Saving Faith - Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany Narrative Lectionary 2

Saving Faith

Epiphany 4B – NL 2

January 28, 2024

Our Savior’s, Faribault, MN

Mark 5.21-43

In March 1980, Mt. St. Helens in Washington state erupted in what was arguably the worst volcanic disaster in North America. A column of ash rose 12 miles in the air and spread for 10 straight hours. One of my aunts who lived in Washington state sent me a coffee cup made from the ash. It’s very light. At least 57 people were killed and hundreds of square miles were reduced to rubble. The resulting mudslides reached as far as the Columbia River, about 50 miles away from the volcano. The total devastation caused an estimated $1 billion damage, about $3.2 billion 2022 dollars.

Two characters in our reading, an unnamed woman and a prominent father, face life-changing death and devastation. Today is the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany, the shorter green season that explores who Jesus is, literally bringing us “aha” moments. So far, Jesus has been revealed as God’s beloved Son, healer, and teacher. Last week Pr. Drew told us that Jesus is the one who goes where others refuse to go as we saw in his encounter with the man possessed by demons. Today, Jesus is shown to go even further, where others can’t go: into the realm of death.

Mark has crafted a wonderful “sandwich” story, a story within a story that is called an inclusio. This format serves to heighten the tension prevalent in the story. Jesus is now back on Jewish soil, surrounded by crowds, approached by a Jewish religious leader. Jairus falls at Jesus’ feet and desperately begs Jesus to heal his daughter. His actions highlight the seriousness of her illness. Jesus agrees, the crowd follows, but then he is interrupted by another desperate person. This one is an unnamed woman, suffering for 12 years with a flow of blood. Not only has she been bankrupt from paying doctors, they’ve actually made her worse.

The woman tries to be inconspicuous, but to no avail. Jesus calls her out, doing so to use the opportunity to praise her faith. He then tells her to go in peace, that her faith has made her well. Meanwhile, a contingent comes from Jairus’ house informing them that his daughter is dead. Jesus shrugs off the crowd, takes a few disciples with him, and tells Jairus to fear not but believe. Ignoring the jeers of the mourners, Jesus resuscitates the girl to everyone’s amazement.

The woman with the flow of blood was desperate because as someone ritually unclean she was dead in the eyes of the community. She could not be around anyone because her presence would make them unclean. Nor could she worship in Jairus’ synagogue for the same reason. In other words, she was also dead to God. Jairus’ daughter, of course, was dead. Really dead (“sleeping” is a euphemism Jesus uses to indicate that death is not beyond him). But she’s dead in another sense. She has been cut off as she entered maturity, short of becoming a woman, marrying and having children. She’s dead to any future she might have had. Yet,  Jesus enters into their deaths, the woman and the father on behalf of the girl, and invites them into a trusting relationship, one that results in salvation and peace, also known as shalom.

In the “Heaven” Bible study this past Wednesday, Pr. Drew led an excellent discussion about Hell. You can’t talk about heaven without talking about hell. Pr. Drew pointed out what we confess in the Apostles’ Creed, that after Jesus “was crucified, died and was buried,” he “descended to Hell.” Aside from not knowing what Jesus did there (some say he preached the gospel!?), we agreed that the larger meaning is there is no place outside of God’s presence and love, not even death. The Apostle Paul in chapter 8 of his letter to the church at Rome declares that there is nothing that can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus, not even that great separator, death.

What is often missed in the Mt. St. Helens story is the rapid recovery of the area. True, the gaping crater remains, and the landscape altered irrevocably. But as Rabbi Ed Friedman notes, within weeks everything that appeared on the third day of creation appeared at Mt. St. Helens. (That is no reason to ignore the effects of climate change because, as Friedman notes, the planet will do us in before we do it in.) The bottom line is that there is nowhere God in Christ Jesus can’t go, including death, and bring about life. That doesn’t mean that all will be healed or resuscitated, because new life may look different.

As Our Savior’s Lutheran Church recovers from the experiences of last year, we have “Saving Faith,” trusting that God is present in, with, and through all that happens to us. God in Jesus goes anywhere and everywhere to bring life out of death. Thanks be to God! Amen.

