Proclaiming the Message

Last Tuesday there was a meeting at the Diocese to work on the development of the National Center for Reconciliation.  The Center for Reconciliation  is a project approved by the Cathedral Corporation and our Diocesan Convention to redevelop the Cathedral building for this purpose.

Part of our meeting focused on a draft mission statement of the Center.  That statement reads, “Dedicated to the work of reconciliation and restorative justice, The National Center for Reconciliation (NCFR) sponsors a teaching museum, performances, worship, education and training programs on the roots of racism and the intersection of the sacred and secular histories of slavery in Rhode Island.”

The intersection of the sacred and secular brought to my mind the idea that part of the work of the Church is to make sacred what is commonly perceived as secular.  Our society today tends to compartmentalize our lives so that family, work, education, leisure, science, and religion fall into separate categories.  The result is that we often fail to see how these areas are inextricably connected and interrelated.   The individualism we cherish that is so prevalent in our culture needs to be related to the public good.

The public ministry of Jesus was a sacred call to health and wholeness.  After Jesus called his disciples he taught in the synagogue at Capernaum on the Sabbath.  While there he saw a person with an unclean spirit and ordered the spirit to come out.  The congregation was amazed that he would heal someone on the Sabbath.  They were also awed by his authority.  "At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee."

There are four things that happened in this passage from Mark's gospel: 1) Simon's mother-in-law was healed; 2) many people who lived in Capernaum were cured of their disease; 3) Jesus got up early in the morning and found a deserted place to pray; and 4) he moved on to neighboring towns to proclaim his message in their synagogues.

Mark understood that Jesus always acted with the power of the Holy Spirit and with a view of the coming reign of God.  Perhaps this is why physical healing, casting out demons, and forgiving sins are almost interchangeable actions.  Jesus acted with divine power and approval in his public ministry.  It was part of God's plan to vanquish suffering and evil, and to establish the kingdom.

Jesus proclaimed the good news of God's saving love over anything disruptive of human health and wholeness.  In these brief stories, and throughout much of the Bible, we are shown how God's grace reaches deeply into the realities of life.  Every follower, every disciple of Jesus has a responsibility to proclaim the gospel so that its saving power can be realized here and now.  It was and is an urgent message.  

Jesus came to Simon's mother-in-law who was in bed with a fever and "took her by the hand and lifted her up.  Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them."  Later that evening they brought all who were sick or possessed with demons, and Jesus healed "many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons."  The next morning Jesus went out to a deserted place to pray.  Simon and his companions found him and said, "Everyone is searching for you."  Then Jesus and the disciples went to the neighboring towns around Galilee, "proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons."

People searched for Jesus in order to hear him preach the good news and to have demons expelled.  The disciples hunted for him and found him at prayer.  Mark's gospel is a clear testimony that the proclamation of the good news and deliberate action to cast out demons and heal disease arise out of prayer.

Jesus healed many who were sick.  Then he commissioned the disciples to go and also heal the sick.  The power of the gospel is to bring wholeness to people and to cast out the demons and forces of evil that in anyway dehumanize or prevent a right relationship with God. 

As Christians we participate in this ministry and we do so in a number of ways.  We do it by examining our own lives, our relationships, and what we do with respect to others.  We do it in our prayer and corporate worship, in our work, in our community activities, and in participating in anything that advances love, justice, caring and compassion for those in need.

For Jesus, prayer was not an escape from the pressures of his ministry.  It was necessary.  Our worship and prayer are necessary for us as well.  Worship and prayer properly give us the courage and vision to get on with our work and our ministries.  That is what it did for Jesus, and that is what it must do for us as members of the Body of Christ.

We gather in this sacred space each week to open our hearts and minds to the mystery of life.  We are called as God's people, members one of another in the fellowship of the Spirit.  Part of the mystery of our coming together for worship, listening to God’s Word through Scripture, singing hymns of praise and thanksgiving, and receiving communion is knowing that God gives us the strength and courage to work for justice, peace and love in all of our relationships.  The kingdom of God is at hand.  Today is the day God has made; we live and rejoice in it.  Our faith in God and the gospel changes our lives so that all people may share in health and wholeness.  We proclaim the gospel, heal the sick and cast out many demons.  Amen.