"We Can't Say Yes to Everything" Message #3

As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” He answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.” And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.

INTRODUCTION

THE SAINTED PRIEST, ARCHBISHOP OSCAR ROMERO, IS CREDITED WITH ONE OF MY FAVORITE PRAYERS THAT IS AT

ONCE A COMMENTARY ON TIME, AND HOW WE AS HUMANS USE OUR TIME, HOW WE AS

HUMANS DEDICATE AND REDEDICATE OURSELVES TO GOD’S MISSION FOR OUR LIVES…THIS IS IN PART THAT

PRAYER CALLED, A STEP ALONG THE WAY, BELOVEDS:

It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.

This is what we are about. We plant the seeds that one day will grow. We water seeds already planted,

knowing that they hold future promise. We lay foundations that will need further development. We

provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities. We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of

liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it very well. It may be

incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do

the rest. We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder

and the worker. We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future

not our own. Amen

LIVING OUT OUR FAITH EVENTUALLY REVEALS WE ALL HAVE LIMITS......THIS DOES NOT MEAN WE ARE ANY LESS

FAITHFUL, BUT IT DOES MEAN WE COME INTO THE PRESENCE OF THE DIVINE SEEKING ALWAYS THE WISDOM TO

CHOOSE AND USE OUR BEST MOMENTS TO SERVE THE LORD OUR GOD.....

WE REDEEM OUR TIME AS WE REALIZE WE CAN’T SAY YES TO EVERYTHING....WE REDEEM OUR TIME WHEN WE’RE

ABLE TO SAY YES TO ALL THAT HONORS GOD, AND ALL THAT ADVANCES THE GOSPEL IN OUR LIVES AND IN THE

LIVES OF OTHERS.......

IN A SECTION OF JEFF SHINABARGER’S BOOK, YES OR NO, CALLED DECISIONS CHANGE EVERYTHING.....HE

REMINDS READERS OF THIS POWERFUL TRUISM ABOUT HOW WE SPEND OUR TIME BASED ON OUR DECISIONS…

HE WROTE:

IT’S AMAZING HOW 2 WORDS HAVE THE ABILITY TO CHANGE EVERYTHING; YES OR NO. MOST DECISIONS

ULTIMATELY COME DOWN TO THE MOMENT WHEN YOU CHOOSE TO SAY YES OR CHOOSE TO SAY NO. I

BELIEVE THE WORDS YES AND NO ARE THE MOST POWERFUL WORDS IN THE DICTIONARY. THEY DEFINE

WHAT WE LOVE, WHAT WE WILL BE KNOWN FOR, AND WHAT WE WILL DO WITH OUR LIVES. THESE WORDS

CAN BOTH OPEN DOORS TO NEW PLACES AND CLOSE DOORS TO OLD SPACES. YES AND NO BEGIN NEW

STORIES AND END OLD PLOT LINES. THEY ARE DEFINITIVE WORDS: WORDS THAT SIGNIFICANTLY CHANGE

THE TRAJECTORY OF LIFE.

EMBEDDED IN OUR TEXT THIS MORNING IS OUR SAVIOR JESUS, SHOWING US THE POWER OF LIVING OUT HIS YES

AND HIS NO TO THE DISCIPLES WHO ARE SEEKING TO ENGAGE HIM AND HIS TIME, ENERGY AND HEALING POWER....

ONE COMMENTATOR ON THE TEXT WROTE OF OUR LORD JESUS:

He had no slack time; He had no intervals of ease; He had no holidays from service. Our Lord had an abiding

sense of the urgency and pressure of life.

JESUS’ LESSON HERE IN ST. MARK ON RESPONDING WITH YES OR NO

JASON RAYNOR REMINDS US IN HIS BOOK, REDEEMING YOUR TIME THAT JESUS PRIORITIZED HIS TIME WITH THE

FATHER ABOVE ANYTHING ELSE IN HIS LIFE AND HE REFERS THE READER TO 2 BIBLE TEXTS TO PROVE IT, ONE

FROM OUR TEXT THIS MORNING:

Mark 1:35 NRSV

In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.

THE SECOND FROM THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE:

Luke 6:12 NRSV

Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God.

