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"Losing to Live"

2/24/2018

Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16; Mark 8:31-38
February 25, 2018
FPC-Freeport

     There once was a wealthy oilman who was speeding down the highway in his brand-new Ferrari. As he came around a corner, he approached a bridge over a deep gorge. He lost control of his car. He hit the side of the bridge and was thrown out of the car on to the edge of the gorge. The car went careening into the river far below. As he was thrown out of the car, the last arm was severely mangled. Now a trucker was following and saw what had happened. The trucker jumped out of his truck and rushed over to the injured man. The man was regaining consciousness and asked, “what happened?” The trucker explained that there had been a crash and that the car had fallen into the gorge. The oilman cried out, “oh no, my Ferrari!” The trucker said, “What! dude, you are so lucky to have your life…even though you did seriously hurt…” and the trucker looked down to the man’s left arm. The oilman looks down to his crushed left arm and screamed, “Oh no! not my gold Rolex!”

Unfortunately, the wealthy oilman’s set of warped values are not uncommon. We hold fast to our hard-won treasures.   After all, don’t we deserve it? We’ve earned it! However, Jesus today asks us a hard question: do we value the Ferraris, the gold Rolexes, our earthly treasures, over life itself?

There is only one Bible verve in the New Testament that is repeated six times on the lips of Jesus. It is one of Jesus’ hardest teaching, and it is at the core of what it means to follow Jesus:
“If anyone would be my disciple, let them deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me; whoever finds their life, loses it; whoever loses their life finds it.   What does it profit you, if you gain the whole world and lose your own soul?”

Jesus’ saying is a paradox of faithful living. Yet, we are indeed taught early on what makes a good, successful life.   Study hard. Get good grades. Get a great paying job. Get a home, a car and a family.   These are all worthy things to have. But they don’t constitute a life. Sir. Winston Churchill defined it well when he observed, “We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.”

Jesus encourages us to think along similar lines. We make a life by what we give. It is a fundamental spiritual principle. If we lose ourselves in giving and sacrificial caring, we gain the world. If we find ourselves wrapped up in making a living, in getting, getting, getting – the latest, the most fashionable, in being number one – we lose out on what truly matters. We lose our soul when we become obsessed and too attached to the things of the world – the latest gadgets, the fattest bank accounts, beating out everyone with whatever it takes to gain prominence and renown in our fields of work. Jesus warns us elsewhere in the gospel: we cannot serve both God and money (Matt. 6:19-21).

     Jesus tells us plainly if we want to be his followers, we must take up the cross. We all know the purpose of the cross. The cross is an instrument of execution of the worst kind. For centuries in the Roman world it was the favored form of execution for foreigners. It was a painful, slow agonizing death.   No doubt Jesus and his disciples saw crucifixions throughout the land.   They were a common sight. But the impact of the symbol of the cross has been blurred for us. We wear beautiful, sometimes gem-encrusted, gold or silver crosses around our necks. Celebrities parade fancy crosses along with provocative dress, as if they were the latest accessory craze. The cross bas become a chic logo, a brand name.

The cross should hit with the brute force of seeing a miniature electric chair or an AR-15 assault rifle or some variety thereof, hanging around someone’s neck. It hits us in the gut.   So, we are called to the cross with the knowledge that Jesus was brutally murdered on one, and because of his sacrifice has taken something ugly, something harsh, and transformed it into a symbol of salvation, a beacon to leading a loving, generous, self-emptying life, which blesses the world and blesses ourselves in the process. The evangelist Billy Graham, who died this past week at age 99, put it this way: “God has given us two hands, one to receive with and the other to give with.”

      The Greek word translated as “deny” means “to refuse to give any thought to, to express concern for, or to pay attention to.” The cross for us at its heart is a symbol of self-denial and the choice to choose other-centeredness over selfish pursuits.   Jesus put his own desires aside, went to the cross and died for us. Jesus didn’t want to die. He begged the Father to let that cup pass from him. Jesus accepted his Father’s will and surrendered his life for our sake. So, the process of spiritual crucifixion is to daily deny ourselves, to risk, in order to improve the life of others, and shape ourselves into Christ-centered, other-focused people.
We think of the sacrifice of young Peter Wong, who at age 15 years died serving his fellow students at the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on February 14. We remember his teachers Scott Siegel, Chris Hixon and Aaron Feis, who also died protecting students. No matter what we think of gun violence issues, we see the uprising of students the past few weeks across the nation on behalf of their dead friends, we have seen the youth of the country organizing to create a better, safer life for us all. In their pain they have been led to learn self-sacrifice.

