In Jesus Holy Name January 25, 2009
Epiphany III Redeemer
Mark 1:14-15
“The Man from Nazareth in Galilee”
This has been a historic week in America. Millions of American filled the Capital Mall just to be present at the Inauguration of President Oboma. Millions more watched the event on television in homes and in classrooms. It was a peaceful transition of power.
I was just wondering… what do you think of Richard Johnson? What’s your estimation of the man? Was he good or bad, was he incompetent or a genius? And as long as we are on the subject: what do you think of George Dallas, or Cabell Breckinridge, or Schuyler Colfax? I’m really curious about how you would rank William Wheeler, Levi Morton, Charles Fairbanks, Alben Barkley, James Sherman, Henry Wilson, Garret Hobart and Elbridge Gerry.
Those of you who are masters of trivia, or live in the hometown of one of these men might have an opinion. Still I’m reasonably sure that most of you today are saying, “Who? Never heard of any of them.”
Now if all those names are nothing more than names to you, I’m not entirely surprised. I had not heard of them, either. But maybe I should have, especially since I was a history major in college. All of these men were vice-presidents of the United States. All of these men were a heart-beat away from the presidency: all of them were constitutionally next in line to be America’s leader.
These men were loved and hated, respected and reviled. When campaigning, kissing babies people were proud to have met them and bragged to their friends…. “I shook the hand of Vice President….
Greatness. If there is anything in the world which is here today and gone tomorrow it has to be greatness. Generals win their victories and heroes do deeds of great daring. They are welcomed home by beating drums and the fanfares of military brass. But soon their gallantry is forgotten. Politicians and statesmen shape and shake the world, but only for a passing moment. The click of the clock, the flip of the calendar, promise that pharaohs will be forgotten. Presidents and prime ministers will become dusty dates in unopened history books.
Greatness. Ask someone under 30 years of age to tell of the work of Alexander Fleming. They will be hard pressed to speak about a man who is responsible for many of them being alive. They can not imagine a time when the prick of a pin or a tiny cut might have been lethal. They will not remember the time when hospitals were places went to die from simple infections. When asked to describe himself, Alexander Fleming simply said: “I can only suppose that God wanted penicillin, and that was the reason for creating Alexander Fleming.” How enduring is greatness? How long with the honeymoon for the new President last?
Last week in our Sunday Gospel less we heard excitement in the words of Philip who was telling his friend Nathaniel… “we have found the Messiah, the one Moses told us about!” What Nathaniel’s response? Nazareth….you’ve got to be kidding, what good can come out of that town!”
In his mind, “great prophets” did not come out of the village of Nazareth… Nathaniel was not impressed. Philip said…come and see.
How does one begin to tell the story of Jesus Christ, the man from Nazareth in Galilee? Mark begins: “The beginning of the good news about Jesus Christ.” His words waste no time. Mark wants us to know that God himself, has entered our world.
The announcement that God exists is not the “good news.” Most people in most centuries have believed in the existence of God or gods. Human beings have built temples of marble and sacrificed to their gods. They have called upon their gods for victory in war, safety at sea, wisdom for leadership. Our new President began his first day at the Washington Cathedral. A prayer service; a time to worship, calling upon the Lord for wisdom and leadership.
For Mark, the “good news” means that God is in our midst in the person of Jesus. He deals with our most basic human need. The desire to have peace with God.
Mark tells us that after Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River, Herod, the king had John placed in prison. Herod, the son of Herod the great was having an affair with his brother’s wife. John walked the streets of Jerusalem and publicly called Herod to repent. Herod needed to silence that scolding voice.
It was not safe for Jesus in Jerusalem so he returns to Galilee and begins to proclaim the same “good news”… “repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand.”
What is the “good news”? The good news… God has planted his feet on earth in Jesus. Jesus explains it this way: “Listen to my words. You are striving for acceptance with God. Your hope for peace with God will find completion in my life.” It is time to repent for the kingdom of God is here.