RAYNOR GOES ON TO CONCLUDE, THAT FOR US SPENDING TIME IN GOD’S WORD IS THE KEYSTONE HABIT

THAT MAKES EVERY OTHER TIME MANAGEMENT PRACTICE EASIER AND MORE EFFECTIVE........

AND YET OUR TEXT GOES ON TO SHOW US JESUS…SAYING YES TO HIS 4 DISCIPLES

Mark 1:29 NRSV

As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.

AND SIMON PETER’S MOTHER-IN-LAW WAS SICK IN BED WITH FEVER.....JESUS DID NOT ASK HER TO SHOW HOW

MUCH FAITH SHE HAD, HE DID NOT SAY TO HER, “YOUR FAITH WILL MAKE YOU WELL”

NOR DID JESUS PRAY LONG PRAYERS OF HEALING OVER HER BEFORE HIS ACTIONS SHOWED HIS POWER AS A

HEALER......

NO, THE TEXT GOES ON TO SAY: HE TOOK HER BY THE HAND AND LIFTED HER UP........JESUS DIDN’T USE A WORD,

HIS YES WAS HIS ACTION....HIS YES WAS HIS OWN FAITHFULNESS.....HIS YES WAS HIS BOND WITH ST. PETER’S PAIN

AT SEEING HIS MOTHER-IN-LAW’S SUFFERING WITH THE FEVER.....JESUS TOOK HER BY THE HAND & HEALED HER

IN THAT MOMENT....AMEN?

METHODIST HOSPITAL IN OMAHA NEBRASKA, TELLS OF A PROGRAM OF THERAPUTIC/HEALING TOUCH THAT

HELPS TO STIMULATE RELAXATION AND REDUCE PAIN.....

Chris Nadler, a stroke and melanoma survivor, has been a Methodist regular for the better part of the past

decade. “I’ve gotten extremely good care,” he said. “They listen. They don’t preach. Every facet I’ve had

with them has been wonderful.” After a recent diagnosis of atrial fibrillation, Chris experienced varying

degrees of pain following two cardiac ablations and having a pacemaker implanted, including “severe

pain” after a catheter ablation in May. But instead of relying on pain medication alone, the 62-year-old

Council Bluffs man trusted a nurse to complete a Healing Touch treatment – a nonpharmacological

approach to pain management that Methodist offers. The gentle, nurturing, compassionate form of energy

therapy aims to complement the body’s natural ability to heal.

“People are so caught up in, ‘I’m going to take a pill, and I’ll feel better,’” Chris said. “I think if people

would understand what they can do without that, channeling their own energy through their bodies, I

think it would help people. I know it helps me.” For Kathy Svoboda, BSN, RN, who serves as one of 16

Healing Touch nurses at Methodist, the therapy is an extra tool that she can use to help distressed patients.

“It helps me feel better because I have something else to use to help them relax, to reduce pain, to reduce

anxiety, to help them sleep,” she said.

HEALING IS STILL HAPPENING IN OUR WORLD, BELOVEDS, WHEN PATIENTS SAY YES TO TRYING HEALING TOUCH

JESUS’ ACTIONS ALSO SHOW US HOW NO CAN HELP TOO

WHEN WE LOOK MORE DEEPLY AT MARK 1:34 WE CLEARLY SEE JESUS SAYING NO TO THE DEMONS....NO TO THEIR

TORMENT OF CERTAIN PEOPLE, NO TO THEIR DESIRE TO REVEAL AND UNCOVER HIS IDENTITY…NO

Mark 1:34 NRSV

And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

THERE IS ANOTHER NO IN THE TEXT…IT SAYS HE CURED MANY WHO WERE SICK.....BUT NOT EVERYONE....ST.

MARK

REPORTED THE WHOLE CITY WAS GATHERED AT THEIR DOOR......IN Mark 1:33

Mark 1:33 NRSV

And the whole city was gathered around the door.

JESUS’ NO PUSHED HIM INTO THE PRESENCE OF THE THE ALMIGHTY, JESUS’ NO PERHAPS PREVENTED HIS

OWN BURNOUT TRYING TO BE EVERYTHING TO EVERYBODY.........JESUS’ NO TEACHES US AS

BELIEVERS.....SOMETIMES

WE HAVE TO SAY NO TOO.......