It all reminds me of another student, Sophie Scholl, who was executed 75 years ago in Germany for taking part in a student resistance movement. Her final words were, “How can we expect righteousness to prevail when there is hardly anyone willing to give himself up individually to a righteous cause? Such a fine sunny day, and I have to go, but what does my death matter if through us thousands of people are awakened and stirred to action?”

We may not be called to die on behalf of someone else. However, we are called to give deeply of ourselves to improve the life of others. To live the faith the cross symbolizes – a life like that of Jesus, who confronted sin, consoled the despairing, ate with outcasts and sinners. Abraham and Sarah, they too are an example of ordinary people called out retirement, to leave the familiar and comforts behind, to trust a God who said, “I shall build nations from you,” “from you others shall be blessed (Gen. 12:2).”

So, everyday God says to us, you are a part of the great plan of centuries. Come out from behind you desk. Turn off the TV. Come out from your comfort zone. Let me bless you so you can serve. Let your faith come alive as you care and protect. You are meant for a life rooted with overflowing treasures in heaven. A life characterized by Christlike faith. A life overflowing in service. A life rooted in hope that is inspired by the Lord Jesus, a life inspired by his sacrifice on the cross – so we dare to proclaim like the apostle Paul:

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.   (Galatians 2:20).”

You see, at the close of life, the question to us will not be, “How much have you gotten?” but “How much have you given?” Not, “How much have you won?” but “How much have you done?” Not “How much have you saved?” but “How much have you sacrificed? It will be “How much have you loved and served?” not “How much were you honored?” It’s time to lose—so all can live. For there is nothing we can give in turn for the gift of our life. Nothing.

It is time. Throw away the Ferraris and Rolexes. Throw away the fear. Throw away the doubt. Let seek the righteousness of the kingdom. Let us pick up the cross and follow Messiah Jesus – so together we can live life to its fullest. Amen.

Notes:

Matthew 10:38, Matthew 16:24   And he that takes not his cross, and follows after me, is not worthy of me.
Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people to him with his disciples also, …
Mark 10:21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said to him, One thing you …
Luke 9:23-27 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny …
Luke 14:27 And whoever does not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/billy_graham
https://timeline.com/sophie-scholl-white-rose-guillotine-6b3901042c98
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/1159538-how-can-we-expect-righteousness-to-prevail-when-there-is

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"Out Into the Wilderness"

2/19/2018

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Genesis 9:8-17; Mark 1:9-15
Ozone Park

      Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, those famous private detectives, went on a camping trip. After a good meal, they lay down for the night and went to sleep. Some hours later, Holmes awoke and nudged his faithful friend. Holmes said: “Watson, look up and tell me what you see”.    Watson said: “I see a fantastic panorama of countless stars.”
     Holmes: “And what does that tell you?”   Watson pondered for a moment: “Astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo. Furthermore, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three. Theologically, I can see that God is all powerful and that we are small and insignificant. And it will be a beautiful day tomorrow. “Why? – What does it tell you, Holmes?” Holmes was silent for a moment then spoke: “Someone has stolen our tent.”
        As a tried and true city dweller, outdoor living never ranked high on my bucket list. The closest we came to roughing it was our annual family camp week at Frost Valley YMCA, where we lived in rustic cabins with electricity and bathrooms, but with no TV or cell phone access, limited internet connection, climbing down to mess hall for meals, in mud, rain or sunshine. In 10 years we never did the ropes course or climbing wall, go fishing or the sunrise hike that required getting up at 4am. At best, we sat around the campfire roasting marshmallows.
It is not easy to step outside our comfort zones. We like our routines. The familiar is soothing to us. It gives us a sense of control and reassurance to predict our daily schedule: up by 6am, shower, dressed and breakfast by 7:30, out the door, at work by 9, back home by 7, bed by 11pm. We all have some structure, with some give or take – meetings, gym, interactions with family, answering emails, returning phone calls, checking Facebook and texts, social events- our days develop a predictable rhythm.
Our readings today describe a disruption to that steady, regular pace of life. In our Hebrew lesson, God is grieved by the continuous evil in the world. So, God decides that the only way to ‘redeem’ the world is to begin again with a small family – Noah and his immediate relatives. After everyone and everything that God commanded were in the ark, the Lord “shut them in.”   Then began the wilderness of the floods – forty days and forty nights of rains that destroyed all living things on earth not in the ark.    God then makes a promise, in the sign of a rainbow to never again destroy the earth with water.
Imagine being a member of Noah’s family getting off that ark that first day. We are told the Ark landed on Mt. Ararat, considered by some scholars in modern day Turkey. Did Noah’s family have to establish a new home base in a foreign land? They were the sole survivors to a God-ordered holocaust.   What did they see as they left the ark, a new world, wiped clean?   How did they adjust without their extended family and friends? Think of the stress of building new homes, establishing farms, planting crops, starting over.

