Be Clean

Be Clean

Good News - Part 5

Sunday, February 4, 2024
Mark 1:40-45, 2:13-17

A man with a skin disease came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”  Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I am willing. Be made clean!”  Immediately the skin disease left him, and he was made clean. 

Mark 1:40-42 (NRSV)

Listen to this Week’s Sermon here:

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“If you are willing, you can make me clean.”

At first glance, I find two very interesting things about this simple line.  First, it is not actually a question.  The man with the skin disease, likely leprosy, does not directly request healing.  Perhaps he feels unworthy or afraid to ask, especially given his unclean status in society.  But whatever the reason, he only acknowledges his faith in Jesus’ ability to cleanse him. 

The second point is the issue of willingness.  Other translations say, “If you want to…”  In today’s prayerful language, we might say something like, “If it be your will…”  The man seems to be hedging his bets.  On one hand, he believes Jesus can heal him, but on the other hand, he’s not sure Jesus would even want to help.     

The writer says that Jesus was moved with pity or compassion and declares that he is willing and wanting to heal.  This is consistent with Jesus’ actions throughout the gospel, healing sometimes even without intentionally doing anything, such as when the healing power simply flowed out of him to the unknown woman who touched his cloak (Mark 5:28-30). 

Other Greek manuscripts, however, say that Jesus was moved with anger, or incensed, when he responded.  There is much scholarly debate as to which translation is the most authentic, but regardless of the answer, I find the possibility of anger interesting indeed.  I confess, I printed this scripture in the NRSV instead of the CEB which I typically use, precisely because the language of pity felt more comfortably in line with Jesus’ nature than the word “incensed” used in the CEB.  However, that choice may reflect my own discomfort at the idea of Jesus’ anger at a man in need of healing.  Which raises the question, is there a good reason why Jesus might be angry at this man’s request?

Some say that Jesus was angry at the suffering this man had endured.  Perhaps, but I wonder if he might have also been upset about the way the question was raised.  “If you want to…”

Almost every day after school our daughter asks “What’s for dinner?”  Sometimes, especially if we are going out, I say, “You’ll see when we get there.”  Her response is, “Well is it at least something I like.”

In this response, I can imagine why Jesus might get frustrated with the question.  I answer, “Have we ever gone someplace that didn’t have something you like?” to which she sheepishly responds, “Well, no…” and then continues on with her persistent curiosity.  The negative assumption in the question is that we might not take her into consideration or care about what she wants.  Similarly, the assumption of Jesus is that though he could certainly help, he may simply not feel like it, or may not think this man worthy enough.  It challenges Jesus’ character.  It questions Jesus’ desire for an abundant, flourishing life for all people and God’s nature as one abounding in mercy and steadfast love.

I wonder if in our attempt to hedge our bets about whether something is God’s will, just in case it doesn’t happen, if we may be unintentionally causing people to question whether God would even want to help us at all.

Let's Head the Other Way

Let’s Head The Other Way

Good News - Part 4

Sunday, January 28, 2024
Mark 1:29-39

Early in the morning, well before sunrise, Jesus rose and went to a deserted place where he could be alone in prayer.  Simon and those with him tracked him down.  When they found him, they told him, “Everyone’s looking for you!”

He replied, “Let’s head in the other direction, to the nearby villages, so that I can preach there too. That’s why I’ve come.”  He traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and throwing out demons.

Mark 1:35-39 CEB)

Listen to this Week’s Sermon here:

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Have you ever gotten a text asking “Did you get my email?” or a call asking “Did you get my text?” only to find out that the initial message was sent less than an hour ago.  In our fast paced, overly connected culture, there is an unwritten expectation that we are available to everyone immediately at any time.  My personal policy is that I will almost always respond to any message, voice, text or email, within 24-hours, but if I answered everything immediately I would never get any work done.  I have known others, however, who would interrupt meetings, meals, or personal conversations just to answer a spam call about their car’s extended warranty.  The idea of not answering, even if they know it is a robot calling, somehow seems more offensive to them than disrupting whatever they are doing. 

