrectionary aim for they were going to force Jesus to be king. At that point, John tells us that Jesus fled the scene, but in Mark, Jesus is in charge, and he does not flee. He remains steadfast and dismisses the crowds himself.

To ask what’s up with Jesus, we see that he just fed 5,000 men. The only other person to accomplish such a feat was Moses. And like the feeding of the people in Mark, the people in Exodus ate as much as they could.[5] This is a revelation, a renewal of Israel’s experience of God’s tender care for her in the desert. It was meant to evoke the question in the disciples’ minds – Who is this? – and to give them a deeper glimpse into the meaning of Jesus’ mission. But we see that they did not yet grasp the significance of the miracle of loaves.[6]

The second thing that Jesus does that compares him to Moses comes in v. 46: Jesus went up on the mountain to pray. This is a resumption of what Jesus intended to do when the apostles returned from their teaching mission in verses 30-31, before they were interrupted by the crowds. Now, Mark mentions Jesus at prayer three times. Here, as well as in chapter one when he rose very early in the morning, while it was still dark, and went to a desolate place to pray.[7] The last place is the Garden of Gethsemane.

In each case Jesus is at a defining point in his ministry, where the underlying question is: What is the true nature of his messiahship as willed by the Father? Here he has just done a miracle that reveals something essential about his messianic role, and is about to do another.[8] He spent most of the night in prayer, seeking to confirm his understanding of and total obedience to the Father’s will.

The mountain is privileged place for an encounter with God. It’s where Abraham took his son Isaac. It’s where the Psalmist cried aloud to the Lord, who answered … from his holy hill.[9] It is also where Moses first met God and later received His Law.[10] In Mark, key events took place on a mountain: the commissioning of the apostles, the Transfiguration, the teaching about the end times and the agony in Gethsemane.[11] So, at this point when we ask what’s up with Jesus, we see that like Abraham, Moses, the Psalmist and the Prophets, he was returning to his Father to confirm His identity and will.

And now, back to the disciples. When Jesus sent away his disciples, it was late evening, but when Mark returns to them rowing, it is three o’clock in the morning. Mark mentions that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them.[12] Other translations tell us that the disciples were straining at the oars, because the wind was against them or that they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves. But even against the wind, it is not likely that the disciples rowing took ten hours. They were not crossing the entire width or length of Lake Galilee, but only the northern portion of it.

In chapter four, Mark narrated that a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling.[13] Our passage today is not about the disciples facing a great storm, but more about their inability to make progress. And their inability to make progress extends far beyond rowing or running against the wind.

Bouncing back to Jesus, Mark tells us that Jesus was walking on the sea or the lake, not once but twice. What was Jesus’ purpose in walking across the sea? I mean, what’s up with that? Was it simply faster or easier? Or was he looking forward to seeing the looks on their faces when the found him already sitting on the other shore?

Folks, the purpose of Jesus walking on water had nothing to do with getting across the sea and everything to do with Mark’s audience. They lived in a culture where there were many claims about various figures’ divinity, and a common feature of having divine powers was the ability to walk on water. Egyptians believed that a god named Horus walked on water. The Greeks believed that Orion walked on water. Hence, Jesus walked on water because He had to walk on water, otherwise, it would have been difficult for the early Christians to insist that their god-man was as powerful as others.

The disciples were a superstitious bunch. They saw Jesus work miracles and expel unclean spirits from the possessed. They were given the authority to do similar things, and had their own experiences of healing and expelling unclean spirits. Yet despite all of this, as soon as they saw what they think might be a spirit on the water, they went into conniptions.[14]

The disciples saw a ghost, but Mark did not say it was Jesus’ ghost. As soon as Jesus identified himself the ghost theory disappeared and was replaced by amazement. Yet, Jesus took seriously their alarm and responded with appropriate assurance.

As soon as Jesus steps into the boat the sea becomes calm. They are astonished. But by this time the disciples should have gone beyond their instinctive astonishment to understand who Jesus was. They did not understand what happened during the feeding of the 5,000, and Jesus brought this up again in chapter eight.[15] He rebuked them for their failure to grasp the significance of his identity and mission. They saw the miraculous multiplication, and missed the deeper meaning of the event as a tangible expression of God’s love and care for his people. The same care was at work in the boat. And the message is clear for every Christian community today.

