The Reverend Canon Dr. Ray Cleary – Sermon for the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany
Ivanhoe East St George’s 4th February 2018
It is often the case that a book you may have been required to read at school, or you were encouraged to read by others, perhaps because they had enjoyed reading it, or because it was described to you as a must read, perhaps because it is recognised as one of the classics of literature but the first time you read it however it made little impression on you. Only on a second reading does the depth and fullness of the writing emerge. Like wise I suggest when you read the Scripture, yes the bible, not something I believe many Anglicans read as often as they should, other than in Church, new themes or understandings emerge.
As A Lenten discipline let me encourage you to spend time reading Mark’s Gospel and spend 10 minutes each day reflecting upon what you have read and how it impacts on your own faith journey.
Increasingly I am discovering that each time I read a passage of scripture I discover things I have not seen previously, nuances and images that I have overlooked. So often our reading is superficial, or we see what we want or expect to see. Much of our media reporting falls into this category. We know the general themes pursued in our major media outlets and we chose what we read according to our own expectations and interests. I know that I certainly skip over some items and ignore the writings of others.
Christians often do the same thing when they come to scripture. We chose the bits we like and ignore or shelve those parts that do not fit comfortably with our own theology and ideology. The lectionary that we follow here at St Georges and used in many churches ensures that we read a wide selection of scripture, although I have to admit that some of the readings seem a little odd at times and certainly require study at a level not available to the preacher on a Sunday. If we read the readings listed in the lectionary everyday at every service we would read most of scripture.
This year we are to read on Sundays from the Gospel of Mark, other than for the Season of Easter, and unless a Feast days occurs on the Sunday, although we often transfer a Feast day that occurs throughout the week to the nearest Sunday.
The Liturgical calendar was fixed at a different time in history and in a predominantly agrarian society. While our adaptions are a good thing to do in our 21st Century context it does mean that we do not hear the full text and often miss out on the connections from one week to another.
The Gospel of Mark has often been neglected, or ignored in the Church’s liturgy. It says little about the Jesus’ early life, teaching and resurrection appearances and in some circles, due to its brevity, is regarded as inferior to the fuller accounts to be found in Matthew, Luke and then John, expand in detail and story. The earliest manuscripts of Mark do not have a resurrection account, and some thought that this was missing, and added a part at a later time. But it is a mistake to brush of or shake off Mark as lean and lacking theological perspectives. As Rowan Williams says in his little book on Mark, titled, “Meeting God in Mark”,
“The point of the Gospel is that we should encounter there a reality alarmingly and beyond human expectation and human capacity: and that though this encounter we should be changed bit by bit into the sort of person who can actually understand what is asked from us and what has been made possible for us in the life, death and raising of Jesus. “
Today’s and the Gospel passages set for the past three weeks are to be understood in the context of Mark claiming and proclaiming that Jesus is the anointed one of God. In the very beginning of chapter one Mark announces it is time, time for a regime change, a new regime is to be inaugurated, a new way of thinking and believing. This would have been a radical and provocative announcement and would have been picked up by the religious and political authorities of the day. Mark’s Jesus is I suggest a revolutionary for his times and Jesus is pushed centre stage without a word of introduction as in Matthew and Luke. There is no family background, no Christmas story and an abrupt end to his death. Mark’s Jesus then reinforces this theme after John the Baptist had been handed over for imprisonment; Jesus proclaims that the rule of God has come. It is an announcement that God is taking over and so we are warned from the beginning of the Gospel to take note, repent and heed what is to come. Mark as I have already said does not bother with much detail. He does not give dates. Instead he gives a number of snapshots. Here is the anointed Jesus doing this, doing that, meeting one person, then another drawing forth their reactions. eg “So he said , and they were all amazed”.
So this year as we read from Mark let me urge you to allow yourself to reject the fact that you have heard the stories of Mark many times and think you know it, but rather like reading a book for a second time, allow the story, its nuances and themes to surface as a new light and allow the central character of his Gospel Jesus speak to you directly. It is an invitation to enter into a relationship with this Jesus, as Mark portrays and presents him, and allow yourself to be challenged and changed by what is written and heard. Mark’s account of the life and death of Jesus is a story of radical change. It is a voice from heaven, from earthly experiences and from hell. It challenges the power brokers to take note and encourages the people to be the bearers of this new regime.
Christmas and Epiphany have been the focus of our thoughts over the past few weeks. An Epiphany focused church is one that is dazzled by God, intoxicated by God, so that its whole life and witness boils over with love, a radical love that respects the world we live in and have been given, or inherited. A world today besieged by doubt, political unease in may places, shifting values, abused religious and faith perspectives, self-interest and plain human stupidity and blindness. Mark’s Jesus is asking us to be intoxicated in the same way with this revolutionary call.
Mark’s Jesus offers a radical alternative to this world in the parables and accounts of the ministry of Jesus, of a new regime, all pointing to a radical reordering of power and relationships. Todays Gospel shows how this vision is acted out in the midst of human need. Jesus emphasizes not the miracle but the context in which he moves, that is the real reason for healing and change. The miracles, as I said last week, are a by-product not to be understood as the centrepiece to the text. Jesus is not primarily about doing well for goodness sake. This is why Jesus regularly asks those who see him perform a miracle not to speak about it. To speak about the miracles is to miss the point as the disciples did so often. The Kingdom of God is not to come because of his miracles but only when the hearts of all who hear, heed the call.
Throughout the Gospel Jesus reminds the disciples and others who come into contact with him to remain silent and not brag about what has happened. It is the midst of human need that the power of God can be tapped into and the Kingdom of God has the potential to be realized, not because of his miracles. Yes I know we need Mission Action plans, and budgets, and even laws for community and parish life, but not as ends in themselves, but as a means to achieving the building of God’s Kingdom where all are treated equally and with respect whatever their race, faith, colour or social Status.
Paul in our second lesson writing 10 years before Mark is smitten with the love of Jesus. It is this love and conviction that drives him and his exhortations to the various churches he visits. It is the same passion that drives the Mother Theresa of our times or the Desmond Tutus. People are attracted to them because they show in their life, passion and enthusiasm for their faith and their God. While we may not have the same gifts or charisma each and every one of us has a gift, something that we can call upon or use {other than our good looks}.
Have you in recent times thought about what your gifts may be?
Finally the Gospel for today has three scenes. The first is a tense miracle story. The second has Jesus healing. The third is a confrontation between Simon and Jesus.
While each of the stories are helpful in unfolding Jesus and his persona, Jesus I suggest is concerned with something greater, and central to the whole of Mark’s gospel, namely not himself but the Kingdom of God. As Rowan Williams so eloquently says,
“So when miracles do happen, they arise from that immediacy of compassion or indeed of anger, anger at the way that sickness imprisons people but also in which religious zealotry cannot cope with the promise of release.” It is only in the Kingdom of God that ultimate healing and hope can be found. While indeed individual miracles and acts of Charity are important, they are not to be seen as substitutes or ends in themselves. The fullness of the Kingdom of God can only be achieved when God is the centre of our thinking and living. Mark calls us to place our trust in Jesus, to engage in anew way of living, to be willing to change our hearts, to transform the world, not easy in a context where the miracles are not coming fast and regularly, but rather one where religion and faith appear to be regularly discredited.
Mark was writing to such a community. Likewise he writes and speaks to us in the same way with Jesus as the anointed one of God to show the way.
Are we like the disciples struggling and afraid to hear the message? Or do we have the courage and the passion to be the deliverers for our time the Kingdom news? A kingdom that embraces the integrity of God as Compassion and justice for all irrespective of creed, colour, ethnic back ground or status.