I get it.  We all have different personalities and styles.  There is nothing wrong with people who love being on the phone all the time and there is nothing wrong with those who would never answer a phone if they could get away with it.  But Jesus’ example as he begins to spread the good news goes much deeper than personality, preference, or phone etiquette. 

Jesus had been growing quite popular in his  ministry of healing and casting out demons.  Many more needed his help, and yet, the next day he was nowhere to be found.  Like a pop-up store selling the latest greatest gadget or the best food truck you’ve ever been to, but the next day when you try to bring your friend, the business has moved on. 

How can Jesus get everybody’s hopes up and then just disappear?  Why is he not available to help those who didn’t hear about his miracles in time?  Even when the disciples told him that there were many people waiting for him, he turned and went the other way, to go and spread the good news in other villages. 

It is easy for those of us who have spent much of our lives in church to feel a sense of ownership or priority where Jesus is concerned.  We come week after week expecting to hear good news.  We want to be comforted.  We want to be encouraged.  We want to find healing.  We want to be taken care of.  Inevitably there is someone in every worship service who walks away thinking, “I didn’t get anything out of that message today,” and someone else who felt like God was speaking directly to them in their deepest place of need.

Jesus reminds us that the “Good News” is never just for us.  It’s always for someone else too, and the moment we get jealous of how God’s Kingdom is growing in some other place, or the way Jesus is showing up for someone else, the more aware we should be at just how much we’ve missed the point of what this Good News is really all about.  God’s work is never exclusive to one place or one group of people. 

The good news is always for “them” as well, no matter who the “them” may be.

Come Out

Come Out!

Good News - Part 3

Sunday, January 21, 2024
Mark 1:21-28

The people were amazed by his teaching, for he was teaching them with authority, not like the legal experts. Suddenly, there in the synagogue, a person with an evil spirit screamed,  “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are. You are the holy one from God.”

“Silence!” Jesus said, speaking harshly to the demon. “Come out of him!”  The unclean spirit shook him and screamed, then it came out.

 Mark 1:22-26 CEB)

Listen to this Week’s Sermon here:

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When we get too close to Jesus, our inner demons cringe.  They make excuses for us to stay away.  They remind us of our faith and our church involvement.  They tell us that we wrote our prayer needs on cards at church so others will take care of them for us.  They remind us of all the good things we’ve done so we don’t feel too bad when we neglect the good we know we should do.  They remind us of all those church services, Sunday school classes, and Bible Studies we’ve sat in on so that we can take a well earned break from our devotions.  They make us feel good, so that we will never know how sick we really are.

So long as we keep our distance from the Son of God, our inner demons are comfortable and they will do everything they can to keep us comfortable.  So long as we keep our distance from the Holy One, our Un-holiness doesn’t look so bad compared to others.  So long as we keep our distance from the Truth, it’s so easy to believe the Lie.

People experienced healing and wholeness when they came close to Jesus in faith because the demons could not remain in His presence.  When the light is turned on, the darkness disappears.  If the darkness remains, either the light is burned out, or we are not close enough too it.  Since the Light of Christ burns eternally, we must not be close enough if darkness continues to cloud our lives.  Imagine yourself in a pitch black room when a spotlight comes on and shines in your face.  You cringe and shut your eyes in pain.  It would be easier to go back to a dark corner than to look into the light.  But we must keep our eyes on the light no matter how hard.  We must take up our cross, surrender our will, and follow him even unto death.

We say we believe, but what does it mean?  Of course we have faith.  We believe in God the Father, Almighty Maker of Heaven and Earth and in Jesus Christ His Only Son Our Lord.  Many of us recite it week after week. 

But I wonder if our inner demons have more faith than we do?

Demons fear God… demons recognize the Son of God… demons obey the authority of the Spirit sent from the Father through the Son.  Do we? 