So, there we have it. We see what was up with Jesus and his disciples. Now, the question now is, What’s up with you? What grips your heart and mind when adversity strikes? Is it fear or panic?  While panic may seem like the most natural reaction, Jesus expected more from his disciples. He expects more from you and me.

In the First Letter of John we read, “Perfect love casts out fear.”[16] It was at Jesus' initiative that the disciples sailed across the lake, only to find themselves rowing against the wind. While Jesus was not with them in the boat, he watched for them in prayer. When he perceived their trouble, he came to them on the sea and startled them with his sudden appearance.

Does the Lord seem distant when trials or adversity come your way? The Lord keeps watch over us at all times, and especially in our moments of temptation and difficulty. Do you rely on the Lord for his strength and help? Jesus assures us that we have no need of fear if we trust in Him and in his great love for us. When calamities or trials threaten to overwhelm you, how do you respond? With faith and hope in God's love, care and presence with you?[17]

Think about that as I tell you this true story about Walter.[18] Walter Ciszek was a Polish-American missionary who went to Russia in 1940 to minister to people suffering persecution under the Communists. In case you don’t know it, there were more Christian martyrs in the 20^th century than any century in history.[19] A few months after his arrival, Ciszek was arrested as a spy and sent to Lubyanka Prison where he endured endless hours of interrogations and beatings. Worn down, he signed a false confession and was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor.

Ciszek was devastated. This was not what he intended when he set off for Russia. But in the midst of his depression, he had an epiphany. He wrote this in his book, He Leadeth Me: “I realized God’s will was not hidden “somewhere out there” but that the situations in which I found myself were His will for me. He wanted me to accept those situations as from His hands, to let go of the reins and place myself entirely at his disposal. He was asking of me an act of total trust, … a complete gift of self, nothing held back.”

Ciszek was freed from his anxiety and worry. He found opportunities to pray and worship secretly with the prisoners, something that brought him great joy. After his release, he ministered to people in a nearby Russian town. Finally, in 1963, the Soviets sent him back to the United States.

Friends, we will probably never have to live through the harsh conditions that Walter Ciszek faced, but we will all have to cope with various trials and difficulties. Some of you are enduring serious trials right now. If we try our best to surrender to God’s will, we will find his grace. Remember, surrendering doesn’t mean giving up, but allowing God to work out his purposes and plans for us to follow and trusting that He will bring something good from the situation, even when we – like the disciples – can’t see it. And that, my friends, is the secret to peace.

I ask you today to take some time and reflect on our Gospel passage again. Try to see how God was carrying out His mission through Jesus when he fed the thousands and calmed the disciples’ fears. Then, take some time to reflect upon the last time you experienced fear or anxiety and ask God to help you see how He has the power to nourish you and calm you with the presence of the Holy Spirit. When you do, may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep your minds and hearts in Christ Jesus, Amen.

---

[1] Mark 4:33ff.

[2] Mark 6:45; Matthew 14:22.

[3] John 6:15.

[4] Mark 9:33ff; 10:35ff and parallels.

[5] Exodus 16:18.

[6] Healy, 130.

[7] Mark 1:35; 14:32-42.

[8] Healy, 130.

[9] Psalm 3:4.

[10] Exodus 3:1; 19:3.

[11] Mark 3:13; 9:2; 13:3; 14:26.

[12] Mark 6:48.

[13] Mark 4:37.

[14] Cline, Austin. "Jesus Walks on Water: Faith During a Storm (Mark 6:45-52)." Learn Religions, Feb. 16, 2021, learnreligions.com/jesus-walks-on-water-faith-during-a-storm-248698.

[15] Mark 8:14-21.

[16] 1 John 4:18.

[17] https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/mark6v45.htm

[18] “Come, Follow Me: Surrendering to God’s Call and Will,” The Word Among Us, June 2021, 10-15.