JESUS’ NO FOCUSED HIM ON THE TASK TO WHICH HE WAS CALLED, TO GO INTO THE NEIGHBORING TOWNS AND

PREACH THE GOSPEL.......

THE OUTSTANDING MOTIVATIONAL ENTREPRENEUR MARIE FORLEO....DESCRIBES THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING

ABLE TO SAY NO:

Being discerning with your time, energy and attention is a must in today’s overstretched and

over committed world. The ability to say no, gracefully and honestly, in a wide variety of situations is one

of the most powerful skills you can develop. As Warren Buffett once said, "You've gotta keep control of

your time and you can't unless you say no. You can't let people set your agenda in life.

"Even if you know you’re protecting the resources and people that are most important to you, saying no

can still feel terrifying.

AND THEN SHE PUTS HER MONEY WHERE HER MOUTH IS AND OFFERS A 19 WAYS TO SAY NO SET OF SCRIPTS TO

LEARN TO SAY NO WITH GRACE AND CLASS....AMEN?

CONCLUSION

ONE OF MY FAVORITE SCRIPTURES IS ECCLESIASTES 3:1

Ecclesiastes 3:1 NRSV

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

A TIME TO SAY YES.....AND A TIME TO SAY NO.......IT WAS PATTI SMITH WHO SAID IT BEST:

“THE IDEA OF REDEMPTION IS ALWAYS GOOD NEWS, EVEN IF IT MEANS SACRIFICE OR SOME DIFFICULT TIMES”

AND IT WAS THE GREAT REVIVAL PREACHER BILLY GRAHAM WHO WENT ON TO SAY, “I HAVE NEVER KNOWN ANYONE

TO ACCEPT CHRIST’S REDEMPTION AND LATER REGRET IT....” CHRIST REDEEMED YOU SO YOU CAN EXERCISE YOUR

FREE WILL, BELOVEDS....

WITH THAT FREE WILL, REDEEM YOUR TIME.....DON’T SAY YES TO EVERYTHING.....WITH THAT FREE WILL ACCEPT

THE FORGIVENESS OF CHRIST, THE MIGHTY KIND ST. PETER KNEW AND ACCEPTED OF WHICH ONE WRITER WROTE:

THE GREATEST GIFT WE CAN GIVE PEOPLE IN OUR LIVES IS TO LET THE LORD FORGIVE US. WHEN WE DO, WE

WILL BE ABLE TO LOVE OURSELVES IN SPITE OF OUR FAILURES. THAT WILL LIBERATE US TO ALLOW PEOPLE

INTO THE INNER RECESSES OF OUR HEARTS. THEY WILL SEE AND FEEL WHAT CHRIST HAS BEEN ABLE TO DO

WITH THE RAW MATERIAL OF OUR HUMANITY. THIS IS THE KEY TO HELPING OTHERS. IT’S MORE THAN

TELLING PEOPLE WHAT THEY OUGHT TO BELIEVE, DO, AND BE. RATHER, IT’S THE IMPELLING, IRRESISTIBLE

SHARING OF WHAT WE’VE BEEN THROUGH AND WHAT WE’VE DISCOVERED CHRIST CAN DO WITH A FORGIVEN

NATURE.

REDEEM YOUR TIME, HELP OTHERS KNOW YOU BECAUSE YOU CAN ALSO STAND ON YOUR ANSWER OF OF “NO”

REDEEM YOUR TIME, AND LET YOUR YES TRULY BE YOUR YES, AND YOUR NO BE YOUR NO.......

REDEEM YOUR TIME, BELOVEDS, AND AS YOU DO....YOU’LL COME TO KNOW THE JOY OF MARTIN LUTHER’S TAKE ON

THIS LIFE’S BUSYNESS WHEN HE SAID:

I HAVE SO MUCH TO DO TODAY, I’LL NEED TO SPEND ANOTHER HOUR ON MY KNEES

NEXT SUNDAY WE’LL CONSIDER THE MESSAGE:

“NO SHAME IN RESTING”, FROM MARK 6: 30-32

AND ONE SUNDAY, OCT 30th, THE MESSAGE IS “PUNCHING HURRY IN THE MOUTH” FROM PROVERBS 21: 5