The Holy Struggle

February 22^nd, 2015      “The Holy Struggle”    Rev. Heather Jepsen

Mark 1:9-15

          In all the years that I have preached the lectionary, in all the first Sundays of Lent that I have offered a reflection, I have never preached on this reading from Mark.  The First Sunday of Lent is always a recollection of the temptation of Jesus, and whenever I have come up against Mark’s version of the story, I have chosen to go with another gospel.  Matthew and Luke both give us a better version of the story.  They both offer conversation between Jesus and the devil, as well as ideas of what the actual temptations might be.  By contrast Mark gives us very little, hardly any details at all.  As a preacher, it is not much to go on.  But as a person of faith, this year I was drawn to Mark’s silence, this year I was more than happy to fill in the story myself.

          Instead of looking for answers within the text, I began considering the story outside of the text.  Mark doesn’t care how Jesus grew up or where he comes from.  Mark offers us no touching birth narratives of angels and dreams.  No, Mark doesn’t give us any background on Jesus at all.  Instead, Mark starts with John, alone in the wilderness preaching repentance. 

John is minding his own business when suddenly Jesus comes out of nowhere.  Well, he comes out of Nazareth of Galilee, which is pretty much the same as nowhere.  John does not seem to notice who Jesus is, he doesn’t point him out, and he doesn’t question the baptism.  John doesn’t seem to do anything special at all; he just dunks Jesus right there along with everyone else. 

In Mark’s gospel, the vision and voice, the dove and declaration, they are all just for Jesus alone.  No one else sees the signs, and no one else hears the message.  Only Jesus is given the vision, only Jesus hears the voice; I imagine within his own head, “You are my beloved Son.”  And after that strange and great moment, Jesus wanders off alone into the desert.

As I mentioned, I was thinking outside the text this week.  Who is Jesus prior to this moment?  Where does he come from?  Mark doesn’t say, and as a writer that leads me to imagine.  I think we can assume he came from somewhere.  There must be some house, some hut, some tent in Nazareth of the Galilee that this man called his home.  I would imagine that in that time of limited resources that he must have shared his home with someone; his mother, his father, his brothers and sisters and their husbands and wives.  There must have been some family back in Nazareth that he called his own.  What compelled Jesus to wander off to the Jordan that day?  What compelled him to stay away for so long afterwards?

I was trying to imagine the home he might have come from and all I kept thinking about was his mother.  Even if we discount the stories that Matthew and Luke will offer in later years, I think it is safe to assume that this mother would have had a feeling that her son was different.  I imagine Jesus mooning around the tent at night, glumly sitting by the campfire.  Not satisfied with the family trade and yet also not knowing where he belonged in the world.  It didn’t take much for me to imagine an exasperated mother encouraging her son to get out into the world, to “Go find yourself”.

It would appear that Jesus was drawn to matters of faith, and yet he seeks it by outside avenues.  Perhaps he went to the synagogue and the temple before he headed out to the Jordan.  Perhaps he was dissatisfied with those traditional approaches.  Mark only leaves us to wonder.  Jesus is drawn to something that John has to offer and so the young seeker walks the 30 miles alone out to the Jordan.  He joins the crowd, he is baptized into the movement, and then he experiences a personal revelation.  A voice tells him he is the beloved son of God.  Now what?

I imagine that the question of “now what?” is ultimately what lead Jesus out into the wilderness.  Who was he?  Who was God calling him to be?  What shape should his mission and ministry take?  Mark tells us that “Jesus was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.”  It sure sounds like a personal struggle for identity to me.

I used to dislike Mark’s version of the story because he has so few details, but the more I am in ministry the more I appreciate this narrative.  Mark leaves it up to the reader to imagine what happened to Jesus out there.  We can only guess what he went through, and in doing so it makes the story much easier for us to relate to on a personal level. 

Who hasn’t had some point in their life when they begin to wonder who they are?  Many of us can transplant our own journeys on top of the narrative of Jesus here in Mark.  We look around ourselves and at some point we realize that we no longer fit where we are.  Perhaps we are young, and just finding our true identity in college.  Perhaps we are older and trying to discern how we fit into a new married family.  Perhaps we are just becoming parents and find that we need to redefine how we imagine the parental role.  Perhaps it is later in life and we are dealing with an empty nest, retirement, or the death of a spouse.  Throughout our life’s journey, we are forced to look around and discover that who we are, who we have become, no longer fits the place where we find ourselves.

