Sermon: 8th Feb 2009

Preached at Sunnyside at 8am.

Reading: Psalm 147, Mark 9:2-9

This week a report was published by the Children’s Society, called “The Good Chidlhood Enquiry.” It tells us that in the UK we work longer hours than any other country in Western Europe, and this is putting strain on family life. This report has been head-lined as “‘selfish’ adults damaging the self-esteem of their children”, and the Archbishop of Canterbury suggests that “the well-being of children and young people in this country is far from being the priority it should be”.

I wonder how much of this is the result of us trying to squash too many activities and commitments into too little time, with no space for re-creation?

Have we all fallen prey to the myth that ‘you can have it all’ – as long as you work hard enough? Are we so tied up with consumerism that we must keep working to fund the next life-style accessory. Are parents burned out by long working hours?

Advertisers who assert, “Because you’re worth it”, or “You deserve it” (brackets, without having to work for it), play on our vulnerabilities; we all want to feel valued and special. If we can do that by spending money then the advertiser has succeeded. But do we feel any better afterwards?

The problem that I see with trying to spend our way to happiness is that the focus is turned in on ourselves, our wants, our needs, and that’s what has been highlighted by the ‘selfishness’ headlines. In among all the encouragement to treat ourselves, there has been precious little talk about responsibility or duty to others, or looking after one’s neighbour. If we add to that the crushing disillusionment of adults who have sacrificed precious time with their children to work long hours to achieve the ‘all’, only to discover it is a chimera, then it’s no wonder that in the general financial collapse we hear voices calling for a more caring and ‘other-focused’ society.

It’s not all gloom though, because this week yet another person has said to me this week that they are well cared for by this church community. That sense of care and compassion for others is alive and well here, and I think it shines out from so many people I talk to. And that is something unique about Christians and the hope that we can offer people.

In today’s readings we find Paul after he has encountered Jesus and been healed of his previous attitudes, of legalism, blame, seeking after retribution – all of which were attitudes aimed at making himself feel worthy and better than other people.

Remember the story of Saul looking after the clothes of the false witnesses as Stephen was being stoned in Acts 7. These attitudes say more about Saul (as he was known then), than about the people he persecuted.

We know that Saul met Jesus on the Damascus Road and became Paul. Paul’s encounter with Jesus healed him to the point where he became the man who was able to write that beautiful passage about love in 1 Corinthians 13, “if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing” (v2).

But Paul wasn’t healed physically of his ‘thorn in the flesh’ some kind of problem that afflicts him. His healing was transformative a healing of broken attitudes and a complete change of heart.

Paul was so moved, so grateful, so changed, that he simply couldn’t help over-flowing with the gospel, telling everyone in every way, in every possible situation. He preached the gospel everywhere.

It might sound strange to hear that Paul was all things to all men. But this text shows Paul could adapt himself to fit in with different groups – Jews, Romans, Greeks, slaves. Nowadays I think we would say that he is tailoring his style to suit his audience.

Paul’s message was consistent; he wants everyone to know that faith in Jesus is healing, life-changing, life-affirming, and life-saving. The major change though is that he is telling people because he wants them to know for their own sake, not for his personal glory. Paul is not only a more effective disciple, he is also a much nicer person, and he is happier. What does that tell us about selfishness vs altruism?

The second event of this week was that I heard on the radio that people with faith are generally happier than those without. It was something to do with having a focus outside our own personal self-interest – being willing and wanting to give something back to society. I couldn’t find the reference, so if you know it, so please let me know afterwards. Doesn’t that tie in with what Paul discovered for himself? Doesn’t that tie in with the message I had about a caring Christian church here?

So we can see what faith in Jesus, and working out of that faith can do. But what was Jesus himself doing in our reading from Mark. I’ll note the comment about not allowing the demons to speak, but I won’t explain that one today – I’m sure we will refer to it many times during the year ahead.

For today I want to identify two points:

The first is that when Jesus arrived at Simon (soon to be Peter)’s house, he found Simon’s mother-in-law with a fever, and healed her. Her response, like Paul’s later on, is to want to serve. Now I don’t think this is a proof-text about women’s place in the home. I think it is another example, like Paul, of an encounter with Jesus leading to a response that is not about self-interest, but about serving others.

Shouldn’t that be our response too?

We then read that Jesus healed many people. Jesus’ attention was on the needs of those around him. Their need was great, the yearning for wholeness was there, and Jesus had compassion on many people.

But then we read something else. The second part of the reading tells us that Jesus didn’t only attend to those he was ministering to; he kept his focus on God. Jesus took time out to pray, to meet personally with God, alone in prayer, to spend time with God and so to refresh himself for his ministry. Moving between looking outwards to the needy and looking upwards, Jesus was able to re-create his energy, sustain his own ministry, to keep his focus on preaching and on making himself known.
After the publication of the Good Childhood report, and the news that people with faith are happier, there has been a third event this week that has brought those two things, and our bible readings into focus for me.

That has been the snow. Psalm 147 (one of today’s readings) tells us that God “covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills.” I could paraphrase that this week as “he makes the snow fall and turns our fields white”.

Now I know that snow can be a danger and a nuisance to a lot of people, but something about it makes my heart sing – maybe it’s the lightness and brightness in the middle of grey days. And it had a wonderful effect this week because, people came out to play. Parents pulled small children around the town on plastic sledges; children built snowmen – I saw one boy dive headfirst into a snowman and come up laughing; teenagers shrieked and threw snowballs at each other. The unexpected day off work seemed to signal a chance for lots of people to relax, spend time with their families in play, and experience a bit of re-creation for themselves. Now I know it’s not a universal panacea, but it has made a difference to some people and I’ve been travelling around with a smile on my face as I’ve watched it.

This week’s snow has underlined to me how much of the healing that humanity needs is of the brokenness in our hearts and minds, the over-work and stress, anxiety and despair. We can bring all those to Jesus, who protects the vulnerable, heals the wounded and broken, and re-creates us as we focus on God. When we focus in on ourselves we are not just selfish; we are like a turkey aiming to fly. We can wear ourselves out with flapping, but using our own strength alone we probably won’t get very far from the ground.

Isaiah 40: 31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, hey will walk and not be faint.

When we turn to God, we are no longer alone; we allow ourselves to be refreshed and supported, we can then soar like the eagle of Isaiah 40, resting on the Holy Spirit. Our strength is in the Lord, our healing comes from God, our lives are transformed by our faith in Jesus, and our response is to want, to choose to serve others.