People stare in amazement as the demons flee at His command.  They experience His healing among them, yet they still question His identity.  Jesus Himself silences demons so they don’t reveal it.  Does Jesus’ teaching, healing power and authority have more impact on the devil Himself than on we who claim to be His disciples? 

What darkness is holding on inside of you, trying to keep a safe distance from the Light of Christ? 

What are the things that control you, that consume your thoughts and life, that Jesus wants to cast out? 

What do you fear losing if you truly surrendered every part of your life to Christ? 

How would your life look different?

Let's Go Fishing

Let’s Go Fishing

Good News - Part 2

Sunday, January 14, 2024
Mark 1:16-20

“Come, follow me,” he said, “and I’ll show you how to fish for people.”

 Mark 1:17 CEB)

Listen to this Week’s Sermon here:

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Whose job is it to make disciples? The prophets? The preachers? The Sunday School Teachers?

We are quick to read between the lines in Mark 1 as Simon, Andrew, James and John leave their nets and follow Jesus like a group of children who have nothing better to do than join in a playground game of follow-the-leader. We struggle to find ways to excuse ourselves from such unreasonable demands. We have jobs and mortgages and kids and aging parents and pets. We have responsibilities that in our minds, are far more crucial than the lowly fishing business these early disciples walked out on. What exactly does it look like to “Come and follow Jesus,” in our day? The story is so brief it hardly does justice to the level of sacrifice these “ordinary fishermen” truly made. If we’re truly honest, most of us tend to think it was a much easier decision for them than for us.

There are much larger implications, however, when we consider the timing of this call. “After John was arrested…” (Mark 1:14, Matthew 4:12).

John was the prophet, the first in nearly 400 years.  No one alive at the time had heard the voice of God so directly and neither had their parents, grandparents or even great-grandparents. “Prepare the way of the Lord,” he declared, and then he is arrested.

Jesus picks up right where John leaves off.  But he is more than a prophet.  He is the very presence of God in  flesh and he is not hanging out in the synagogues or even with the prophet’s followers in the wilderness. He is hanging out in the marketplace around the Sea of Galilee. He is eating and drinking and laughing with the tax collectors, the occupying Roman soldiers, the sick and the lame, the women and the children, and yes, even the lowly hard working fishermen.  “I’ll show you how to fish for people,” he says (Mark 1:17).

The nature of following Jesus and “fishing for people” looks different for everyone. Regardless of what shape our call takes or where Jesus leads, the point is that Jesus is leading “us”. Jesus calls you and me, ordinary people, to “fish for people,” to take up the mantle of the prophet and proclaim the Word of God not only in the wilderness, but in the marketplace, at our jobs, in our schools, at the restaurant, in the public square, with our friends and neighbors, in our homes and our families, and yes, even in our churches.

The more we try to plan out exactly how we will follow Jesus, the more we will find Jesus changing our plans. We are not Jesus’ GPS to make sure everything he calls us to do just happens to be on our route. If we stop to think about it too much, we will likely be overcome with anticipation and anxiety about the unknown. We might remember that John was just arrested and wonder if the same might happen to us. Our fear may get the better of us. We will surely come up with a million other things we have to do “first.”

Where our culture says, “trust yourself, trust your instincts, your intelligence, your abilities, your wealth, your plans, etc.” Jesus simply says, “Trust me. Step out of the boat. Drop your nets. Let’s go.” The time is now!

What people is God putting in your path this week with whom you might share the good news?

Good News!

Good News!

Good News - Part 1

Sunday, January 7, 2024
Mark 1:1, 14-15

The beginning of the good news about Jesus Christ, God’s Son…

… After John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee announcing God’s good news, saying, “Now is the time! Here comes God’s kingdom! Change your hearts and lives, and trust this good news!”