And so we head out seeking answers, we head out looking to discover who we are and how we fit into the world.  At some point someone tells us that like Jesus, we are a beloved child of God.  You may scoff at this notion but it is true.  I am fairly certain that all of us here this morning have heard it spoken at one time or other that we are a much loved child of our heavenly Father.  How do those words shape and form our identity?  How does that knowledge, of our own belovedness, drive our quest?

And so we wander and we wonder and 40 days might grow into 40 years as we seek to discover who we are, and who God is calling us to be.  It is a holy struggle, a wilderness journey of discovery, a time of trial and temptation as various paths appear before us and we must choose which way we will go.  Like Jesus we will see wild beasts on the road, and like Jesus we will be tended to by angels.  Hopefully, like Jesus, we will come out of the journey knowing more clearly who our God has called and created us to be.  Jesus is bringing the kingdom of God with him.  Perhaps we too, will bring it along with us, when the time is finally fulfilled.

Today, as we collectively consider the period of trial and temptation for our Lord, I invite you to think about just where you are on your own journey of faith.  The story that Mark tells us of Jesus is a short one, and yet he records several times that I would consider wilderness journeys for our Lord.  So too, our own lives move in and out of this holy struggle, this search for answers, this change in identity.  Where are you on the journey today?  As we begin this season of Lent, I would remind you that wilderness journeys are an important part of our spiritual lives.  Don’t be afraid to go there as you are called.

I want to close today with a poem by Ruth Brugess called “Desert”.  She writes:

The desert waits,

ready for those who come,

who come obedient to the Spirit’s leading;

or who are driven,

because they will not come any other way.

The desert always waits,

ready to let us know who we are –

the place of self-discovery.

And whilst we fear, and rightly,

the loneliness and emptiness and harshness,

we forget the angels,

whom we cannot see for our blindness,

but who come when God decides

that we need their help;

when we are ready

for what they can give us.

         

The Turning Point

February 15^th, 2015                      “The Turning Point”                 Rev. Heather Jepsen

Mark 9:2-9

          Transfiguration, metamorphosis, a change in appearance or being.  In our gospel reading for this morning Jesus is transfigured, he is changed.  This moment marks the center of Jesus’ life and ministry in the gospel of Mark.  It also marks a center of sorts in our church year as we are about to embark on our Lenten journey.  This morning’s reading is rich, but its language and imagery are of a culture far distant from ours.  Today I want to dig deeper into the text, in order to better understand its significance within the gospel and within our own lives.

          The story begins with Jesus separating himself from the crowds for prayer.  As you know we find him often doing just that.  We talked last week about Jesus knowing his own need to connect with God, and setting an example for all of us.  It is often in prayer where Jesus reveals the most about his true nature.  Prayer in the river Jordan at his baptism, prayer on the mountain at his transfiguration, and prayer in the garden of Gethsemane, all serve to show us and the disciples who Jesus really is. 

On this occasion he has left the majority of disciples behind, and has taken only his inner circle; Peter, James, and John.  It was this group of men who left behind successful fishing careers to follow Jesus, and we have seen him separate his disciples into this inner circle before for healings among other things.  Today we might imagine that he took these three with him to witness the transfiguration and to tell others about it later.  Or, perhaps he simply took them as emotional back up. 

          When they arrive on the mountaintop Jesus begins to shine.  His clothes, his face, his entire appearance seem to radiate light.  He has been changed, transfigured.  The disciples see two men with Jesus; Moses and Elijah.  These two figures in particular are very significant.  Both of them encountered God on a mountain top, Moses on Mount Sinai and Elijah on Mount Horeb, and both of them were known to have special relationships with God.  Perhaps most important to the gospel writer is the Jewish tradition of Moses and Elijah, in which both of them were associated with the Messianic age.  Their presence together with Jesus on the mountaintop would serve to confirm to the disciples, and more importantly to readers of the gospel, that Jesus is in fact the promised Messiah.  

          Peter says “Master, it is good for us to be here, let us make three dwellings.”  Peter wants to hold on to the moment, to celebrate it in stone and mud and to make it last.  The gospel writer apologizes for Peter, saying that he was afraid and he didn’t know what he was saying.  We might wonder why this apology is necessary, but Peter’s statement shows that he doesn’t understand what is going on.  He has forgotten that Moses and Elijah already dwell with God.  He has forgotten that Christ has already told him that he will soon suffer and die.  He seems to think that this moment can last forever.  His lack of understanding could be embarrassing to the gospel writer, or could simply be another example of Jesus’ disciples once again missing the mark of his teachings.