[19] See Robert Royal’s Catholic Martyrs of the 20^th Century.

GOD FEEDS US

 

How much food can you eat? Have you ever eaten so much food that you say out loud, “I can’t eat another bite.” I’ve done that, but I have also returned to the table or the fridge not long after and grabbed another bite of turkey or stuffing or pie.

I mention that because in our Gospel today (Mark 6:30-44), Jesus provided enough food for people to eat that the leftovers filled 12 baskets. I am not surprised that God is generous. Are you? Well, you shouldn’t be. Look in your pantry and refrigerator and you will see how much food God provided for your family.

Of course, your parents earned money and they spent it on food at the grocery store or picked it from their garden, but the One who provides food for all living creatures is God. Jesus once said, “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them” (Matt 6:26). Psalm 147:9 reminds us that God “provides food for the animals, and for the young ravens when they call.”

Not only does God feed us with food, but also with His Word and Sacraments. Along with pastors, parents and people of faith, these are the means of grace that nourish our bodies and souls.

That said, we should always pray before and after eating our meals. At our table, we read from Portals of Prayer and pray. Here’s a good prayer to know: “Lord God, heavenly Father, bless us and these Your gifts which we receive from Your bountiful goodness, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” You may choose a different prayer, but whatever you say, thank God for all you have before you: food, family, friends and faith.

With that, let us pray. Heavenly Father, from whom all fatherhood in heaven and earth is named: Bless these and all children, and give their parents the spirit of wisdom and love, so that the homes in which they grow up may be to them an image of Your Kingdom, and the care of their parents a likeness of Your love. We pray in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Consuming Christ

 

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. My sermon title is Come Away, Compassion and Consume. My focus is our Gospel (Mark 6:30-44). 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.

Has anyone ever encouraged you to come away and rest? Has anyone ever asked you to come on a retreat? I know that some of you will be attending the LWML retreat this Fall. Perhaps you attended one for work or as a family or to enhance your spiritual life. Most districts within the Synod have a spiritual retreat house that is available for pastors’ conferences, confirmation classes, high school students or lay groups.

The word retreat refers to an act or process of withdrawing especially from what is difficult, dangerous or disagreeable. It comes to us from two Latin words: re meaning back and trahere meaning to draw. Retrahere meant to draw back, withdraw or call back. It is used commonly by military and religious circles.

After the apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they did and taught, he said to them, “’Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. So, they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.” (Mark 6:30-32)

The desolate place recalls the desert, a place of testing, but also a place of solitude and retreat from the world for spiritual intimacy with God. Jesus desired to give them the rest that God promised his people. We read in Deuteronomy, “When you go over the Jordan and live in the land that the Lor your God is giving you to inherit, and when he gives you rest from all your enemies around, so that you live in safety.” (Deuteronomy 12:10) God’s people commemorated that rest every Sabbath, as Hebrews reminds us, “There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest.” (Hebrews 4:9-11)

As Jesus’ popularity grew, his disciples had no time to rest. Like him, they were setting aside their personal concerns in order to minister to God’s people. We all know what it means to set aside personal concerns to minister to others. Those people may be our spouses, children or grandchildren, elderly parents or grandparents, customers or co-workers, students or soldiers. Yet, we are tempted to get caught up in the busyness of serving others that we repeatedly ignore the need for prayer, rest and stillness in God’s presence. When this happens, we substitute our own agenda for the Lord’s. Now, if Jesus, who was absolutely intimate with the Father needed to pray, and made time to pray, how much more do we need to heed his command and the words of Psalm 46:10: Be still and know that I am God.

Jesus called the Twelve to come away and rest with him because the first order of business of apostleship found in chapter three is to simply be with Him. We read, “He appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons.” (Mark 3:14-15) The words – “that they might be with him” – bear repeating. None of us – pastors, preachers, parents, police officers, public officials, teachers, coaches – can do Christian ministry apart from Jesus. Don’t believe me? Read John 15:1-8 or 1^st Peter 4:11. Even the prophet Isaiah knew this when he wrote, “They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:3) Before I move to my second point, compassion, ask yourself what keeps you from heeding Jesus’ words to be with him. … And so, we move from my first to my second point, compassion.