Mark 1:1, 14-15 (CEB)

Listen to this Week’s Sermon here:

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When I was a teenager, I received a small pamphlet called a “gospel track” that laid out what was called “The Gospel.”  In summary, it went something like this:

1.  You are a sinner and separated from God.

2.  If you believe Jesus died for your sins, you can be covered by his blood and forgiven.

3.  Only if you pray this prayer of salvation can you be in heaven with God when you die.

I was told this was the “Gospel” or “Good News”.  Over the years I struggled more and more with how this was “good news” for people born in a context where they had never heard of Jesus, or worse yet, who grew up in settings where Jesus was presented in such horrible and unloving ways that no one would want to “accept him as their Lord and Savior.” 

I also struggled with the fact that the default position is that we are sinners bound for the eternal fires of hell unless we just happen to be fortunate enough for some well meaning evangelical Christian to come along our path and lead us in the seemingly magical words of the “sinners prayer”, which I have found nowhere in Scripture.

What happened to Genesis 1 and 2.  What happened to “And God created humankind in his own image… and it was very good (Genesis 1:27, 31)?

If so few people in the history of creation would actually even hear the words that would supposedly get them into heaven, how was this, as the angels said, “Good news of great joy for all people” (Luke 2:10)?

Mark begins his account of the “Good News” by saying this is the beginning of the good news about Jesus.  Jesus’ first recorded words in this gospel do invite us to repent of our sin and prepare our hearts and lives, but they do not say anything about our eternal destination or offer us a simple prayer to “get saved.” 

One would think if the prayer in those gospel tracks is the only way to avoid eternal damnation, perhaps Jesus might have started with that.  But no, Jesus begins by declaring that the Kingdom of heaven is at hand… It has come near.  The kingdom of God is right here, right now… and later he will teach us to pray for the Kingdom to fully come on earth as it is in heaven.” 

In other words, the Good News isn’t an inheritance check we pick up at the pearly gates after we die.  The Good News, the Gospel, the Kingdom of Heaven, the Reign of  God… is a present reality.  It is here and now!

What does the Good News of Jesus mean for you today, in this moment, here and now?

The Gift of Silence & Sacred Space

The Gift of Silence & Sacred Space

Simple Gifts - Part 5

Sunday, December 31, 2023
Habakkuk 2:20, Psalm 46:10, Luke 2:25-40

Simeon took Jesus in his arms and praised God. He said,  “Now, master, let your servant go in peace according to your word, because my eyes have seen your salvation.  You prepared this salvation in the presence of all peoples.  It’s a light for revelation to the Gentiles and a glory for your people Israel.”

 His father and mother were amazed by what was said about him...

 There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, who belonged to the tribe of Asher. She was very old. After she married, she lived with her husband for seven years.  She was now an 84-year-old widow. She never left the temple area but worshipped God with fasting and prayer night and day. She approached at that very moment and began to praise God and to speak about Jesus to everyone who was looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

 Luke 2:28-33, 36-38 (CEB)

Listen to this Week’s Sermon here:

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In my opinion, Simeon and Anna are two of the most overlooked and yet possibly the most relatable figures in the birth narratives of Jesus.  They don’t show up in the nativity scene, despite the fact that they encountered Jesus when he was only 8 days old, nearly a full two years before the Magi even arrive in town.

And yet, perhaps that is part of what makes them so relatable, for we did not go to the nativity either.  And if we’re honest, we very rarely go to the out of the way places where the living Christ is born in our world today, among the smelly animals and lowly shepherds on the margins of society.  No, perhaps we are more like Simeon and Anna because we stay in the temple, or in our case, in the protective walls of the church.

In general, we as Christians need to get out more.  Jesus calls us to be in the world and not of it, but more often we are of the world and not in it.  We are consumed by worldly concerns while working hard to separate ourselves from “worldly” people.  Some, like Simeon, Anna, and various monastic saints and mystics throughout the centuries, are called to this unique vocation of remaining cloistered in the house of the Lord, in order to point others to the kind of deep encounter with the Holy Spirit which they experience. 