Despite God’s reassurance and blessings, they went through a spiritual wilderness, with all the trials that implies. A place where the familiar was gone, the direction was unclear, nothing seemed right, and even a relationship with God was reestablished.

        In Mark’s gospel lesson today, we see God has decided that the only way to truly ‘redeem’ the world is by entering into the world in a personal, intimate way – in the person of Jesus. But first, before Jesus’ public ministry begins, a time of preparation – a time in the wilderness for forty days and nights. Jesus’ wilderness time “immediately” followed his baptism, and the text says, literally the Spirit expelled Jesus (not led him politely) out into the bleak, lonely, and dry Judean wilderness for forty days of testing.

Mark is very succinct: he just tells us that Satan tempted Jesus. He leaves a lot to the imagination. What did Satan tempt Jesus with? How did Jesus respond? What we do know is that people for centuries have fled to the wilderness to seek answers and find new directions in life. It is not surprising that the people of Israel would wander for 40 years in the wilderness – not just in response to disobedience and unbelief – but to give time for a new generation to rise up, a new generation familiar with the teachings of the Covenant and leadership of Moses.

        So, we can imagine Jesus, living the majority of his years in relative obscurity in Nazareth, as a local carpenter. At around age 30, Jesus made a radical shift. Something stirred in his soul. Something was calling him forth. Something was fully awakening in him, telling Jesus, it is time. Jesus’ routine was about to be upended. Jesus was expelled out into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit – away from human contact – exposed to dangerous animals, exposed to the elements – an unsafe place – but a transformative place. It would prepare him for the ministry that would change the course of the world.

Jesus faced all sorts of temptations in the wilderness. I believe Jesus faced a very common temptation that we all face. The temptation to go back. To return to the old life and play it safe.   The temptation to say no to God out of the fear of the unknown.   To return to the carpenter’s shop and live an ordinary life.

        Sometime in our lives we have all faced a wilderness. Not necessarily of the physical elements as much as elements that are social, emotional or spiritual. We are exposed not to elements of heat or cold, but to elements of human greed, anger, envy or jealousy, or pride. We’ve all found ourselves out there. In the wilderness of money problems, of too much debt, of bills piling up and no end in sight. The wilderness of a lump, then an exam, then a test, then a biopsy, then a meeting with the oncologist and a diagnosis and a treatment plan and one drug after another and side effects and the waiting for results and the wishing for another life. Some of us are often found in the wilderness of busyness that keeps us from God and loving well. Or perhaps we know the wilderness of making time for everything and therefore having time for nothing. The wilderness asks us: What important relationships and friendships have I been putting off to some future time? What is God calling me to do with my life and with all the resources God has given me? What in my life right now do I take for granted?

A businessman visiting the pier of a coastal village noticed a small boat with just one fisherman pulling up to the dock. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. He complimented the fisherman on the fish and asked how long it took to catch them. “Only a little while,” the fisherman replied. “Why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more fish?” “I have enough to support my family’s needs.” The businessman then asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?” The fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, and stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my friends. I have a full and busy life.”
The businessman scoffed, “You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat. Eventually have a whole fleet of boats. You can sell directly to the processor, open your own cannery. You would need to leave this small village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles, and eventually New York City to run your expanding enterprise.” The fisherman asked, “But, how long will all this take?” The MBA replied, “Fifteen to twenty years.” “But what then?” the fisherman asked. The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part. You can sell your company stock and become very rich; you would make millions.” “Millions?” the fisherman asked. “Then what?”
The American said, “Then you would retire and move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with your wife, and stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play guitar with your friends.”
This is what our Lenten wilderness teaches us.
To discover the purpose of life, now.
To appreciate what we have now.
To set our priorities straight - now.
To live the life God wants us to – now.
To love, now.
To repent, now.
To find the Kingdom of God, here, in our hearts, and experience the goods news of Jesus, not somewhere in the future, but now. Thanks be to God!

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Listen to Him!