          While Peter is speaking a great cloud comes and overshadows everyone.  Not only is this cloud above them, it begins to surround them, to overtake them and the disciples are hidden in the cloud.  Again, this is not the first time people have experienced God in a cloud.  God spoke to Moses on Sinai through a cloud and a cloud led the Israelites many a day in the desert.  Regardless of their academic knowledge of God clouds in the history of Israel, to experience the real thing makes the disciples understandably afraid. 

          From within the cloud comes a strong voice, a powerful voice, a frightening voice, the voice of the Lord, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!”  Readers have heard the voice from the cloud once before at Jesus’ baptism.  At that time the voice identified Jesus as the son of God.  “You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased.”  Jesus begins his ministry following this voice from heaven, and now the voice further identifies Jesus before the disciples and sends him now to his ministry in Jerusalem.

          It seems that as quickly as the cloud appeared it was gone.  Jesus and the disciples are suddenly alone, the moment is over.  The disciples are stunned into silence by this experience, by this supernatural encounter with God, and they tell no one of it.  This moment is the center of the story for Mark and a turning point of sorts.  From now on Jesus will turn toward Jerusalem and the conflict and death that await him there.  From this moment on, Jesus’ mission and journey will lead him to the cross.  For Jesus, the transfiguration confirmed who he was, and assured that the path before him was not only according to the law and the prophets but was also the will of God.  For the disciples, the transfiguration told them that Jesus truly was God’s Son, and that he was to be followed even on the way to Jerusalem and certain death.

          The question remains, just what does this story have to do with us?  As believers, we find in the transfiguration the moment when Jesus is recognized for who he is.  This is the time when Jesus is clearly identified as the Son of God and the one to whom we should be listening.  In the church year it is important to mark the moment when Jesus turns toward Jerusalem, as we ourselves begin the journey of Lent.

          Like the disciples’ moments with Jesus, our relationship with God covers both the ups and downs of our lives.  When we have strong encounters with God, at a special worship service or on a retreat we often feel something like a spiritual high.  We experience things becoming clear and we seem to better understand God and our own mission.  In those moments we know for certain that God is with us in all that we do.  Oftentimes we are like Peter, wanting to build some dwellings and to remain with God on the mountaintop forever, but that cannot be so.  Eventually, those spiritual highs fade and we are back into the doldrums of our everyday lives.

          In many ways, the church year is a reflection of our lives.  We have celebrations such as Christmas, we have moments of revelation such as Epiphany, and we have moments of crystal clear understanding such as the Baptism of Christ and this, his Transfiguration.  But invariably our lives will enter darker times, times when we experience suffering and loss, times when we wonder if God is really there at all.  In the church year, we mark these low moments of our lives through the season of Lent, the season of darkness.

The transfiguration marks the change, a turning point in the ministry of Jesus, just as its celebration marks a change in our church year.  Along with Jesus, this is the moment when we turn our faces toward Jerusalem.  Like most people, we don’t want to be sad and we don’t want to talk about sad things and we certainly don’t want to go to Jerusalem and the cross.  Many modern churches skip over the season of Lent because they don’t want to bum people out.  Even the disciples rejected the path that Jesus was laying before them, I think that is part of why the transfiguration was needed.  Both the disciples and us need to be reminded that this one who will lead us into suffering is worth listening to.  “This is my Son, the Beloved, listen to him.”

Beginning with our Ash Wednesday service this week, collectively as a church we are embarking on a 40 day journey.  This will be a time of reflection for us as individuals, and together as a community here in worship.  This is the time to consider the down moments in our faith life, and to journey with Christ to the cross.  This is a turning point in our life as a church.  For the next few weeks we will commit ourselves to walking together that lonesome valley of death with our Savior.

          But for now, for now we can enjoy this moment of glory.  Christ has been transfigured, changed before our eyes.  We have beheld his glory.  We have heard the voice from heaven.  “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!”  Let that be our message for this morning and as we embark on our journey through Lent.  Jesus is God’s Son; let us do our best to listen to, and to follow wherever he may lead us, even if we aren’t sure we want to go there.  Amen.