This is the role of Simeon and Anna.  They have spent a lifetime waiting for God in the Holy Place.  They have devoted themselves fully to prayer, to fasting, and to waiting in silence for the promise of God to be fulfilled.  They study the scriptures deeply and pay close attention for signs of God’s presence among them… until one miraculous day, God actually walks through the door.  Well, actually he is carried through the door in the arms of his mother Mary, as an eight day old human baby brought before the priest to be dedicated to the Lord. 

As one who has spent my life in the church, and admittedly does not get out nearly enough, I find great hope and comfort in this passage.  It is a reminder that even when we fail to show up in the stables where Jesus comes to the least and the lost, no matter how good our intentions or reasons, Jesus still manages to come to us and meet us where we are, even in the church.  But when Jesus meets us here, and he will, we must follow Anna’s example.  We can no longer be silent.  We must  tell everyone who waits for redemption, especially when they don’t yet know what they are waiting for.

The Gift of Mystery

The Gift of Mystery

Simple Gifts - Part 4

Sunday, December 24, 2023
Psalm 8, Luke 2:8-20

When I look up at your skies,
    at what your fingers made—
    the moon and the stars
    that you set firmly in place—
         what are human beings
            that you think about them;
        what are human beings
            that you pay attention to them?

 Psalm 8:3-4 (CEB)

Nearby shepherds were living in the fields, guarding their sheep at night.  The Lord’s angel stood before them, the Lord’s glory shone around them, and they were terrified.

The angel said, “Don’t be afraid! Look! I bring good news to you—wonderful, joyous news for all people.  Your savior is born today in David’s city. He is Christ the Lord.  This is a sign for you: you will find a newborn baby wrapped snugly and lying in a manger.”

 Luke 2:8-12 (CEB)

Listen to this Week’s Sermon here:

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David, a lowly shepherd in the field watching his flocks by night, looks up at the skies and marvels and the wonder of creation, and even more at the great mystery that the God who placed moon and stars in the sky would care about and pay attention to someone like him.  One day this shepherd boy would be king of Israel and would unite the Kingdom in a way that no one has seen before or since.  But whether as a king or a shepherd boy, the mystery remains… Who is this God that would pay attention to a lowly human like me?

Nearly 1,000 years later, shepherds sat out upon those same fields, in the city of David, watching their flocks by night and looking up at the sky.  But instead of the moon and stars, they saw the radiance of an angel of the Lord who brought good news for all people, even seemingly insignificant people like them.

It’s easy to get caught up in the mysteries of obscure Bible passages we don’t understand or theology that doesn’t quite make sense.  Biblical scholars and theologians argue over whether Mary was actually a virgin, or just a young maiden as the original languages imply, and whether or not it really matters.  For centuries, Christians struggled to figure out the mysteries of the incarnation, wondering just how much of Jesus was actually God and how much was human?  Historically it was settled in the creeds, but Jesus himself never seemed particularly concerned with his disciples believing in his virgin birth or in explaining how his oneness with the Father actually worked.  The mysteries of Advent and Christmas were simply not mysteries Jesus and his followers ever considered.  The earliest gospel account in Mark doesn’t even have a birth narrative and the “Christmas Story” in Matthew is more about connecting Jesus with Moses than about recording historical and biographical events.

The nature of Jesus as the son of God is expanded in Luke and John, but still, the greater mystery remains.  It is the same mystery David wondered and the mystery the shepherds encountered first-hand when greeted by this heavenly messenger.  Who are we that God is mindful of us, that God pays attention to us, that God cares about us, and even more, that God has Good News for us, and for all people?  

Let us not be distracted by the historical details of Christmas, but let us marvel in the mystery that is God’s hope, love, joy and peace for us, and for all.

The Gift of Gratitude

The Gift of Simplicity

Simple Gifts - Part 3

Sunday, December 17, 2023
Psalm 100:1-5, Luke 17:11-19

On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee.  As he entered a village, ten men with skin diseases approached him. Keeping their distance from him,  they raised their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, show us mercy!”

When Jesus saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” As they left, they were cleansed.  One of them, when he saw that he had been healed, returned and praised God with a loud voice.  He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. He was a Samaritan.  Jesus replied, “Weren’t ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?  No one returned to praise God except this foreigner?”  Then Jesus said to him, “Get up and go. Your faith has healed you.”