2/10/2018

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Exodus 24:12-18 Matthew 17:1-9

        How many people here are old enough to remember the vintage E. F. Hutton commercial-- a stock brokerage firm from in the 70s & 80s? For those who don’t, it goes like this; A room full of people all talking at once. Over in the corner, an individual whispers to a friend, “What do you think the market’s going to do?” The friend says, “Well, my broker is E. F. Hutton, and E. F. Hutton says ….” Just like that, frame freeze. Total silence, as everyone leans forward to hear what E. F. Hutton says. Joggers would halt in mid-stride. Commuters on board the train would put down their newspapers. Dinner guests would cease passing the green bean casserole. Everything came to a screeching halt. The voice-over says it all: “When E. F. Hutton talks, people listen.”
Well, the Transfiguration of Jesus isn’t about E. F. Hutton, or stocks and bonds or investment portfolios, but it does make a similar point: When someone credible speaks – someone who knows what he’s talking about – we’d do well to listen. And, if that’s the case, can you think of anyone who commands greater respect, greater credibility, greater authority than Jesus? Listen to him! God says.

I recently saw a statistic suggesting that 85 percent of what we know we have learned through listening. However, we spend less than half our time listening, about 44 percent, and comprehend less than a quarter of what we do listen to. We listen at 25 percent of our capacity.

Maybe that’s because there’s no shortage of voices to listen to. And, in our culture, the loudest of these voices tell us to do exactly the opposite of what Jesus tells his disciples to do. Instead of denying ourselves, we are encouraged to indulge ourselves. Every year, $200 billion is spent on advertising messages that center on one overarching theme: drive the right car, go to the right restaurant, buy the right snacks, and we will be happy. No wonder on Super bowl Sunday, last week, clever ads for Doritos, Mountain Dew Ice, Budweiser, M &Ms, Tide detergent, Pringles, Febreze and many more spent 5 million dollars for 30 seconds to hawk their wares, to stand out, to make us listen. That’s how desperately they wanted to get their message across. Imagine if the church still held such sway. “When the scriptures are proclaimed….people listen.”

        In the transfiguration story from Matthew, a voice from heaven told the disciples to listen to, or to hear Jesus. Jesus had taken three of his disciples up a high mountain. And while they were there, Jesus was transfigured before their eyes. His face began to shine and his clothing became dazzling white. Great prophets of the past, Elijah and Moses, appeared and spoke with him. A cloud overshadowed them and a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, Hear Him – or listen to him!”

        Remember we heard a similar message when Jesus was baptized back in chapter three of Matthew. When Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens opened and a voice from heaven said, “This is my son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:16-17). In today’s story the heavenly voice announces the same thing, with that one addition: The voice adds, “Listen to him!” Hear him.

This message came at a crucial time in Jesus’s ministry. Jesus was just starting to tell his disciples a message they really didn’t want to hear. Up until this point in the gospel, Jesus had been healing, casting out demons and teaching that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand. Right there in their midst.   Who could resist such a message?

But right before today’s passage, in chapter 16, Jesus asked the disciples who they thought he was. And when Peter said, “You are the Messiah.” On the heels of Peter’s confession of faith, Jesus began to explain to them that he was going to suffer, be rejected and killed, and raised to life on the third day.

        That kind of message is hard to hear. No wonder the disciples began to close down and turn away from Jesus’ message. They wanted a powerful messiah, a messiah that would conquer their enemies, not a rejected, persecuted, murdered messiah. Didn’t they have enough of that already? So, this was a turning point in Jesus’ ministry. Now he would begin his journey to Jerusalem where he knew he would die.   This was so hard to bear that even Peter rebuked Jesus for sharing such a message – Jesus responds quickly, in kind, calling Peter Satan, “or adversary, one who resists.” Incisive words for someone who cannot hear the word of God Jesus reveals. Jesus finds another way to get his disciples to hear the message. He waits almost a week then takes up on the mountaintop.

Mountains throughout scripture, indeed throughout the ancient world, were places when people encounter the sacred. Moses encountered the burning bush that was not consumed, and later received the Law on Mount Sinai (Ex. 24:15). Elijah the prophet also had a sacred encounter with God on Mount Horeb (1 Ki. 19:8).   Fleeing for his life on the top of the mountain, depressed, Elijah encounters God not in the earthquake or fire, but in the silence that followed. In the aftermath of encountering God, Elijah’s mission to speak out on behalf of God in the face of danger is renewed. And now Peter, James and John, on the mountaintop, suddenly they could see on the outside of Jesus what was inside – God’s power and glory shining through, visible to their eyes. His face shone like the sun. His clothes were dazzling white. The disciples witnessed the transforming power of God at work in Jesus.

