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The
surprising headline of an Associated Press story of May 7 last year was:
Jesus Christ Wants To Drive. From
Charleston,
WV, it was reported that Jesus Christ is hoping to
move to West Virginia, but he’s having trouble getting a driver’s license.
The man is described as a white-haired businessman who’s been using that
name for 15 years without a problem. He has a US passport, a Social Security
card and Washington driver’s license bearing the name Jesus Christ.
But he still falls short of
West Virginia title and license requirements, since his
Florida birth certificate
bears his original name. Plus, the man born as Peter Robert Phillips Jr.
still hasn’t gotten an official name change approved in Washington. A
District of Columbia judge denied the legal change two years ago, saying the
name could provoke “a violent reaction” or “significantly” offend people.
Jesus Christ’s attorney says the name change is an effort to express his
faith.
The agenda of the Jesus Christ of Washington,
DC, is to get a get a West Virginia driving license. The Jesus Christ of
Nazareth has an all together different Agenda.
Jesus’ Agenda is About
Action. Action, Reflection, Prayer and Action.
In the
first Chapter of Mark's Gospel,
we are introduced to Jesus as the Messiah, who comes with God’s approval,
who bears God’s power, and has lots to do. The introduction to this section
begins at
verse 14,
where, Mark tells us that Jesus comes to Galilee proclaiming, “The time is
fulfilled, and the kingdom of
God has
come near; repent, and believe in the good news”. We should see the entire
section that follows this declaration as an evocation of this description of
Jesus’ ministry.
In Mark we encounter a can-do, will-do Jesus.
Led into the desert to be tempted, Jesus resists the devil. Jesus bids
simple fishermen to come follow.
Jesus preaches better than the religious authoritarians of his day.
With words, Jesus
dismisses evil powers, Jesus brings healing and hope to the infirm and
inadequate.
So don’t say Jesus can’t drive;
He can!
Jesus drives into and out of trouble, driving past the traditionalists of
his day, driving into new territory with the
disciples following all the while. Jesus drives his enemies nuts. Mark wants
to be sure that we see from the very beginning that Jesus is huge! That
Jesus is someone unique, special, beyond anything the world has seen
- or would ever see.
Jesus in Action is in fact not just the focus of this Chapter,
but of the entire Gospel of Mark. Around Jesus
there is always in a frenzy of activity. To link together all these
activities of Jesus, Mark’s favorite words are “AND” and “IMMEDIATELY”! It
is quite breathless, as Jesus goes from place to place, from person to
person, offering love and hope and healing, before moving on to the next
situation, ready to start all over again.
Jesus’ Agenda Connects Worship
and Prayer to Serving
Others.
The incidents that are described in today’s passage begin on the Sabbath day,
where we left Jesus last week. After speaking in the synagogue and healing
the man there, Jesus moves on to Simon’s house, where Simon’s mother-in-law
is restored to health. And
then later that same day, Jesus has time for the
crowds who come in the evening seeking a blessing and finally, very, early
the following morning, Jesus retires to a deserted place to pray.
Jesus embodies life-over-death love and Jesus
shares this life-over-death love with deep and lasting compassion. In doing
this, Jesus brings hope and healing, restoration
and redemption to those who face life’s struggles. Jesus’ love, Jesus’
compassion, Jesus’ understanding, Jesus’ hope, Jesus’ healing, Jesus’
restoration, Jesus’ redemption; all hallmarks of
the Kingdom of God which Jesus comes proclaiming and inaugurating.
It is because this is Jesus’ Agenda still - that we worship Jesus –
still. Its why we read about and listen and pay attention to Jesus -
still, why we seek to live the lifestyle that Jesus commends -
still. It is because this is Jesus’ Agenda that we name Jesus Good
Shepherd, Daily Bread, our Hope, our Savior, our Friend, our Redeemer, our
Lord.
Today in two special ways, we point people to
Jesus and Jesus’ Agenda. By sharing in the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper,
we point not to what we do or could do for people.
We point only to Jesus Christ and all the gifts
and promise of the divine love. In our Service of Wholeness, we point
each other to the wholeness that can be and is found in Jesus Christ alone.
Sure, at Northminster we offer programs and activities, opportunities to
grow and learn and fellowship and serve. But beyond these things lies Jesus’
Agenda, which we are called to embrace and make
our own. All that we do is motivated by the aim and purpose of helping each
other grow in our faith and experience of the God who claims us in Jesus
Christ.
Jesus’ Agenda Calls Us
to Serve Others
One possible translation of
Mark 1:31
is this one, “Then the fever left Peter’s mother-in-law and she began to
minister to them.” When we encounter Jesus, we are
raised up... not just so that we can be better,
but in order that we can then minister to others. Jesus never calls us to a
faith like taking a lifelong dip in a hot tub.
Jesus would rather see us scrubbing and mopping the floor than
luxuriating in our own Jesus hug!
Prayer
In
verses 29 and 30
we see a real degree of confusion and clash of purpose between the disciples
and Jesus. One minute Jesus is the center of attention, the whole city is at
his doorstep, and the next Jesus is nowhere to be found. His disciples are
mad at Him for disappearing so abruptly.
They hunt for Jesus asking themselves and Him what
on earth is going on. The disciples believe that having made such an impact,
Jesus needs to take some time to consolidate the ministry, to develop a base
of operations, to get the backing of influential people. But this is not
what Jesus sees. His agenda was not that of the
disciples. Jesus’ Agenda wasn’t necessarily the obvious one or the logical
one or the smart one. Jesus had His own plans to follow through on;
the plans God had for Him to follow. This is what Jesus gained as he took
time apart to pray. The awareness that there were
other people to meet, other places to preach, other needs to meet.
I would challenge all of you to give a higher priority to praying. As
we pray, we will better understand who we are
being asked to be as a church. As we pray, we will
discover gifts and strengths in each other. As we pray,
we will be more able to serve using the gifts God has given to us. As we
pray, we will be more able to give and keep on
giving.
None of us find praying easy; it takes an
attitude adjustment. But
we know how meaningful and powerful today’s Service of Wholeness will be
because we really focus our prayers.
So let’s allow God to work in us as we open
ourselves to God through our praying.
Maybe you have heard the following prayer. I would
suggest that it can help us be encouraged to pray knowing that as we do so
Jesus’ Agenda will become more and more obvious in our lives individually
and corporately:
I asked God for strength that I might achieve,
I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked for health that I might do greater things,
I was given infirmity that I might do better things.
I asked for riches that I might be happy,
I was given poverty that I might be wise.
I asked for power that I might have the praise of men,
I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things that I might enjoy life,
I was given life that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing that I asked for,
but everything I hoped for.
Almost despite myself,
my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am, among all men,
most richly blessed.
No, Jesus Christ of DC cannot get a driver’s license. But, yes, Jesus Christ
of Nazareth has come to bring life, life in all its fullness. This is our
Jesus, the Jesus who holds us and loves us, the Jesus we seek to follow and
serve. In this Jesus, our theology begins
and is rooted. In this Jesus we discover our hope for today and for all
time.
Jesus’ Agenda is the one that we need to always be working on. Amen. |