The Apostle Paul explains the “good news” in words familiar to us…. “Jesus Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures. He was buried. He was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures. He appeared to Peter, the 12 disciples and others.”
This good news which Jesus proclaimed had to do with the “Kingdom of God”. This term, “kingdom of God”, sounds strange to our ears in the 21st century… we still use the phrase every time we pray: “Our Father who art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name, Thy kingdom come…” What does this mean? (Jesus in the Church’s Gospels by John Reumann)p. 11 & p 148
When Jesus told parables he often began: “the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven is like…. A mustard seed, or a farmer scattering grain.”
So what does the term “kingdom of God” mean? Is it something that men and women build? No. Others had said that the kingdom is a utopia that will come in some distant future a sort of heaven on earth. Pietism often saw the kingdom being present where certain rules of conduct or moral patterns were observed. Much of 19th century Protestantism talked about “building the kingdom of God, by doing this or that, a social gospel… like the “Great Society”.
When Jesus uses the term “kingdom of God” he does not mean a geographical kingdom like Great Britain or France. He does not mean a political organization set up for the purpose of government. Yet that was the very question the disciples asked Jesus after the resurrection. (read Acts 1:6-8)
For Jesus the term “kingdom of God” denotes kingship. God is king. His rule takes form in the world of time and space as his “good news” convicts the hearts of men and women and children of their ungodly behavior turning them back to the only true God and his commandments.
In our own order of Matins we sing the words of the Te Deum….”Jesus has opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.” By his cross and resurrection he has “overcome the sharpness of death” and he has “taken away Satan’s power to hold people in the grasp of the fear of death.” (Heb. 2:14-15) (John Ruemann Jesus in the Church’s Gospel p. 142,148)
The gospel of Matthew provides us with a little more information about the call of Jesus to repent. (read Matthew 4:12-17)
Darkness. It is impossible for most of us to understand real darkness. I’ve heard the story of one man who probably could have appreciated the dark. The man’s story begins on the West Coast. A cave had been discovered there and was awaiting investigation. Now, spelunkers will tell you that, although there is honor connected with exploring a cave for the first time, it is almost always a dangerous proposition. It should never ever be done by one person, especially if that person is inexperienced. (Illustration on Darkness from Rev. Ken Klaus Jan. 23, 2005)
In spite of the obvious dangers, one man, the man of our story, decided he wanted to capture all the glory, the accolades of seeing the interior of that cave for the first time. To that end, he bought a lamp, and a very large ball of heavy-duty twine. In a small back pack he, with forsight, put extra matches, fuel for his lantern, some food and a supply of water.
Without bothering to tell anyone of his intentions or whereabouts, the man set out. At the cave’s entrance, he lit his lamp and securely tied one end of the twine to a tree. As he took his first steps into the cave, he gave the twine a strong pull to make sure it held. It did. His light would show him the way in and out; and if for some unexpected reason the light failed, he could fall back on the twine lifeline.
The man, with eagerness, clambered over rocks and maneuvered through deep, damp, dark passageways. “safety first” was his motto, as he always made sure his path was made traceable by the twine. He squirmed, slipped, and struggled through the rock lined path.
Sometimes the passageway was so narrow, he had to remove his backpack, carrying it in one hand behind him, while his other hand held the lantern in front. In this way, he eventually reached a great, glittering cavern. He set down his lamp, his pack, his twine and, with his rock-hound’s hammer, began to gather specimens. Each discovery eclipsed in beauty by the next.
It was then, some how, some way, his lantern went out. Not slowly, but suddenly. The man found himself in the dark. This was darkness which he could touch. It was a darkness which wrapped itself around him. Knowing that his safety depended on retrieving the twine, and or getting the lantern going again, the man deliberately, then desperately, tried to find his way back. The matches could have helped, but they were in his pack. His pack was with the lantern and the twine.