Healing Community 2

February 8^th, 2015                    “Healing Community 2”                 Rev. Heather Jepsen

Mark 1:29-39

          This week we continue where we left off in the gospel of Mark.  We are still in the first chapter and everything is happening at a rapid pace.  Jesus has just begun his ministry.  He called his first disciples by the Sea of Galilee and then he headed into Capernaum to begin teaching.  He worked his first miracle, healing a demon possessed man in the synagogue, and now he heads to the home of a friend to spend the night.

          Jesus and the disciples enter the home of Simon and Andrew.  Simon’s mother-in-law is there and she is ill with fever.  Jesus takes her by the hand, the fever leaves her, and she gets up to wait on the guests.  By evening word of the healing has spread, and the whole town clambers around the door for Jesus’ attention.  Many are healed.

          In the morning, Jesus is nowhere to be found.  He has gone off by himself to spend a few moments in prayer.  Frustrated, the disciples head out in search of him and when they find him their exasperation is evident, “Where have you been?  Everyone is looking for you!”  Jesus rejects the attentions of the folks of Capernaum, and instead declares that he has set his sights on other horizons.  It is time to move on.

          Just like last week, we find that today’s stories center around healing; specifically the healing that Jesus offers and the healing that takes place in the community. In today’s story we find that the healing has extended from the worshipping community out into the home, and yet it is still tied to our relationships with each other.

          I have to tell you that the story of Simon’s mother-in-law used to drive me crazy.  I could just imagine the scene as the men return home after a long day at the synagogue.  They are hungry and tired.  Like most men they are eager to put their feet up and chow down.  The primary woman of the house is unwell so there is no food to welcome them home.  “Come on, Jesus” I imagined Simon saying, “Heal her so she can make us some dinner!”  As soon as the woman is healed she pops up and begins waiting on the men.  Most of you can guess where I stand on issues of feminism, so it is no surprise that stories like this really make me bristle. 

          It wasn’t until I had grown a bit in my faith, that I could revisit this story with a new understanding.  The men come home from church where there has been a miraculous healing and much talk about who Jesus might be.  Simon’s mother-in-law is not well, and the temptation would be to avoid her.  Sick people are unclean, and fever was commonly associated with demon possession.  That’s why Mark writes that the fever “left her” as if it were a person.  The men would have probably avoided her in the home, or perhaps they would have left the house altogether.

          But Jesus approaches the woman.  He reaches out and touches her hand, which is unclean, and he offers her healing.  In gratitude for what she receives, Simon’s mother-in-law is eager to serve her Lord.  The Greek word used in this passage is diekonei, from which we get our word deacon.  Simon’s mother-in-law is the first deacon, and she is an example of service to us.  We are healed in the community, we are made whole, and we celebrate that new life by giving and sharing with others.

          Once again we come face to face with the importance of healing happening in the community.  Last week I reminded you that you can’t go it alone; you can’t have a life of faith outside of the church.  It is imperative that we gather together in worship.  That message is underscored by this reading today.  The church community comes to the one who is not able to be there, and it brings the chance for healing with it.

          Lest you think I am making this up, I want to share something with you that I read last week.  In his article in Feasting on the Word, theologian PC Ennis discusses a recent experiment which was designed to test the efficacy of prayer.  He writes . . .

The members of one group, located on the east coast, were each assigned the name of an ill person on the west coast with whom they were not acquainted and instructed to pray every day for the person’s health.  The members of the other group were each given the name of an ill person whom they knew personally and who was a member of their own church.  Similar instructions were given, to pray for the ill people every day.  The patients who had no personal relationship with their prayer partner showed no significant difference in improvement from the general public, whereas members of the group who had developed a social relationship with their prayer partners through the church, indicated a decided difference in improvement and quality of life.

So one could say that it is scientifically proven; healing, spiritual growth, and wholeness all happen here within the church community.

          So, you may be asking, if community is so great then, why does Jesus wander off to be by himself?  Because he too needs time to heal, and he certainly needs time to focus on his own relationship with God, his own spiritual life.  This is such a powerful reminder for pastors and others who serve.  Those of us who are “on call” all the time need to remember that Jesus took time outs and Jesus took breaks.  We need to remember that Jesus took care of himself. 

          It is difficult to say whether this was a time of rest and renewal for Jesus, or a time of struggle and discernment.  Jesus had had a busy day at the synagogue and a busy night healing the city of Capernaum.  Perhaps he just needed some quiet time for centering prayer.  Or, perhaps it was more.  Mark says he was in a deserted place, which is the same root word for desert.  We know in the scriptures that the desert wilderness is a scary place, a place of wandering and suffering, a place where things are not clear.  Perhaps Jesus was in a time of searching, asking questions about what shape the future of his ministry should take.