Compassion means a feeling of deep sympathy or sorrow for another stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate suffering. Compassionate people believe that victims should be treated with care, concern, warmth and love. Its origin is the Latin word, compassio, meaning to suffer with. As a child, when I got sick, my compassionate parents said, “I wish it were me instead of you.” They were willing to suffer with me in order that I should be well.

Turning to our passage, we see that the retreat Jesus planned for his apostles is sabotaged. Jesus, however, was not exasperated; rather, he was moved with compassion at the sight of the needy crowds. Mark gave us a glimpse into Jesus’ emotion, a deeply felt, gut reaction. Compassion or pity is one of the most distinct attributes of God. Isaiah, Hosea and the Psalmist remind us that God is compassionate to us even when we anger him.

Here, Jesus recognized the crowd as sheep without a shepherd, a phrase that indicated that they were vulnerable to predatory beasts and likely to wander away because they lacked leadership. Mark hints that Jesus is the Good Shepherd who fulfilled God’s promise to care for his people directly.

And so, rather than first feed them or heal them, he taught them. Today, how often do we think we know better than God and what comfort He should give us? Yet, He gives us His word and instruction knowing that is exactly what we need. Jesus’ teaching healed the crowd by liberating them from their captivity to evil. Earlier in Mark, we read how people marveled at his teaching, exclaiming that Jesus possessed a new teaching with such authority that even unclean spirits obeyed him. (Mark 1:27) At the same time, his teaching is feeding, since by proclaiming the good news of the kingdom Jesus satisfied their spiritual hunger.

Before I go to my third point, consume, consider how God has been compassionate to you. When you wandered away and made yourself vulnerable to predators, how did God protect you and prevent you from becoming a victim? Have you allowed God to satisfy your hunger with his teaching? Or do you think the world can satisfy you more deeply with leadership workshops, seminars, books and so forth? And so, we move from compassion to consume.

The word consume means to use economic goods. It also refers to an organism requiring complex organic compounds for food which it obtains by preying on other organisms or by eating particles of organic matter. Plants and animals do that to stay alive.

In economics, consume means one who uses up goods or articles, one who destroys the exchangeable value of a commodity by using it. A box of Pampers has a certain value. Once used, they have no value.

Pampers is a good example to illustrate the definition of economic consumption. Research what we consume nationally or worldwide, and you will discover that Americans spend $6.5 billion a year on greeting cards, $16 billion on jeans, $117 billion on beer, and $7.2 billion a year keeping baby bottoms dry. Annually, the world consumes 10 million tons of coffee, 5.7 trillion cigarettes, 194 million tons of fish, and 122 thousand tons of bread.

I list those products we consume to keep our bellies full and bottoms dry. How do we spend our time?  Annually, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its American Time Use Survey. It reveals that we spend most of our time working. We work full-time and part-time jobs throughout the week and on weekends. Apart from work, most of us spend time doing household activities such as housework, cooking, lawn care, or financial and other household management.

Nearly everyone is engaged in some sort of leisure activity, such as watching TV, socializing, or exercising. We spend three hours a day watching TV, an hour or two providing childcare, and about half an hour a day socializing. We spend no more than 10 minutes a day on religious and spiritual activities. There are many more statistics, but I want to focus on that last one because it relates to our gospel. We spend no more than 10 minutes a day on religious and spiritual activities.

The thousands who consumed the bread and fish that Jesus and his apostles provided also consumed a day listening to him teach them many things about the Kingdom of God. The Feeding of the Five Thousand is one of the most memorable events in Jesus’ public ministry. It is the only miracle attested in all four gospels. For Mark, this not only feeds people, it also reveals to them and us, Jesus’ identity and messianic mission. In contrast the opulent feast of Herod we heard last Sunday, which ended in a death, here Jesus feeds ordinary people with a very simple fare which leads to life.

