Epiphany V B 2009

Theme: Breaking the law

Let us pray.

Most holy, Lord God, in Capernaum your son began his mission of healing and preaching; may we always apply what Jesus taught by word and deed, so that we may make the world a better place and with the aid of the Holy Spirit may we bring about your kingdom, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Most of us are probably familiar with the free breakfasts that Denny’s had last Tuesday. But this morning, I want to tell you a story with a different twist.

A couple of weeks ago in Muskegon, Michigan, the workers at Mr. B’s Pancake House wanted to do something for the restaurant owner. Times are tough for workers and for businesses these days. The employees at Mr. B’s knew that the owner, Dave Barham, was struggling to keep the doors open. There were times that he used out-of-pocket money to make payroll.

So lead server, Mary VanDam, asked her co-workers if they would be willing to work one day, without pay. They agreed to one shift. On January 18th, the 17 servers, cooks, busboys, dishwashers, cashiers, and hostesses worked without pay to help out Dave. Dave employs 30 people.

“When customers heard about the workers' effort, they tipped a little more. The shift’s workers divided the gratuities equally and each took home $51.” (AP)

The employees love to work at Mr. B’s and for Dave. Mary said, “This is a wonderful business. We want to see it succeed.” Dave said, “Isn’t that something?” “He said he doesn’t want people to get the impression his business is doing poorly, but ‘it’s tight for everyone all over.’” (AP)

“’We wish we could have saved him $5,000,’ (Mary) said. ‘We wanted to give back to him, lighten the load a little.’” (AP)

Now, I’m no lawyer here, but it could be that this was a violation of labor laws. When workers work they deserve to be paid. I think Jesus said something like that. Still, it was a very nice gesture for someone who must be a very nice man. Restaurant work is hard work. Yet Dave’s employees don’t seem to want to work any where else. I hope that lawyers and bureaucrats leave this wonderful place alone.

In any case, sometimes we need to do something that is against the law, because it is the right thing to do. The Civil Rights movement is an excellent example. Making people whole and included is an unwritten law that is higher than any civil law or religious law.

Now that I have said that, that brings us to today’s gospel reading. Last week, we heard about Jesus healing a man who was possessed. We pick up today on that Saturday long ago.

Jesus and his four disciples, Simon, Andrew, James, and John go to Simon and Andrew’s house from the synagogue. When they arrive, they are told that Simon’s unnamed mother-in-law is in bed with a fever. We now know the disciples have families whom they will soon leave. After Jesus took her hand and helped her up, she was made well. She then immediately served them lunch.

Now, remember this is the sabbath. She isn’t supposed to be working. She is breaking the law. Jesus and his friends don’t seem to mind being waited on to the point of ignoring Jewish law as spelled out in the Bible. This is after Jesus healed the man in the synagogue earlier that morning, which is also a violation of the law. Jesus is flaunting the law and is condoning others to also break the law.

Jesus is the one we are following! We are following an outlaw! (And it’s not Mel or Helen!) Simon’s mother-in-law is not following a gender stereotype. She is modeling what it means to be a follower of Jesus. And that is to serve. Jesus’ disciples, though they witnessed how it is to be done, don’t yet get it.

What Simon’s mother-in-law is doing is the high honor of service as a follower of Jesus. The Greek word used here to mean “to serve” is diakoneo. Diakoneo is the same word we turn into deacon. Deacons serve. Deacons also demonstrate for us how to follow Jesus.

Next Mark remarks that after sunset, after the sabbath is over, people brought a whole bunch of sick people to Jesus. The contrast is striking. The law abiders, the upright ones, out of great human need for wholeness, bring the afflicted to Jesus, the law breaker, to have them restored.

It should also be noted that in ancient times all illness was thought to have a spiritual dimension. So it was logical that any affliction was a punishment for something that people did wrong, or even for a sin. That is why forgiving sins and healing are often linked in the gospels. Yet Jesus is sinless. Jesus is whole. And Jesus, the law breaker, heals those who follow the law.

And it wasn’t just the sick – the whole town showed up! Now granted it was a small town, but still, it must have resembled something like a mob scene. So it was everybody in that town – the leaders, the lowly, the popular, the shunned, the attractive and the not so attractive, the old, the young, the wise and the foolish. All of them gathered into one place. (Probably a lot more than showed up at synagogue earlier that morning.)

All these people gathered together to see one person, Jesus. All their differences and class distinctions dissolved that evening. They were one people looking for hope and meaning. They were looking for healing and wholeness. That evening, they found it.

Jesus healed them all. The demons that were expelled knew who Jesus is. Yet Jesus kept them from spilling the beans.

The next morning, before dawn, Jesus slips away to find a place by himself. He goes to a dark, deserted place. The word used here is the same word that is used for the wilderness place of temptation. He wants to pray.

His friends were alarmed to find Jesus missing when they woke up. After all, how can you follow someone when you don’t know where he is? The hunt began. Simon and the others assume Jesus has taken leave of his senses. They think Jesus has lost his mission, for which they signed up. They left their fishing business’ to follow Jesus and now he is AWOL.

So when they found him, they scolded Jesus by saying, “Everybody’s looking for you!” Have you ever noticed that when we want to make a point, we sometimes exaggerate to make the other person feel worse or to convey how distressed we are? Surely, everybody was not looking for Jesus. Jesus brushes off the remark. He has a bigger picture in mind that his friends cannot yet imagine.

He tells them that it is time to move on. There are other people who have not heard Jesus’ message and they need to. And Jesus adds that that is why he is there. Jesus will not follow the expectations of his followers. Jesus has a mission. Jesus went to other towns doing what he did in Capernaum – attending synagogue and throwing out demons. Jesus’ mission is healing and preaching.

We tend to think the modern equivalent of the demon possessed are the desperately insane – frothing at the mouth, running around naked – that sort of thing. But our contemporary demons are much more subtle, sophisticated and devious than that. They go by names such as “popularity,” “acceptance,” “low self-esteem,” “ambition,” “greed,” and many more. And for such demons their exorcism demands a gospel of radical inclusion – unqualified love – humor and grace. And here, the gospel imperative is loud and clear.

Simon’s mother-in-law gave us an example of service as a follower of Jesus. We were also told through this story that human need trumps rules and laws. In what ways are you following Jesus and what is left undone?

We now pray: Gracious God and giver of all good gifts give us the gift of enthusiasm, through which we may proclaim your gospel through thought, word, and deed and in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, through whom we pray. Amen.

[The Associated Press contributed to the sermon.]

Text: Mark 1:29-39 (NRSV)
29 As soon as theyn left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. 31 He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

32 That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. 33 And the whole city was gathered around the door. 34 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.

35 In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. 36 And Simon and his companions hunted for him. 37 When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” 38 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.” 39 And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.

[1]

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n  Other ancient authorities read he

[1]  The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. 1989. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.