        It took the transfiguration of the person of Jesus, standing with Elijah and Moses, and a heavenly voice, to open the ears of comprehension. The disciples realized that Jesus’s words were true. Listen to him was etched on their hearts. They must go with him. They must practice obedience in the face of oppression. This mountaintop experience and those words would help them believe and trust that the way Jesus chose was indeed God’s way. A way affirmed by the law and the prophets and led to glory. And they did get up and go back down the mountain with Jesus. When God talked in a mighty revelation, it created the space for them to listen.

        “This is my son, the beloved. Listen to him.” Hear him. Who do we listen to? A spouse or partner? Your parents, or children? Your friends? Fox News? NPR? Flyers and billboards? It is estimated that Americans process between 4,000 to 10,000 ads throughout the day. It’s not easy for us to hear Jesus with all these voices vying for attention.

The story is told of Franklin Roosevelt, who often endured long receiving lines at the White House. He complained that no one really paid any attention to what was said. One day, during a reception, he decided to try an experiment. To each person who passed down the line and shook his hand, he murmured, "I murdered my grandmother this morning." The guests responded with phrases like, "Marvelous! Keep up the good work. We are proud of you. God bless you, sir." It was not till the end of the line, while greeting the ambassador from Bolivia, that his words were actually heard. Nonplussed, the ambassador leaned over and whispered, "I'm sure she had it coming." We can imagine that on occasion how frustrated Jesus was, and tempted to test his disciples, his followers, to get his message across. That’s what the transfiguration does.

        The gospels teach us that one of the greatest gifts we can cultivate is the capacity to listen. This Wednesday, Ash Wednesday, which starts the season of Lent, our preparation for Easter, it also falls this year on Valentines Day. Perhaps we can make a double pledge to listen. To hear, from a place of love, those around us. To hear what God has to say to us. To cut through the hallmark ads that would steer us to buying, instead of being and listening, and affirming those we love.

Lent invites us to hear Jesus. Let us hear Jesus through the scriptures. When we read the Bible, we pray, we ask for the gift to hear. We ask ourselves, what did Jesus do What did he say about life, about faith, about God? We ask, Lord, what does this have to do with me?

In addition to the Bible, we listen through prayer. We unplug ourselves from the world and spent time with the Great Lover of our souls. One of the easiest ways to pray is to imagine that Jesus is there with us, and you talk to him. Tell him about your day. Speak out your questions, your frustrations and joys and fears. Be quiet and pay attention to any thoughts that may come as a response.

Finally, we listen to Jesus is by listening to other people of faith. Let us talk to each other about our faith in Jesus makes in our lives. Go to a bible study and share. When we listen to Jesus and follow in his ways, it changes us.   We become more truly ourselves and more able to forgive, more able to care about and love others
So, when Jesus talks…through the word, in your heart, through a friend or even a stranger…stop what you’re doing. You are worth more than advertisement. Step away from the computer. Put down the newspaper. Turn off the radio or TV. Listen. Listen to him – 100%. And be transformed. Glory be to God.

https://orthodoxsalem.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/sermon-08-01-sap-all-saints.pdf

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Be Lifted Up!

2/6/2018

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Isaiah 40:21-31; Mark 1:29-39

Mother in laws can’t seem to catch a break. What other relative gets made fun of so much? They are immortalized on the big screen with a movie entitled “Monster-in-law.” They have a blog column dedicated to their antics called “Mothers in brawl.” Even Pope Francis got on the bandwagon on Valentine’s Day a few years back when he addressed a crowd in Peter’s Square saying, “We all know the perfect family does not exist. The perfect husband does not exist and the perfect wife does not exist,” he said. Then, after pausing as if for comic effect, he added: “Let’s not even talk about perfect mothers-in-law.” It is reported that the crowd roared with laughter.

Our gospel lesson today, however, paints a different picture. It is Peter’s mother-in-law, his wife’s mother, not his mother, who is at his home, very ill in bed. The text raises some intriguing questions: was she a widow? Why wasn’t she in her husband’s care, or more traditionally in her own son’s care, or her brother or uncle’s care, which might be more expected. We don’t know her circumstances. We do know that Simon has opened his home to her and now she has taken ill. The word “fever” also means “to be on fire” and is found only in this story in the gospels.   She was ill enough that as soon as they left the synagogue, they went to Peter’s house, and told Jesus about her condition at once. Jesus took her by the hand and lifted her up. She is cured and in turn immediately begins to serve them.