          It is clear that he has made a decision when the disciples arrive.  They are annoyed that he has been gone for so long.  The text says that the disciples hunted for Jesus, but it doesn’t convey the true sense of the Greek verb katedioxen which is to pursue in a hostile sense.  This is the same verb used when Pharaoh’s army is chasing after the Israelites.  The disciples are frustrated and annoyed and they are hunting down Jesus.  They are angry with Jesus for leaving the city when he had such a successful following there.  They are thinking that now is the time to set up a base of operations, while Jesus is thinking of something entirely different.  This is the first of many times when the disciples misunderstand the one that they are following.

          Jesus has decided it is time to move on into the next city.  He has not come just to heal and care for the people of Capernaum.  Instead, he has come to preach the gospel in faraway regions.  The disciples are frustrated, and Simon’s comment to Jesus “Everyone is looking for you” is a chastisement.  Jesus and his followers are gaining power in Capernaum, if they leave now they will have to start all over again.

          This portion of the reading also contains a powerful message for pastors and others who serve the church community.  So often we are tempted to try to take care of everyone, to try to respond to everybody’s needs.  While it may seem a worthy cause, it is actually a failing.  When we do too much, we don’t serve anyone well, and we neglect our own self-care.  (I’m not just preaching to the choir today, I’m preaching to myself!)

          It is so interesting to see Jesus walk away from the community that seems to need him.  The reality is that they don’t need him, they need each other.  They have heard the message, they have experienced healing, and now they can minister to each other as the community of faith.  Jesus is free to move on to share the gospel in other places, because his work in Capernaum is done.  It is now the community’s responsibility to offer care for itself.  It is not something the disciples, or I would imagine the needy people of Capernaum, find easy to understand.

          So, once again we are back to the message that healing happens in community.  We are going to have an excellent opportunity for healing today, as we gather around the communion table.  This table is a physical manifestation of our faith.  It is a reminder that we are one when we gather in the name of the Lord.  Not only are we united as this church, First Presbyterian Church of Warrensburg, but we are united with all Christians of all times and places.  We are a part of the one great big healing community.

          When we gather at this table we experience healing.  We are made whole as a body of faith and we are made whole as individuals.  We are nourished by this meal, we are reminded who we are, and we are reminded how deeply our God loves us.  From this table we are sent out into the world to serve.  Like Simon’s mother-in-law we will rise from this feast renewed and we are called to take that healing out into the world in service. 

          And so again today, I want to thank you and praise you for coming to church this morning.  This is the place you need to be.  This is the place where we experience healing and where we are fed.  And from this place, we go out into the world to serve, following after our servant Lord, Jesus the Christ.  Once again, we say thanks, that we are part of this healing community.  Amen.

Healing Community

February 1^st, 2015            “Healing Community”    Rev. Heather Jepsen

Mark 1:21-28 with Psalm 111

          As I mentioned last Sunday, most of our scripture readings for this year will come from the gospel of Mark.  Mark is the shortest of the four gospels, and scholars believe that it was the first gospel that was written.  It is believed that the authors of both Luke and Matthew used Mark to write their gospels.  In fact, pretty much the whole gospel of Mark can be located in each of those other gospels.  As we journey through the text this year, we will become familiar with Mark’s sparse writing style and his very human portrayal of Jesus the Christ.

          This morning’s reading follows directly after our reading from last week.  Jesus has just begun his ministry and he has called his first disciples; Simon, Andrew, James and John.  The group heads away from the Sea of Galilee and into the city of Capernaum.  When the Sabbath comes they all head to the synagogue where Jesus begins his teaching ministry.  During the service, a man possessed by a demon begins to cry out during worship.  The demon appears to recognize Jesus as the Holy One of God, and Jesus demonstrates his power and authority by subduing the creature and healing the man.  The gathered community is astounded and shaken by this experience.

          Any scripture involving exorcism is a touchy one for a modern pastor.  I have to admit that when I first saw this reading, I was tempted to just avoid it all together.  There are too many questions that come up when we look at these demon stories.  Folks can’t help but wonder, “Are there still demons today?  Should the church be performing exorcisms?  Did this person just have a mental illness?  Are mentally ill people demon possessed?  Is this even a true story?”  The questions we can ask are numerous, and the answers we have are few.

