Sunday, February 4, 2024

Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany
Isaiah 40:21-31
Psalm 147:1-11
1 Corinthians 9:16-27
Mark 1:29-39

Yahweh takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his loving kindness.

We’ve been talking about Paul’s letter to the Romans in our Sunday school class. In our discussion about rejoicing in our suffering, I suggested that we are more likely to pay attention to God in our valleys than on our mountain tops, but realized that’s not quite true. We do pay attention to God when we are on the top of our mountain because it is there that our worship is often the most intense. We pay attention to God in the valleys because we need Him to walk with us through our valley, helping us. On the mountain top we praise; in the valley we pray. The trouble comes when we are caught in between. We become comfortable and self-satisfied on the side of the mountain. It is not that we reject God; He is just sidelined until it is time to praise or pray. God is God to us, but we don’t always see Him as the Holy One.

God is the “Holy One of Israel” for Isaiah. This title appears twenty-six times in his book. God’s people had become comfortable and complacent, God was sidelined as they lived life in their world. Their comfort and self-satisfaction led to sin that meant God had to deal with His people in a way they would not expect. How could God be the Holy One if He allowed them to face such a difficult time? They were defeated and exiled in a foreign land. It seemed that the nation of Israel would no longer exist. They brought on the troubles themselves. They were repeatedly warned by the prophets of God, but they did not see God as the Holy One. It is a vicious circle in which we get trapped when we sideline our God. Despite their struggles, Isaiah spoke a word of hope to God’s people.

So, in chapter 40, Isaiah asked a number of questions about God. “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and marked off the sky with his span, and calculated the dust of the earth in a measuring basket, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Who has directed Yahweh’s Spirit, or has taught him as his counselor? Who did he take counsel with, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?” (Isaiah 40:12-14) And finally, “To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to him?” (Isaiah 40:18)

When we are comfortable, we lose sight of God and forget the unmerited blessings of His grace. There were times when God’s people looked away from Him for hope and peace and strength. They allied with neighbors for protection, sought encouragement from foreigners, all the while forgetting the God who provided them all they would ever need. They turned from Him, and in doing so lost touch with the One who could and would bless them in every way.

So, just as the people thought there was no hope, Isaiah called them to remember their God. He offered a word of hope that the God they had forgotten has not forgotten them. They just had to see that the things and people to whom they had turned would not be able to provide them with all that they needed. Only God can measure the water or the heavens with His hand. Only God can weigh the mountains and hills. There is no one who has, or can, tell God how to be God. He did not ask for human advice in the creation of the world or learn from human teachers. There is no one like God. God is greater than their problems. He is above all creation. He can raise kings and bring them down again. God is their strength. He is their hope. He is their refuge. He is the everlasting God, creator of all things. In Him they will find their comfort and salvation.

We aren’t exiled, but we are facing our own problems. Have we forgotten, too? Had we become too comfortable, losing site of the God from whom all blessings flow? Have we lifted up false gods and put them as our priorities, turning our back on the only One who can provide all that we need? Isaiah calls out to us today, just as he called out to the Israelites so long ago, “Haven’t you known? Haven’t you heard? The everlasting God, Yahweh, the Creator of the ends of the earth, doesn’t faint. He isn’t weary. His understanding is unsearchable.” He is faithful and we will find our hope in Him.

God never forgot His promises, but He did allow them to suffer the consequences of their unfaithfulness. At just the moment when Israel had no hope, Isaiah called them to remember their God. He reminded them that the God they had forgotten had not forgotten them. They just had to see there was no hope in the things and people of this world.

Martin Luther spoke during one of his table talks about the difference in how God and Satan use fear. He said that the Lord first allows us to be afraid so that He might relieve our fears and comfort us. The devil first makes us feel secure in our pride and sins, that we might later be overwhelmed with our fear and despair. The devil uses our security to his benefit by threatening to destroy the things we love. So, we become afraid and do everything we can to protect our lives, our homes, our families, our jobs, and our things. We even willfully disobey the Word of God, living in anger, hatred, violence, and war, justifying our actions as a way to overcome the things that threaten our lives.

