Sermons for the Month
Authorized to Make Promises, and to Keep Them
DATE: January 29th, 2006
SERVICE: 4th Sunday after the Epiphany
TEXT: Mark 1:21-28“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
This week I read a story about a woman named Sister Josephina who ministered in an urban community during a long, painful period of change. She was widely known among community organizers and when she spoke to the "powers that be", they listened. When she spoke to "her people" they followed. Her very person spoke of servant hood, but also of strength. Pastors-to-be watched her ministry with great interest, and one day a seminary student decided to stop at her well-known community center and have a look around. His intention really was not to meet her, since he knew she would be busy and assumed she would not be thrilled with an unscheduled visitor. But he discovered that he was wrong soon after he walked in and was greeted by Sister Josephina herself with a hand outstretched and a warm smile. His being a stranger in need of some kind of welcome was all the credentials or explanation she needed to break way from her tasks and meet him. After just a few minutes of interaction he was made to feel that he was in the presence of someone who spoke the faith with authority. But, she was clearly busy and so the seminarian was anxious not to impose on her. Yet, he could not help himself from asking for a quick bit of advice before he left. What, he asked, did she see as the key to her ministry in that community? Her answer was memorable. "I just make promises to people", she said, "and then I keep them." (1) I have to tell you that as I read this story it was her response that really got my attention. "I just make promises to people, and then I keep them." I was drawn to those words because, as people who know me well will affirm, follow through is an important value in my life. I pride myself in doing what I said I would do, and I strive not to make commitments that I cannot keep. And, that's what I expect of other people too, sometimes to my disappointment. However, as I reflected on the story of Sister Josephina, especially in light of the Gospel lesson, I realized that she is an example not just of follow through, but of acting with authority. What is being described is someone who has spiritual authority behind her words and actions, which results in the power and presence of God being revealed. She is a modern-day example of what God was trying to accomplish through the prophets Samuel and Jonah, who we focused on the past two weeks. In today's Gospel lesson it was the spiritual authority that the people in the synagogue saw in Jesus that got their attention and caused them to be astounded at his teaching and to say that he was not like the scribes. Their experience with the scribes was that they were people who liked to hear themselves talk. It was their job to interpret and teach the Torah and then to apply it to various situations, rendering binding judgments concerning people's behavior and spiritual status. To do this they would cite one "authority" after another, using previous decisions as their guideline for what they would say. Jesus was not like them; he seemed to draw on an inner authority, and there was a melding of his words and his actions. This is obvious as the story continues. A man with an unclean spirit enters the synagogue. The literal translation of this verse is very interesting; it is "a man in an unclean spirit", suggesting that the man is completely immersed in and overwhelmed by it. (2) The other very interesting point is that the term "unclean spirit" suggests ritual impurity or unworthiness. So, putting it into a 21st century frame of reference, this is a man who feels worthless; his insides battle with fear, shame, self-doubt and his religious leaders - the scribes - affirm that he has reason to feel that way. His sense of unworthiness is binding him, preventing him from living as a free, loved, forgiven child of God who lets the light of the Divine shine forth. For first century people all this was personified as "unclean spirits", which made it easier to address. While we may not identify it that way, the effect of feeling worthless and of having that affirmed by others is the same today as it was then. Hiding is all he knows; he does not want to be truly seen and he does not dare imagine that this sense of unworthiness that is infused into his very being could be destroyed. So he says to Jesus, "What have you to do with us?" which is another way of saying, "Why are you interfering with us?" Afraid of letting go of what he knows he asks, "Have you come to destroy us?" As a matter of fact, that is exactly what Jesus has come to do. He has come to destroy the power of fear, shame and self-doubt that adds up to feeling and acting unworthy. Because he is the Holy One of God, filled to the brim with spiritual authority, he can do it. Mark presents this story as the first miracle in his Gospel because he wants to make it abundantly clear that Jesus has come to destroy to powers of darkness. His words and his actions are fused and have power, and while that astounded some, it worried others. You see, Jesus not only spoke with authority, but he acted with authority. This is a man who not only spoke about forgiveness, but forgave. He not only encouraged wholeness, but healed. And that made some people very nervous. The scribes, for example, counted on using their wordy interpretations of scripture to decide under what limited conditions people might - if they proved themselves - be determined worthy. So, people kept doing whatever the scribes said was "required" in order to be pure. There would be no way to keep people under control if they believed their unworthiness could be erased - that is their unclean spirit could be destroyed - by this man Jesus. If that was the case, they might actually acquire some spiritual authority of their own, and where would that leave the scribes? That's the question that hangs in the air right up to the moment Jesus is arrested. In the midst of all that first century intrigue the message that comes to us is this: the power of that which holds people back - whatever it might be, but you can bet that it involves fear - is destroyed by Jesus. That means there can be more Sister Josephina's in the world. In other words, the disciples of Jesus can draw on their spiritual authority and people will respond. Do you believe this? Do you? If the answer is "yes" then think carefully about what that implies for your life. It means that the authority of Jesus trumps every excuse, every real hurt and hindrance. It means that the light within us is dusted off and allowed to shine. It means that we not only have spiritual authority on which to lean and from which to draw, but we are responsible for doing so. And, in all that, we will become the people who make promises, and keep them. (1) Christmas is a Quantum Leap by Glenn Schoonover, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio, 1993, pgs. 71-71.
(2) Sermon Writer, Epiphany 4B (Jan 29), Mark 1:21-28, pg. 4, www.sermonwriter.com
AMEN