Sermon: 4th Sunday after Epiphany
31 January 2021 –
Archdeacon Mark Long
Deuteronomy 18:15-20; Psalm 111; and Mark 1:21-28; NRSV
“O God of new beginnings: give us courage … .” These were the opening words of last week’s Collect,[1] a prayer that went on to speak of following God “… into new adventures of faithful service … .”
There was something quite poignant about these words marking as they did my first day back from leave in a year already enveloped in its youth by heart-ache and a very real sense of déjà vu. We have been here before, and recently. The birth of a New Year always highlights our hope that life will be different, better, more hopeful; instead we now know people who have died of COVID-19, or are struggling for their lives in hospital, and it’s no longer at a distance: people we know – family, friends, colleagues. In the light of the devastating impact of the virus on our world the return to Alert Level 3 has been difficult to resist, and our resilience is under severe pressure as we face the added economic and social impact of these restrictions. We are becoming more fully conscious of the loneliness lockdown engenders in our lives as the ease of social engagement remains beyond our present reach. Life is tough, and for many increasingly traumatic. “O God of new beginnings: give us courage … .”[2]
Ultimately each day, even each moment, is an opportunity for new beginnings; and it is in the crucible of life’s challenges that our faith intersects and draws us forward. Like childbirth, new beginnings are birthed with pain, but the joy of new life transforms us in the moment and creates an environment for hope. I was wished a hopeful New Year the other day, a thought I warmed to.
As I’ve indicated before Scripture is a profound source for hope, especially in the context of struggle and suffering. Last Sunday’s Gospel saw Jesus’ ministry being birthed from the pain of John’s arrest, and – apologies for the mixed metaphor – Jesus receiving the batton from John, marked by those powerful words, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”[3] Interestingly the NRSV heads last week’s Gospel as the beginning of the Galilean Ministry, not Jesus’ ministry; and Jesus quickly draws others in, calling Simon and Andrew, James and John to join him.[4] Mark keeps the story moving quickly, and in today’s Gopel we find the five of them in Capernaum’s Synagogue on the Sabbath, their first public act one of deliverance as Jesus exorcises an unclean spirit from one of the men present. It is compelling that Mark chooses an act of healing to brand the beginning of the Galilean ministry, and specifically one that addresses evil. It is clear that a realignment has begun, that the control that evil has sought to exercise not just over this one man but also over the community he is part of and the world he belongs to, is being challenged and diminished. Jesus, the one who belongs to God, is exercising an authority rooted in holiness and in direct contrast to that of the teachers of the day, the Scribes, whose authority is tainted, unclean, in opposition to God’s purposes. We will see this as an ongoing theme in Mark’s narrative, and one that ultimately is truly hopeful. The source of Jesus authority is that he offers a different interpretive framework that has direct relevance to the struggle and suffering of people’s lives: he doesn’t offer new teachings; he does offer a relevant, life-giving and life-restoring perspective.[5]
Our present reality is that the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the fractures in our social, economic, and political structures globally; and the ongoing revelations of political and economic misconduct in our South African governmental and private sector’s by the Zondo Commission can all be quite overwhelming: the unclean spirits are visible. Today’s Gospel speaks into this context, reminding us that aligning ourselves anew with the purposes of God offers the new beginnings we long for. However, it is not a gift on a plate: we are required – as last week’s Collect reminds us – to make ourselves available for service that will not be without adventure, and for which we will need divinely inspired courage. The testimony of Scripture and the history of God-fearing people throughout the ages is that when people of faith make this choice the world is transformed. You and I are again invited to choose. May our collective prayer be, “Give us courage!”
Today’s Collect reminds us that God is both our source and resource for this adventurous journey, and we prayed, “… your word brings healing and life.”[6] However, again a response is required of us: we also need to repent and to embrace this good news. We need to be open to the cleansing work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, that any unclean spirit in our midst may be driven out. As these spirits are diminished so we will know a quiet mind, and our lives – like Jesus, Simon and Andrew, James and John – will become prophetic in our own time. What does it mean, though, to be prophetic? We largely understand Jesus’ role as teacher for most of us have enjoyed the privilege of education, but prophesy is a different matter. Our experience in today’s world is the often misuse of the prophetic word as a means of manipulation and even entertainment within the wing of Christianity that seems more intent on personal wealth creation than on spiritual growth, making us leery of this role.
Today’s reading from Deuteronomy[7] roots us in the Scriptural understanding of this vital ministry. The writer reminds us of God’s word to Moses, “I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I command.”[8] As such the prophet is an early Israelite institution designed to counter-balance the other institutions of priest, elder, and king by being the sole legitimate source of communication from God.[9] The authenticity of this communication is to be tested in that what is spoken of must take place or prove true, and if not it is presumptuous and not to be feared. In the broader context of this passage from Deuteronomy,which is preceded by an admonition to avoid child-sacrifice, divination, and magic, the role of the prophet is to “… switch the prerogative from revealing what humans wanted to know, to disclosing what God wanted to reveal. The prophet … [is] the mouthpiece of the Divine.”[10] The temptation is to want the prophet to provide answers to the pressing issues of our times, whereas prophetic purpose is to communicate what God needs us to discern, which may or may not align with what we or the world around us wants to hear. To be prophetic in our own time is to embrace this understanding of prophesy. It is also about the people of God – communities of Faith – as a collective becoming and being prophetic.
As we continue to journey with the virus, and as this journey recasts our understanding of life in these extraordinary times, what is it that God needs us to discern? There can be no doubt that the pandemic has ended a way of life and demands we live differently: this is a new beginning. These past months mark it, and call us into new adventures of faithful service.
O God of new beginnings: give us courage!
Let us pray,
No comments:
Post a Comment