The fear of the Lord is much different. The Law provides insight into our own sinful nature. Through it we can see our inability to be obedient. We know of God’s power and justice, so we fear the wrath that we deserve. Yet, God comes to us through the Gospel, not with threats, but with love and mercy and grace. Jesus Christ relieves our fears, and the Holy Spirit comforts us. We hear the promises of God that He will not destroy us; He has promised us eternal life in His Kingdom. Rather than reason for alarm, we are given reason for hope and peace.

We live in a world where people use fear to get what they want. There was a story about a woman who disappeared one day, leaving her children in the custody of her abusive husband. The children did not see her for thirty years. The children never knew if they should worry about her safety or be angry that she left them to suffer. The truth eventually came out: the husband kidnapped the children when she left to get help. She tried for years through the legal system to get her children, but he threatened her until she believed that it was better to let them go. She knew that he was capable of incredible violence and thought it better not to risk his wrath.

Sometimes our fear gets the better of us. I think we have all probably been in situations when we have made irrational decisions because we let fear control our thoughts. I used to love horror movies. There was something about the adrenaline rush that comes from that sense of fear experienced in the theater, even though I know it was not real. Sometimes the films were more humorous than scary. Like the sappy holiday romances, horror films follow a formula. You can easily recognize the bad guy and when he will strike. The music gives you clues to when the hacking will begin. There’s always some barely clothed young lady running through the forest. It is the same plot over and over again. We would get scared, but not really. We usually left the auditorium in tears from laughing so hard at the absurdity of the movie and at our own reaction.

One of the last horror films I went to see was playing at the cheap theater in the rough side of town. My friend and I went because it was a movie we wanted to see, but it was already out of our regular theaters. Besides, who could pass up a movie for a buck? We were two young women in the bad part of town and we decided to go at night, but we felt safe.

We felt safe until we sat down in the movie theater. Perhaps it was just a shock to see how different the culture was of the other people attending, but we were frightened. Gangs of young people surrounded us. There was even a physical altercation. I don’t know whether they were just having fun, or if we had found ourselves in the middle of a turf war. All I know is that my friend and I did not enjoy the movie. Though we stayed through the whole thing, we spent most of the time trying to stay anonymous in the crowd. We made it safely to our car after the movie; there was probably no good reason for us to be afraid. That does not diminish the reality of how we felt that night. We were alone and vulnerable.

There are those who take a certain pleasure in fear. The man was an abuser who enjoyed making his wife and children tremble because it gave him a sense of power and control. Some people use your fear to manipulate you to do whatever they want you to do. You’ll give them information, possessions, or your service just to remain safe.

Fear can be a good thing in that it helps to protect us in times of trouble. Fight or flight is a powerful response to the things that put us in danger. Yet, we know that fear is not a positive emotion, and not an emotion we expect to be part of our relationship with God. We do not understand why the psalmist would write, “Yahweh takes pleasure in those who fear him...” God does not find pleasure in our fear the way an abuser or gang member does. We fear God not because we are afraid; fear of God does not make us cower and tremble. We fear God because we are in awe and respect everything God has done and what He can do. He is fearful, that much is true, but He is also gracious and merciful.

The psalmist completes the thought in verse 11 with, “…in those that hope in his loving kindness.” God takes pleasure in those who put their hope in His lovingkindness. This is a much different type of delight. It is a delight that will do what is best for those who fear, to guard and protect, provide, and bless. For this, He deserves our praise.

How do we praise God? We can join with other believers in hymns and songs glorifying God’s goodness and His good works. We can also be obedient to His Word, living the life He has created and called us to live. We can praise God by serving others, using the gifts He has given us to shine His light into the world, so that everyone will see our thanksgiving and join in the song.

We are like grasshoppers compared to God Almighty who created everything and whose hand drives it all. God can bring down princes and rulers and scatter them like a storm scatters stubble. He placed every star in the sky and He knows them all by name. There is none like God. And yet, we often try to be Him. We try to control the world in which we live, calling for God to serve us instead of bowing in worship to serve Him. Isaiah asked twice in today’s Old Testament passage why they were not hearing God’s Word.

