St. George's Episcopal Church
Roseburg, Oregon
Fourth Sunday After Epiphany
29 January 2006
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St. George's Episcopal Church |
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Deuteronomy 18:15-20
Psalm 111:1-10
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
Mark 1:21-28
The Collect of the Day
From the Revised Common Lectionary as Adapted for Use by the Episcopal Church
and Authorized by the 74 th General Convention of the ECUSA
They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching – with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee. (Mark 1:21-28)
Authority is the Grounding of Faith in Action
The Rev. Bill Stroop, Ph.D., Rector
She came around the corner of the supermarket aisle. Short. Dirty. Sleep deprived. “You know, the problem? You know the problem! There just ain’t enuf to go around. They told me that they couldn’t give me nothin’, because there ain’t enough. I don’t know what to do. They was hurtin’ me and so I left, and I came, but now they can’t help me. That’s the problem! No one cares anymore. The gubment’s behind it ya know. Those men came back all screwed up, and got elected and here we are in this big mess. They tapped my phone, ya know. I don’t talk to nobody, ‘cause they’ll take it all away.” As she walked away she continued to mutter to the pickles and olives; she had a story to tell.
The Gospel of Mark begins almost like a conversation with a schizophrenic. “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” With that verse, the author of Mark jumps immediately into the story of Jesus’ ministry beginning with his baptism by John in the River Jordan. No background, no introduction, no birth story, no genealogy, no star in the sky, or magi.
“ And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.” Forty days later, Jesus walks out of the desert and proclaims “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in the good news.” He immediately calls four men to follow him. And “ just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him … And the unclean spirit … came out of him. They were all amazed … “What is this? A new teaching – with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”
Mark’s sense of urgency is compelling. If Mark came up to us in the supermarket today, his immediacy would be off putting. We might not get it. And he isn’t going to waste time with us either. If we don’t immediately get it, he’ll move on.
Mark told his hearers that we are to pay attention to Jesus. Jesus is teaching with a new authority, and we need to listen to him. Why? Because even the demons and unclean spirits know who he is: The Holy One of God. Listen to him, Mark pleads, as he shuffles down the supermarket aisle. And as he turns the corner, he immediately casts us another glance: “Did you get it? Come! Immediately! Follow him. The Kingdom of God has come near.”
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Supermarkets are full of all kinds of things. New foods, familiar items, lots of interesting people, and lots of information. The other day I was standing in the check out aisle and I came across the January 30 issue of the Weekly World News which proudly tells you that it is “The World’s Only Reliable Newspaper.” And the cover story was “Ten New Commandments Found.” The issue promised that they’ll change your life forever. And these commandments come to us from the modern day prophet, Herschel Moses, that the Weekly World News reported is a “modern day descendant of a Biblical patriarch.”
I thought I better take a serious look at this issue, given that our Old Testament text for today said that “ The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet.” Mr. Moses said that God came to him and caused his computer monitor to glow red. God’s voice came out of the computer speakers. The commandments were apparently typed by God’s fingers, and printed out at God’s command. The ten new commandments are:
And there you have it. Ten new commandments from a modern day descendent of a Biblical patriarch. New teaching? With authority?
Let’s go back to our Holy text for a moment. Mark tells us that almost immediately, Jesus’ fame began to spread throughout Galilee. And while we may not know whether Mark’s version of what happened is historically accurate, what we do know is that the teachings of Jesus – this new way of living life abundantly, caring for one’s neighbor, and loving God – spread rapidly; carried by voices of many disciples, including Paul, the author of our New Testament reading for today.
In speaking to the Corinthians about the issue of whether it was appropriate for Christians to eat foods that may have been offered in sacrifice to graven images in the many pagan temples that lined the streets of the city of Corinth, Paul stressed that Jesus is Lord over all things; he had power over even the food hat was sacrificed to idols. After all, meat offered to an idol is really not offered to a god, but to a block of wood or stone.
But the important thing for us in terms of coming to grips with the authority and importance of Jesus’ teaching is what Paul says next. He said that the problem is that not everybody has that knowledge or perception. There once was a time in this country when the early British settlers in Massachusetts realized that they couldn’t grow wheat, and had to grow corn. But to British aristocrats, corn was something fed to pigs. Such aristocratic people, saw corn and thought “pig food,” just like some Corinthian Christians saw idol meat and thought “pagan poison.”
Paul’s advice – born directly out of his understanding of the authoritative teaching of Jesus – was to do one’s best to avoid eating idol meat – not out of knowledge, but out of love. He knew there was nothing poisonous or defiling about eating meat, but as a compassionate and caring person, he didn’t want to do anything to cause a brother or sister to become confused, angry, or bewildered.