          Regardless of what you think about demon possession, I think all of us can safely assume that this man was ill and in need of healing.  Where did he go to receive the healing he needed?  Well, he went to church!  The church is the community of healing for this man, and I would venture to say that it is the healing community for us as well.

          Sometimes I think we get in the habit of thinking that only good and healthy individuals make up the church.  I mean look at us; we are put together, we are presentable, we are all upright members of the congregation.  I think we often forget all the broken pieces of us that are here as well.  Under the thin layer of presentable dress, the church is a place of broken people, a place of sinners looking for salvation, a place of hurt people looking for healing.

          I want to step back and look at the psalm for a bit.  The Psalmist writes, “I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart in the company of the upright, in the congregation.”  Where does the Psalmist give thanks?  In worship!  It is in the worshipping community that we are able to praise God and give thanks.  It is in the church that we are able to worship.  Sure it’s great that you can connect with God in nature, but nothing challenges and heals you like connecting with God in community.

          This is a little bit like preaching to the choir this morning, for all of you are here today because you know the power of the community of faith.  This is a sermon for those outside our doors, for those who want to try to go it alone.  The message I have today is that you can’t go it alone, you can’t worship by yourself.  You need to be in the community of faith to learn, to praise, to be challenged, and to be healed.  Playing golf on Sunday morning just won’t cut it, you need to be here instead.  We all need to be here.

Do you ever have one of those Sundays where you don’t feel like going to church?  Do you ever have one of those weeks when you don’t feel like praising God?  I know I certainly do.  Sometimes we are in a darker space, sometimes we are struggling.  During those difficult weeks or even months, it is imperative that we come to church.  This is the place where we raise voices in praise.  This is the place where we learn and grow in our faith, the place where we remember who God is.  This is the place to come when you are in the shadows of doubt and depression, for when you aren’t feeling it, I can praise God for you.  When you are feeling down, your neighbor in the pew can praise God for you.  And when I am not feeling it, you all can praise God for me!  Together we can do it.  We praise together, we worship together, the church is the community of healing and love.  We need this community.

          Returning to our friend in the gospel of Mark, we can imagine that a pretty large part of him was not feeling it that Sunday.  He was reluctant to be in worship, and he was threatened when he realized that Jesus was there.  Though he was seeking healing, he was also afraid of what the healing may bring.  “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?  Have you come to destroy us?”  Part of this person was seeking healing, part of this person wanted to turn around and run away, and part of this person had gathered to praise God in community, for that is the purpose of coming to worship. 

          Like our friend, all of us are bringing a rough edge with us to church today.  We may not be possessed by demons, but we all have dark places that need Jesus’ healing touch.  I’m talking about those little secrets that are a part of our lives, those things we don’t talk about in polite conversation, even here at church, or perhaps especially here at church.  I am talking about those things we hesitate to mention to anyone ever. 

Everyone here knows what rough or dark edge I am talking about in your own life.  It could be a drinking habit, it could be the urge to smoke, it could be excessive spending and debt, it could be gambling or pornography addiction, it could be that way we like to try to always keep ourselves a little bit ahead of everyone else, it could be the way we enjoy gossip so much.  It could be any number of things.  You know what it is for you, but I know that all of us, me included have one. 

Everyone here has a dark spot, a rough edge, a thing that makes them bristle a bit when they sense the power of God in this place.  “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?  Have you come to destroy us?”  Yes, yes he has come to destroy those parts of us.  And we don’t like change, and we don’t really want to let those things go, and so we struggle to be here in community.  But we come anyway, because deep in our core, we want to be healed, and this is the healing community.

          It is our faith, and it is our presence in this worshipping community, that gives us the power and authority over these little demons we all have.  Jesus has power over the darkness, binding the evil spirit and giving the man new life.  The faith community recognizes the power, and it is a new teaching.  The healing that Jesus brings is new, and it is challenging.  We want to change, but we don’t really like it.  Jesus will gain popularity in this story, but it won’t be long before folks decide they would rather stone him than be healed.

          This morning I want to encourage you to bring the whole of who you are to worship each Sunday.  Let us praise God in community, even when our hearts aren’t in it.  Let us allow the dark places of our lives to be here, as well as the shiny images of ourselves that we offer up to each other.  Let us give our demons to Jesus and ask for healing.  Let us be honest about who we are, about why we came, and about what kind of people we want to be.  This is the community of power and authority, this is the community of healing.  Thanks be to God for this healing community.  Amen.