 Luke 17:11-19 (CEB)

Listen to this Week’s Sermon here:

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We typically think of gratitude around Thanksgiving, but the truth is, gratitude is at the center of Advent and at the heart of every part of our spiritual lives. 

When we embrace the gift of slowing down, we notice how much of our lives are filled with clutter, both external and internal.  As we simplify our lives, we become more grateful for those things that matter most, the things that often get buried under the distractions of busyness and clutter. 

Slowing down and simplifying our lives helps bring healing to the chaos of our minds, our hearts, our spirits, and even our bodies, but if we are not careful, we will slip right back into our old habits.  Nine of the lepers were so excited when they found themselves healed that they didn’t even stop to think about the implications.  Presumably they went on and lived normal lives in a community from which they had previously been cut off, but they never pause to appreciate the significance of the gift they had received. 

Gratitude is not just about writing a thank you card for a gift under the tree or praying a blessing around the dinner table for our family and friends.  Gratitude moves us to a deeper awareness of the mysterious and surprising hope, peace, love & joy in our lives.

All ten lepers were likely thankful for their healing.  If they lived today, they would probably share it as a praise report in Sunday worship.  But only one experienced the deep, heartfelt gratitude that moved him to draw nearer to the source of his healing.  He went back to Jesus, overwhelmed by the grace and love he had received.

Notice the man who returned was a Samaritan, a foreigner, an outsider among outsiders.  Once, all ten were united by their disease which kept them in social exile, but now he alone remains an outsider, simply because he is a Samaritan.  I wonder if this is why he, more than the others, was so grateful, because he had no expectation that God should come to his aid. 

How often do we take for granted God’s presence in  because we are good Christians who deep down assume we deserve it?  The Samaritan had been conditioned to believe he was outside the bounds of God’s love.  That is why his gratitude was so much deeper.  He was not only physically healed, but because he was truly seen by Jesus, and his human dignity as a beloved child of God had been restored. 

What would it mean for you to feel truly seen by God in this season and how might a deeper sense of gratitude open your eyes to truly see others and to help others see themselves the same way?

The Gift of Simplicity

The Gift of Simplicity

Simple Gifts - Part 2

Sunday, December 10, 2023
Matthew 6:19-21, Luke 3:8-14, Philippians 4:4-13

Stop collecting treasures for your own benefit on earth, where moth and rust eat them and where thieves break in and steal them. Instead, collect treasures for yourselves in heaven, where moth and rust don’t eat them and where thieves don’t break in and steal them.  Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

 Matthew 6:19-21 (CEB)

Listen to this Week’s Sermon here:

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Growing up in Baltimore, I remember fondly our annual Thanksgiving weekend trips to the snowy Christmas Tree Farm toward Pennsylvania, hiking through the fresh pines, taking in the wonderful scent, cutting the best one with a hacksaw and laying it on the conveyor to be wrapped up tightly in a net before putting it on the top of the car for the long drive home.  When we moved to Florida, we stopped buying real trees.  It’s not quite the same picking them up from out front of a grocery store. 

They say artificial trees last an average of 5 to 10 years.  Given the price of real trees, that’s not a bad investment. In November of 2000, McKenzie and I set off to Wal-mart to pick up a few decorations for our first Christmas together.  We had only been married 6  months and couldn’t afford much, but my one condition was that a Christmas tree had to be taller than me.  We found a 7.5 foot artificial Donner Fir for $79.74.  At the time, this was a pretty big investment for our budget, but 24 Christmases later, it is still the focal point of our living room from Thanksgiving to Epiphany.  So far, that investment has averaged out to $3.32 per year.  That tree has moved from a 1 bedroom apartment, to a double-wide trailer, to a small campus dorm style apartment in seminary, to 3 parsonages between Kentucky and North Carolina, and now to a rental home in Concord.  Every year it seems to lose more needles than it originally had, and yet somehow it is just as beautiful as that first Christmas.  A few years ago we talked about replacing it, but then we saw at a store how poinsettias could easily fill in a few bare spots.  We’ve moved from trying to find the cheapest one we could to being content with it each year and now to the point where we really never want to give it up.  It, along with the random collection of ornaments that trace our entire family history, have become part of our family. 