We know that the people were in a deserted place and that the disciples begged Jesus to send them away to buy something to eat, and that he instructed them to give them something themselves, starting with the fish and bread. They responded with astonishment and sarcasm, to which Jesus simply instructed them to bring what little they have.

The groupings of hundreds and fifties on the green grass is no accidental detail but an allusion to the Good shepherd leading them to rich pastures and God feeding the Israelites in the wilderness. Jesus fed them with a new bread from heaven. The blessing and setting food before the people symbolized his hospitality, contrasted with his disciples’ desire to send them away.

Unlike the other miracles Jesus performed, this one passed silently and modestly. There was no exclamation of amazement and wonder. People simply ate and were satisfied. Just like the manna in the desert, there was more than enough here for everyone. As the Psalmist proclaimed, “You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.” (Ps 145:16) By providing abundantly for his people, Jesus took on the role of God himself. Feeding people with bread and fish with 12 leftover baskets was an outward sign of a physical feasting that God alone can satisfy the human heart.

The early Church recognized in the miracle of loaves a symbolic anticipation of the Eucharist when Jesus would share both word and food with his people. When God feeds his people, there is always more than enough to satisfy all. How could it be otherwise since the gift is God himself?

If what God gives us is himself in word and food, and there is always plenty to satisfy all, why is it then that we, 21^st century Americans, think that we can spend as little as 15 minutes a day in prayer, religious reading, Bible study and worship and expect to be satisfied or able to do pastoral ministry? Here’s a challenge for you to take upon yourself. Ask your elders, church officers and volunteers, your spouse and parents how much time they set aside for prayer, Bible reading, spiritual reading and worship. You will be shocked to hear how many of them express the desire to spend more time simply being with God, as I was when I asked them. Pastors who don’t pray?! Elders who don’t read the Bible daily?! Church leaders whose days don’t include devotional time?! This in a church where Martin Luther said, “I have so much to do that I shall have to spend the first three hours in prayer.”

Friends, you may not have Luther’s time to spend in prayer. I am not asking you to spend more time praying, but I don’t want you to check off prayer from your to-do list, like mowing the lawn, feeding the pets or preparing a grocery list. Rather, deepen your relationship with God.

You can find all sorts of ways to deepen your relationship with God. People are always posting and publishing two, four, six, eight, ten steps to reach that goal. I am going to suggest one way that has worked for centuries across all denominations: memorize and meditate. It’s how we learned our catechism as we prepared for confirmation and communion, and when many felt closest to God.

When we memorize anything and meditate on it, we excel. Whether we are learning the answers to a catechism, notes on a musical instrument, movements for an exercise or athletic play or how to repair an engine, appliance, a broken arm or a damaged heart, we will eventually excel at our craft. Likewise, we will deepen our relationship with God when we memorize and meditate on Scripture, the Creeds, your catechism, hymns, poems, prose or prayers. Spend a week on a praying over a particular passage. Seek the deeper meaning of a parable that inspires or irks you. Ponder the words of a poem or a prayer. Beginning today, we who intend to live eternally in God’s Kingdom can start by building the relationship with God that He desires for us. Jesus instructed his disciples: Give God what little you have. Ask and expect God to multiply your time and talent and make it part of his superabundant provision for the needs of his people, and when you do, may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

CHRISTIAN BRIDGES

 

How many different bridges did you cross today? This morning, I crossed two bridges over Raccoon Creek and the Ohio River to get here today. That does not count the number of overpasses on the interstate.

We have dozens of bridges in Beaver County. We even have a town that is named after a bridge company. Did you know that Ambridge was renamed after the American Bridge Company?

I mention bridges because in our Gospel today (Mark 6:14-29), we hear about John the Baptist. He is a bridge between the Old Testament and the New Testament. He is the one who connects what was said about Jesus by Moses and the Prophets to the people of Jesus’ time.

John the Baptist was in the wilderness preaching to people to turn from their sins and be baptized so that they could be ready to meet the Messiah, Jesus.

John also baptized Jesus. That was important because Jesus’ baptism made him one of us. He didn’t sin, but He wanted people to know that He was with us and one of us.