My sermons don't always preach as they are written. For video of the sermon with the entire service, click here.

Epiphany: Jesus as Teacher - Sermon for the Second Sunday after Epiphany Narrative Lectionary 2

Epiphany: Jesus as Teacher

Epiphany 2B – NL 2

January 14, 2024

Our Savior’s, Faribault, MN

Mark 2.1-22

Jesus went out again beside the sea; the whole crowd gathered around him, and he taught them. Mark 2.13

As I thought about Jesus as a teacher, I couldn’t help but think about one of my favorite teachers. The one that came to mind was my high school Biology II Anatomy & Physiology teacher, Joe Michel. Of course, he was Mr. Michel to us. I enjoyed the experience so much I came the next semester as a teaching assistant. One of the things I liked about Mr. Michel is that he had a deep appreciation for the marvels and wonder of the human body. That was something I resonated with and didn’t feel my usual embarrassment about. I could be unabashedly geeky. Also, Mr. Michel not only made learning interesting, he also accepted us for who we were. He connected with everyone in the class regardless of ability and was fully present to each and everyone of us. 

Even so, Mr. Michel also challenged us. He made us want to be the best we could be, to do the best we could do. Finally, I also appreciated his vulnerability and openness. He told us once that he was planning to be a medical doctor but there was one small problem: he couldn’t stomach the sight of blood. (Frankly, I’m glad he didn’t become a doctor, though he would have made a good one.) Years later, it was his example that gave me courage to change directions in my life, first when I decided to pursue another career other than medicine and then when I answered the call to seminary.

Today is the 2nd Sunday after Epiphany, a season during which we explore who Jesus is, how he has been revealed to us. Last Sunday, Pr. Drew talked about Jesus as a healer and today we discover Jesus as a teacher. He is teaching to a crowd in his house when he is interrupted by four people who dig through a hole in the roof to lower their paralytic friend into Jesus’ midst. Then he scandalizes the religious leaders by forgiving the man’s sins. Furthermore, Jesus amazes those present by healing the paralytic. Then he adds to the scandal (and foreshadows conflict) by calling Levi, a tax collector, to be one of his key followers. (By the way, if this was the Gospel of Matthew, Levi’s name would be Matthew. It’s not uncommon for people to have two names.) Then, not leaving well enough alone, Jesus accepts table hospitality from Levi and eats with societal and religious outcasts. That’s a no-no for an observant Jew.

Whether Mr. Michel knew it or not, he embodied many of Jesus’ characteristics as a teacher, though he wouldn’t have made the comparison himself. First, Jesus is fully present to people wherever and whenever he happens to be. He accepts people for who they are, whether tax collector, sinner, or even religious leader. Jesus was Mr. Rogers before there was a Mr. Rogers. And though people often seek him out, Jesus more often goes where he needs to be the most. Even so, it’s not the observant religious people of the day who need him most, but the marginalized and outcast.

The second thing Jesus does as a teacher is to be a challenging presence. He meets people where they are but they are not the same afterward. Jesus does this by asking a lot of questions. In fact, Jesus asks far more questions than are asked of him and he often “answers” a question with a question. He does so in a sneaky and often annoying way, such as through parables and metaphors. For example, Jesus notes that he has come for the “sick” and is doing a new thing that doesn’t fit their old preconceptions. In this way Jesus challenges both their thinking and our thinking and preconceived notions about the Kingdom of God, who belongs, and what its values are.

How might this challenge us? We’re in a time of transition at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in a changing world. We are discerning what God is doing in our midst and what God is calling us to do. We are doing that in a Faribault community that is changing as well. So, how might Jesus be showing us, in word and deed, who on the sidelines we need to walk with? What new thing is Jesus doing in our midst that won’t fit on old cloth or in new wineskins? It’s always important to ask these questions, but even more so now, and to remember that, when we do, Jesus continues to be present, walking with us, guiding us, inviting us to follow in his way. Thanks be to God. Amen.

My sermons don't always preach as they are written. For video of the sermon with the entire service, click here.