So what in the world does this nostalgic story of an artificial Wal-mart Christmas tree have to do with Advent or with scripture?  Well, maybe nothing… on the other hand, maybe everything.  For us, this tree along with the small nativity and two tiny wreaths we bought that first Christmas have served as a beautiful reminder of the simplicity we long for in this often hectic season.  They are no longer decorations just to put something up for Christmas, but have become symbols of what really matters most.  There have been some hard times and very challenging Christmases over these 24 years, and this tree has seen them all.  It’s branches hold space to remember the beauty in every season, no matter how hard it got. 

I wonder, what Christmas decoration or tradition might hold that kind of simple wonder for you? 

What little thing each year, that might go unnoticed by others, holds space for the deepest treasures of your heart? 

The Gift of Slowing Down

The Gift of Slowing Down

Simple Gifts - Part 1

Sunday, December 3, 2023
Luke 10:38-42, Isaiah 40:28-31, Matthew 11:28-30, Psalm 37:3-7

The Lord answered, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things.  One thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the better part. It won’t be taken away from her.”

Luke 10:41-42 (CEB)

Listen to this Week’s Sermon here:

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Have you ever noticed that the only spiritual practice explicitly commanded in the law is Sabbath?  Yes, we are instructed in worship, prayer, and countless other means of receiving God’s grace, but Sabbath is right up there in the big 10.  John Mark Comer writes:

God eventually has to command the Sabbath. Does that strike you as odd? It’s like commanding ice cream or live music or beach days. You would think we’d all be chomping at the bit to practice the Sabbath. But apparently there’s something about the human condition that makes us want to hurry our way through life as fast as we possibly can, to rebel against the limitations of time itself.” (Comer, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, 159).

Sabbath is about rest, and it is about acknowledging our limitations.  It is a call to slow down and be still with God, just as Jesus encouraged Martha in the midst of her own well intentioned hurry.   Consider the following 10 symptoms of “Hurry Sickness.” 

1.  Irritability (especially at little things)

2.  Hypersensitivity

3.  Restlessness (difficulty relaxing)

4.  Workaholism / non-stoop activity

5.  Emotional numbness

6.  Out of order priorities

7.  Lack of care for your body

8.  Escapist behavior (overeating, social media, binging TV, etc.)

9.  Slippage of Spiritual Disciplines / Devotional Life

10.  Isolation

How many do you have? 

Resist the tendency to feel guilt or shame.  These symptoms are tragically built into our culture and have become normal.  The point is to become aware of just how busy and chaotic our lives have become.

Once we become aware of this reality, we can take Jesus up on his invitation, to “take his yoke upon us, for his yoke is easy, and his burden is light.”  Frederick Dale Bruner reminds us that a yoke is a work instrument.  You would think he might offer a mattress or a vacation for our weary souls, but no, Jesus, realized that the most restful gift he can give is a new way to carry life; not an escape, but equipment to be more fully present in each moment and to find peace and rest even in our work. 

Dallas Willard says that we must “ruthlessly eliminate hurry from our lives.”  In a season of preparation and of learning to pay attention to the coming of Christ in our world, this seems a highly appropriate invitation. 

This advent, let us learn to honor Sabbath together, to receive the gift of rest.  Let us, as Paul writes, “make it our ambition to lead a quiet life” (1 Thess. 4:11). 

We will fail multiple times a day, but each time we can slow down, breathe, and come back to the present moment.  Let us breathe deeply in the love and peace of the Spirit, and breathe out our anxious busyness and toil, that we may be present enough to encounter the gift of Emmanuel, God with us, in each moment of our lives.