Have you ever thought that you could be a bridge? I don’t mean that cars or people are going to cross over you. I mean that you can introduce people to Jesus just like John the Baptist did. You can be a person who connects Jesus to people looking for Him. That would be a wonderful way to show how much you love Jesus.

With that, let us pray. Heavenly Father, from whom all fatherhood in heaven and earth is named: Bless these and all children, and give their parents the spirit of wisdom and love, so that the homes in which they grow up may be to them an image of Your Kingdom, and the care of their parents a likeness of Your love. We pray in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Jesus and John the Baptist

 

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. My sermon title is The Baptist, the Birthday Boy and the Venerable Bede, and my focus is our Gospel (Mark 6:14-29). 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.

As we age, most birthdays pass with little notice, save the obligatory greetings we post on social media sites. We may receive a funny card in the mail or a text or voicemail on our phones, but it’s more likely that people will not remember our birthdays.

You may remember what you did for your most recent birthday. If you’re like me, you probably have to look it up on your calendar. This year, we went to a new restaurant for dinner. There are ways to make your birthday much more memorable. Have a theme party. Whether yours is a poker party or picnic, or if everyone dresses like a hippy or wears Hawaiian shirts, Star Wars or Disco themed, your next birthday party can be memorable. Everything you need to know can be found on Pinterest.

Of course, nobody threw a party as memorable as the infamous Herod. The Gospel today describes how John the Baptist was victim of the corruption and arrogance of the government of Herod. He died without being judged by a tribunal, but during a banquet given by Herod with the great men of the kingdom.

The text gives much information about the time of the life of Jesus and how the powerful exercised power. From the beginning of the Gospel of Mark we see a situation of suspense. Mark wrote: “After John had been arrested, Jesus went into Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God!” In today’s Gospel, almost suddenly, we know that Herod had already killed John the Baptist. Therefore, we must ask ourselves: What will he do now with Jesus? Will he suffer the same destiny?

Rather than drawing up a balance of the opinions of the people and of Herod on Jesus, Mark asks another question: “Who is Jesus?” This last question grows throughout the Gospel until it receives a definitive response from the centurion at the foot of the Cross: “Truly, this man was the Son of God!”

Who is Jesus? Some associated Jesus with John the Baptist and Elijah. Others identified him with a Prophet, that is, with someone who spoke in the name of God, who had the courage to denounce the injustices of the powerful and who knew how to animate the hope of the little ones.

People tried to understand Jesus starting from the things that they themselves knew, believed and hoped. They tried to make him fit into familiar criteria of the Old Testament with its prophecies and its hopes, and of the Tradition of the Ancient, with their laws. But these criteria were not sufficient. Jesus could not fit in those criteria. He was much greater!

In verses 17-20, we come to the cause for the killing of John. Galilee, the land of Jesus, was governed by Herod Antipas, the son of King Herod, the Great, from the year 4 BC up to the year 39 after Christ. In all, 43 years! During the whole life time of Jesus, there had been no changes in the government of Galilee! Herod Antipas was the absolute Lord of everything; he listened to no one and did whatever he pleased! But the one who really commanded in Palestine from the year 63 BC was the Roman Empire. Herod, in order not to be removed from office, tried to please Rome in everything. He insisted above all, in an efficient administration which would provide income for the Roman Empire. The only thing that concerned or worried him was his security and promotion. This is why he repressed any type of subversion.

A writer of that time says that the reason for the imprisonment of John the Baptist was Herod’s fear of a popular revolt. Herod liked to be called benefactor of the people, but in reality, he was a tyrant. The denouncement of John against him was the drop which filled the cup, and John was thrown into prison.

We come to the plot of the murdering. The birthday feast with dancing and orgies was an environment in which alliances were plotted. It was attended by great court officials and important people from Galilee. Here, the murder of John the Baptist was plotted. John the Prophet was a living denouncement of this corrupt system. This is why he was eliminated under the pretext of a problem of personal vengeance. All this reveals the moral weakness of Herod. So much power accumulated in the hands of a man who did not control himself. Under the enthusiasm of the feast and of the wine, Herod swore lightly to give something to the young dancer. And superstitious as he was, he thought that he had to uphold his promise.