Our problems may differ, but we are the same as Israel. Have we chosen to believe that we have the answers, that we know how to solve the problems? Have we become too comfortable and forgotten that it is His Word that truly makes a difference? Have we lifted up the false god of our own goodness and made it our priority, ignoring the real purpose of God’s grace? Isaiah calls out to us today, just as he called out to the Israelites so long ago to remind us that our God is the Holy One. “Haven’t you known? Haven’t you heard?” God is faithful and we will find our hope only in Him.

Jesus came with a purpose, but not everyone knew or heard what He had to say.

In today’s Gospel lesson, Jesus left the synagogue after healing the man with the demons and He went straight to Peter’s house. Peter’s mother-in-law was ill with fever and lying in bed. Like the man with the demons, Peter’s mother-in-law could not fulfill her purpose; though her dis-ease was not supernatural in nature, she was still not able to be who she was created to be. Instead, she was forced to lie in bed, unable to serve her family or enjoy their fellowship. Jesus took her hand and lifted her up. She was immediately cured and restored. This restoration was not just healing, but wholeness. She didn’t just stop being sick, she was able to care for her family as she was created and called to do.

Word spread about Jesus because of His miracles. People soon arrived at Peter’s door with the sick and the possessed. It seemed as if the entire city was gathered around the house. Jesus cured many of the diseases and cast out many demons. He took care of their needs and restored them to their roles in their society. This was very important in Jesus’ day. There were no laws which gave handicapped people help. There was no mobility between stations in life or the roles to which you were born. If you were sick, you were considered unclean. If you were a Jew or a Greek, you lived, worked, and ate with only your people. There were not only stumbling blocks, but there were also walls keeping people inside and outside.

Jesus broke down those walls. He brought healing, He cast out demons. He changed lives and restored people. But that’s not all He came to do. He also came to preach. Unfortunately, the people were so amazed by the miraculous things He was doing that they did not hear what He had to say. “Haven’t you known? Haven’t you heard?” No, they did not know, and they did not hear. They closed in on Him and expected Him to do what they wanted. They did not give Him the room to be who He came to be.

Jesus went to a lonely place to pray. When the disciples found Him, they told Him that everyone was looking for Him. He said to them, “Let’s go elsewhere into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because I came out for this reason.” He was not going to allow the people to dictate His work. The healing and casting out of demons were important because they proved Jesus’ authority and power, but they were not the reason He came. It was time to move on, to share the message with others who might hear. Sadly, we learn in Luke 10 that Capernaum never came to believe. Strange, isn’t it? They came to Jesus for healing, but never found wholeness because they didn’t listen to Him.

I was able to be a stay-at-home mom for my kids. I loved being a mom, but I have to admit that there were times when I wondered what I could have accomplished if I had followed a career path. How would you answer the question “If you could have done something differently in your life, what would it be?” I think I might have pursued a different degree at college. I love the life I’ve lived, but I think we all wonder what might have been if we walked a different path. Sadly, sometimes women who choose a life serving their family are not respected for their choice, as if they could or should have had a greater impact on the world, as if raising children is not a worthy accomplishment. Stay-at-home moms are often thought to be nobodies, but I was happy to live a life of service to my family.

Today’s story from Mark is comforting to those who are nobodies like me. First of all, we see Jesus ministering in a home. Last week Jesus was seen and heard by many who were amazed at His authority over the word and the spirit. He was just beginning to accomplish the great things that we still remember today: the miracles, the crowds who followed Him, the willingness to give himself wholly for the sake of the world. These are great acts. Yet, last week’s story is followed by a much smaller encounter. A friend’s mother was ill. Jesus touched her and she was made well. And we see in this story that she wasn’t healed for some great purpose. She was healed so that she could continue to live in her vocation: serving those she loves.