To me, that is what church is all about. It is taking our belief in God, and out understanding of Jesus’ teachings about God, and putting them into daily practice. It is a way of thinking about our neighbor and putting ourselves in our neighbor’s shoes. It is where belief and understanding of Jesus drives our faith, and our faith drives our lives.
Imagine what it would be like if instead of fighting over political positions, we put our passion into outdoing each other in love, as Paul also recommends. Instead of picking at each other over theological differences, we would put effort into picking up anyone who has stumbled and fallen. Instead of judging people who have different national, racial, political, cultural, or sexual identities, we would remember to remove the two-by-four from our own eye before we try to pick the splinter out of our neighbor’s eye. [1]
Paul tells us that knowledge can lead to arrogance, but that love can lead to compassionate attitudes and actions that build up the Body of Christ. By focusing on love, and the loving and caring teachings of Jesus, we can become a community in which all of us, with our different views, can in fact get along.
The way we can do this for one another within the church and in the greater community of Roseburg-Corinth is to build personal relationships across political and theological and cultural barriers. Understanding and trust are the keys to success. And a willingness to truly listen to people who differ from us, and hear what they say. In Corinth, this meant getting the meat-eaters to talk to the non-meat-eaters, and to develop ways of behaving toward one another that would not be offensive or confusing.
Today it means getting conservatives and liberals to talk to one another, so that an atmosphere of trust and accommodation will flow from the interpersonal relationships that develop. That means identifying shared Christian principles that reach beyond boundaries that we think might separate us. They might be simple things like seeking justice and working toward ending hunger, or providing need provisions to underprivileged school children.
This does not mean that we have to conform our lives to one another. Indeed to do so, would be to snub God’s creative genius in giving us such blessed diversity. But it means that we need to be unified in some basic core principles that we can all share.
And we can find those values when we take the time to be touched by Jesus. To hear his words, and immediately take them to heart. And when we do that, we will find ourselves grounded in deeply personal and enduring Christian principles and values.
So, come. Come immediately. Come to God’s table and partake of the Spirit that can enlighten and refresh, and teach us. And then act, and act with authority.
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The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet. This is what you requested of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said: “If I hear the voice of the LORD my God any more, or ever again see this great fire, I will die.” Then the LORD replied to me: “They are right in what they have said. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I command. Anyone who does not heed the words that the prophet shall speak in my name, I myself will hold accountable. But any prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, or who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded the prophet to speak--that prophet shall die.”
1 Praise the LORD!
I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart,
in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
2 Great are the works of the LORD,
studied by all who delight in them.
3 Full of honor and majesty is his work,
and his righteousness endures forever.
4 He has gained renown by his wonderful deeds;
the LORD is gracious and merciful.
5 He provides food for those who fear him;
he is ever mindful of his covenant.
6 He has shown his people the power of his works,
in giving them the heritage of the nations.
7 The works of his hands are faithful and just;
all his precepts are trustworthy.
8 They are established forever and ever,
to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
9 He sent redemption to his people;
he has commanded his covenant forever.
Holy and awesome is his name.
10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
all those who practice it have a good understanding.
His praise endures forever.
Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge; but anyone who loves God is known by him. Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “no idol in the world really exists,” and that “there is no God but one.” Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth--as in fact there are many gods and many lords-- yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge. Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. “Food will not bring us close to God.” We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if others see you, who possess knowledge, eating in the temple of an idol, might they not, since their conscience is weak, be encouraged to the point of eating food sacrificed to idols? So by your knowledge those weak believers for whom Christ died are destroyed. But when you thus sin against members of your family, and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall.
They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching – with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.
Almighty and everlasting God, you govern all things both in heaven and on earth: Mercifully hear the supplications of your people, and in our time grant us your peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
[1] Timothy F. Merrill. “Table Manners.” Homiletics 18(1):43, 2006.
The Mission of St. George’s Episcopal Church is to lead people to love Jesus, and, through worship and scripture, to become empowered as a servant body – to each other, to our community, and to the world. For information about St. George’s Episcopal Church and its life and mission, please contact us at 1024 Southeast Cass Avenue , Roseburg, OR 97470 or by phone at (541) 673-4048 or (541) 680-3465. Contact Bill by email at wgstroop@earthlink.net and visit our church at http://www.roseburgchurch.net |
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Copyright © 2006, William G. Stroop - All Rights Reserved.
26 January 2006
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