        In the passage before this in Mark, Jesus healed a man with an unclean spirit by rebuking the demon on the Sabbath. In doing so, Jesus broke the religious law about working on the Sabbath. Once more Jesus breaks the Sabbath rules by curing this woman. This is the first-person in Mark’s gospel that Jesus heals. Jesus touches an ill person, an ill woman, a double whammy. We see on the first day of public ministry Jesus manages to break three rules: working on the Sabbath, touching an ill person (rendering himself unclean in the process), and touching an unrelated woman, Peter’s mother-in-law.

        Jesus sets a new standard for Sabbath observance: healing and restoring people, families, communities is holy. It is as part of worship as our prayers, readings of scripture and singing of psalms and hymns. It is part of God’s redemptive plan in Christ. Lifting up the downtrodden and confronting evil is an integral part of the teaching Jesus proclaims. What an impact Jesus’ message in word and deed had. By nightfall, the whole city was gathered at the door of Simon Peter’s house. The whole city! And Jesus continues curing those who were sick, casting out demons. Everyone was searching for him. Everyone was searching for hope – a renewed life – to be lifted up, like Peter’s mother-in-law.

        In this amazing story that lifts up a mother-in-law, cured and loved, we discover something important that sets an example for us. The text tells us that once the fever left her, she began to serve them.   Maybe she got them lunch, or a snack, or an ice-cold drink on a hot, balmy day. What’s the big deal in this?

        The first time we heard that Jesus was served in Mark, is back at v. 13, which states: “3 He (Jesus) was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.” Mark uses the same word – so we can say the angels served Jesus. Later in chapter 15, the first women who faithfully went to tomb to anoint Jesus’ body that Easter Sunday morning, the first witnesses to the resurrection, were the same group that Mark says provided for Jesus; or served him. (15:41).    It is the same word that Jesus uses three times again in Mark when he lays down the fundamentals of faithful living:
In chapter 9 Mark records: 35 He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.”9:35 then later in Chapter 10, Jesus again reminds his disciples: 43 … whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, … 5 For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” 10:43:45.

Our English word “deacon” comes from the word for serving that Mark uses in the gospel.   Deacons are recognized from the early church as servant-leaders -- in many Christians traditions, including the Presbyterian denomination, deacons are an ordained office of the church, as along with ruling elders and ministers.

This service ranged from offering the basics of hospitality to providing financial and spiritual support. To serve, as our mother-in-law did, is a decision to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, the divine Servant of all. So, it has been said, that our mother-in-law is not only the first woman healed by Jesus, she is also the first disciple to live out her faith in service.

It is easy to overlook that simple phrase: “she began to serve them.” She didn’t get up to go play with the grandkids, to catch up with the neighbors, or to look after herself. She was sick, indeed very sick, in bed. No one would have blamed her if she continued to convalesce in bed. But she didn’t. Jesus’ healing not only cured her body, but it left a mark on her spirit that she just had to get up and do something for others. It is a natural consequence of coming in contact with Jesus. In Christ we are healed, we are touched, we are lifted up, we are restored in order to be restorers. That’s the hallmark of true spirituality – the sign that Jesus is present in our lives: we serve.

         All of us have a fever of one kind or another. Not all fevers are physical. Some of our fevers are spiritual or emotional, or mental. Some of us burn with anger. Ambition. Some of us feel the heat of unreached goals, or unrequited love. Who hasn’t felt the heat of some form of sin. Some of us have another kind of fever – a fever to find a place in the world. A longing we can’t put our finger on. To feel connected to something or someone significant.

        The fevers that ravage our body, our minds, our very soul – they lay us low. They keep us down. They knock us off our feet and cripple us. So, we live fevered lives – until we feel the hand of Jesus lifting us up – replacing the fever with a focus – a purpose, an understanding that we are godly servants. Whether we serve with the angels, at the dinner table, providing support for God’s mission, or ministering to the oppressed, the sick and dying – serving lifts us up.

       A church I used to serve at had this saying in their bulletin: “our worship has ended now our service begins!” What service has God lifted us up to? Whether you are a teacher, a musician, a business person, a parent, a student, or a mother-in-law, we all have the ability to help. What is First Presbyterian Church of Freeport lifted up to do? Who needs lifting up in the community? We are lifted up to love, to care, serve.These are the questions that lead us to healing and renewal. Let Jesus’ touch lift us today, in worship, so as we can say, as worship ends, let our service begin. Thanks be to God!

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"Losing to Live"

"Out Into the Wilderness"

Listen to Him!

Be Lifted Up!

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