She was a nobody. She has no name and is only identified by her relationship to Peter. She had no great job, and yet Jesus restored her to her place in her community, to her place in her home. He gave her the gift of life again to do what she was meant to do. It was not a special day or a special place. This story shows us how Jesus did extraordinary things for ordinary people in ordinary places on ordinary days. Jesus can, and does, the same for us as we live our ordinary lives in this world. We need not wonder so much about whether or not we can accomplish something great. God is in the ordinary experiences of our life, too.

Jesus might never have left Simon’s home if He had waited for the crowds to stop coming. They would have been there day after day looking for Him. They wanted Jesus to focus on meeting their needs, but healing was not the focus of His ministry. Healing was just a part of it. Jesus would not allow the crowds to tell Him what He should do. He did what God sent Him to do: share the Word that heals hearts and sets people free. Jesus longed to be heard, for the true healing from God is in His Word. Jesus continued to heal and cast out demons, but He moved quickly from place to place to do what He was sent to do: preach the Good News.

So many things about today’s lessons seem out of whack to our modern way of thinking, but we are reminded that the Gospel is shocking and counter cultural. It is life changing. It is powerful. Most of all, it is for everyone. The power of the Gospel is for men and women, for those in worship and at home, for those in our small circles of friends and for our neighbors far away. That’s why Paul says that he has become all things to all people. He’s not wavering on the one thing that matters: the message.

This passage almost makes Paul seem wishy-washy, unwilling to commit. But that’s not what he’s saying. Paul stands on Christ, the foundation of everything he believes. However, the people he meets are diverse. The people we meet are diverse. Some people are in a time and a place of comfort, others are afraid. Some are happy; others are in mourning. Some are healthy and some are facing dis-ease. We meet people from different cultures, from different world views. Everyone has a different need. Paul is prepared to meet them where they are, to touch them in a way that will shine the light of Christ into their life. We are called to do the same, because God’s Word is the foundation of all healing, no matter what troubles us.

Paul’s message never changed; he always preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ. However, he shared that Gospel in a way that would be understood and relevant to the people who heard him speak. To the Greeks he spoke as a Greek, to the Jews he spoke as a Jew. He was weak so that those who were weak might find the courage to receive God’s word for themselves. He took the extraordinary Word of God to ordinary people in ordinary ways. God’s Word is meant for all, the Gospel was given for the salvation of the world.

Paul did not expect that all would be saved, but he was willing to see the world from someone else’s point of view to help them know and hear God’s Word in a life-changing and transforming way. He was willing to let God work through his life in a way that would heal and make people whole. This is frightening because it means we have to give up control. But it is only in letting God work through us that anyone will be saved.

The Gospel brings change. The change comes from the Spirit of Christ dwelling within, and it is in Him that we live. In Christ we are more alive than we have ever been, and the breath we breathe is from the Spirit of God Himself. This awesome reality leads us to a life of praise and thanksgiving, a life that can’t help but proclaim the message of grace to the world no matter how much we might be afraid. The Gospel gives us the power to take the Kingdom of God to those who will hear, for those who hear will be saved.

As we look at the stories in the scriptures, we see them through our own eyes. We see that poor women getting up to serve when she should be recuperating, missing the joy she has in her salvation. She didn’t have to go cook dinner for Jesus and the disciples; she gave herself and her gifts to those she loves. Jesus healed her and lifted her to new life, and she responded with joy and thanksgiving. Paul responded with his whole life to his call to ministry, willingly submitting himself to others for the sake of the Gospel.

Have we heard? Jesus Christ has made us whole with His healing and with His Word. We have no reason to boast because we are nothing more than grasshoppers. Yet, through faith in Christ by God’s grace, we are lifted up, given eagle’s wings and the strength to use our gifts to do what God has called and sent us to do in our homes, churches, cities and beyond.

God is faithful and He delights in those who find their hope and trust in Him. He calls us to live for the sake of others, following Jesus as He breaks down walls, heals the sick, casts out demons, and speaks the Gospel through us so that those who are still chasing the wrong gods will know and hear. This is our calling: to share the Word so that those who have side-lined God will know Him and hear Him. Then they can experience His delight and hope in His loving kindness, finding joy in His salvation.