For Herod, the life of his subjects had no value. He used them as he wanted and decided what to do with them just as he decided where to place the chairs in his house. Mark gives an account of how things happened and lets the community draw the conclusions.

Tyrants and terrorists can learn lessons from the life of Herod, but what can we learn from the Baptist? In the 7^th century, the Venerable Bede, an English saint, wrote these words. “As forerunner of our Lord’s birth, preaching and death, the blessed John showed in his struggle a goodness worthy of the sight of heaven. In the words of Scripture: Though in the sight of men he suffered torments, his hope is full of immortality. We justly commemorate the day of his birth with a joyful celebration, a day which he himself made festive for us through his suffering and which he adorned with the crimson splendor of his own blood. We do rightly revere his memory with joyful hearts, for he stamped with the seal of martyrdom the testimony which he delivered on behalf of our Lord.

There is no doubt that blessed John suffered imprisonment and chains as a witness to our Redeemer, whose forerunner he was, and gave his life for him. His persecutor had demanded not that he should deny Christ, but only that he should keep silent about the truth. Nevertheless, he died for Christ. Does Christ not say: I am the truth? Therefore, because John shed his blood for the truth, he surely died for Christ.

Through his birth, preaching and baptizing, he bore witness to the coming birth, preaching and baptism of Christ, and by his own suffering he showed that Christ also would suffer.

Such was the quality and strength of the man who accepted the end of this present life by shedding his blood after the long imprisonment. He preached the freedom of heavenly peace yet was thrown into irons by ungodly men; he was locked away in the darkness of prison, though he came bearing witness to the Light of life and deserved to be called a bright and shining lamp by that Light itself, which is Christ. John was baptized in his own blood, though he had been privileged to baptize the Redeemer of the world, to hear the voice of the Father above him, and to see the grace of the Holy Spirit descending upon him. But to endure temporal agonies for the sake of the truth was not a heavy burden for such men as John; rather it was easily borne and even desirable, for he knew eternal joy would be his reward.

Since death was ever near at hand through the inescapable necessity of nature, such men considered it a blessing to embrace it and thus gain the reward of eternal life by acknowledging Christ’s name. Hence the apostle Paul rightly says: You have been granted the privilege not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for his sake. He tells us why it is Christ’s gift that his chosen ones should suffer for him: The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us.”

The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us. My friends, I repeat that line because when we stand for truth, we stand for Christ. When we set aside personal preferences and political parties, likes and dislikes, …, and stand simply for truth, for Christ and what he preached – repentance from sin and the Kingdom of God, we will suffer in the present, but will experience the glory of martyrdom, whether we are ostracized or shunned, disowned or unfriended, whether we die naturally or at the hands of unbelievers, we will experience the incomparable glory of which St. Paul wrote, and when we do, may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

A GOOD NEIGHBOR

 

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day for a neighbor. Would you be mine? Could you be mine? Do you know that song? It’s the theme song for Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.

What does it mean to be a good neighbor? It means that you pay your taxes and maintain your property. It means that you respect and are kind to the people who live around you. More than that, it means that you reach out to people and welcome them.

I mention that because when Jesus returned to his hometown, people did not respect him (Mark 6:1-13). They were not kind to him. They did not reach out to him or welcome him. They were not at all like Mr. Rogers, but then again, most people are not.

Lots of times people say negative words about their neighbors. That may be the reason that Martin Luther explained the Eighth Commandment in these words: We should fear and love God that we may not lie about, betray or slander our neighbor, but defend him, and think and speak well of him.

So, here’s a little experiment you might try this week. When someone is saying means words about another person, think about Mr. Rogers, Martin Luther and Jesus, and say the words that show your love for your neighbor. You can do it by memorizing this Bible verse, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31).

With that, let us pray. Heavenly Father, from whom all fatherhood in heaven and earth is named: Bless these and all children, and give their parents the spirit of wisdom and love, so that the homes in which they grow up may be to them an image of Your Kingdom, and the care of their parents a likeness of Your love. We pray in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.