The record of the man’s wandering was left in the dust of the cave’s floor. Back and forth he went. Retracing, repeating, retrying. In the dark, no record was made of the man’s thoughts, his despair, his depression, his discouragement, the absolute loneliness he must have felt as he wandered in the dark.
There was no one there to watch him when he finally sat down. There was no one there beside him when he died in the dark. Since no one knew where he had gone, no search parties were sent out. It was only by accident, when other explorers came to the cavern, that his corpse was recovered and brought home.
No doubt, many of you are saying…. Nobody would be that foolhardy. It can not be true. Maybe, I don’t know. But I do know that people die. People live in darkness. Most of all I know that darkness is not something that is to be desired. One of the first things God did, when He began the process of creation, was to dispel the darkness. Already in the first verses of the Bible, God’s command separated the light from darkness. God saw that the light was good.
Light is good. Dark is bad. Because that is true, we’re told not to park our cars in dark corners of parking lots. We’re warned, things can happen in the dark. People, who design modern offices and public buildings, work very hard at minimizing dark places and shrubbery shrouded sections, where an evil doer might lurk. Large jewelry stores have complex alarm systems. When we leave our homes for an extended period of time, we’re told to get some timers for our home, that shut the lights of the house on and off.
Light is good. Dark is bad. It is easy for us to understand why a small child could be afraid of the dark, of the things that they believe are hiding in the closet, under the bed, or right around the corner. We adults understand when the little ones are reluctant to go into the dim, musty attic, or the dark, damp basement. We understand, because we don’t especially like going into those places, either. We, as adults, can be sympathetic when our children want to sleep with the lights on. Who knows what dangers, real or imagined, the darkness might hide?
Now if physical darkness is that frightening, how much more is spiritual darkness….seeking peace with God without knowing who or where a light might be. You know, and I know that there is a darkness in each human being. We’ve seen regular people, who in the grip of road rage, have used their cars like guided missiles, cursing and shouting at anyone who gets in their way.
We’ve seen wonderful loving parents go to a child’s basketball game, football game, a dance recital, an art contest, a science fair and become raving fanatics as they criticized the judges, referees and coaches.
I know you can watch daytime talk shows promoting the idea that there is an untapped well of goodness inside of you. They will tell you that you can change things if your follow this regimen or apply this program. Human kind has come up with many wonderful ideas, but no human invention can dispel the darkness of evil actions, the spiritual lostness.
The darkness in side each human being is what the Lord calls “sin.” And God who is light, in whom there is no darkness at all, hates the dark that is in each of us. Understand, He doesn’t hate you or me. He loves us. It’s the darkness within each of us that he can not stand. It’s the dark deeds that we do that keeps our souls uneasy before a righteous and holy God.
There are drugs on the market that altar moods and change attitudes, but none can dispel the darkness. Politicians can promise a chicken in every pot, a car in every garage, but none can take away the fear of standing before a holy and righteous God when we know the commandments we have broken.
Darkness is not the final word. There is light. The apostle John wrote: “Through Him all things were made…. In him was life and that life was light so that through Jesus all people might believe.” Jesus is the light.
Jesus, God’s sinless Son, was born into this world of darkness for the express purpose of saving you and me. When He was born in Bethlehem, the darkness of the world was not pleased by his arrival. King Herod sought to kill him. The people that Jesus grew up with tried to kill him. So did the religious scholars of the day. Satan tried to extinguish the light through various temptations. You and I have been tripped up by these temptations, but Jesus was not. Jesus took upon himself “the list of commandments that we have broken.” They were nailed to the cross and left there…. No wonder the sky turned to darkness when Jesus was on the cross.
Jesus did not stay dead. He rose from the grave. When we answer his call to “repent” and turn away from selfish behavior, placing our sins on Jesus at the cross, then Light floods our soul. People fear the darkness of death…. In Jesus that fear is dispelled by the light of eternity with God.
