Loving God, you work through both the old and the new, always calling your people into a deeper relationship with you.  As Jesus continues to come among us, grant us the eyes to see and the ears to hear, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

            All through today’s gospel, Jesus seems to be messing with some long-held beliefs.  It all starts with the paralyzed man, whose friends are so convinced that Jesus can heal him that they actually dig through the roof of the house in order to bring him to Jesus.  Then, with a few simple words, Jesus starts a controversy: “Son, your sins are forgiven” (Mk. 2:5).

         The scribes, who are experts in the Jewish Law, have taught for years that you can’t just forgive sins like that.  Offerings and sacrifices are required.  A priest is required.  And ultimately, God is the one who forgives sins (Isa. 43:25).  And yet, here is Jesus, who is not from a priestly family, and who never went to Rabbi school, and he just calmly announces that this man is forgiven.  Perhaps understandably, they are quite perturbed.  However, Jesus then does something else that one would think that only God can do:  He heals the man.  In fact, he heals him so thoroughly that he is even able to walk and to carry his mat.  And of course, all the people start glorifying God.

         Soon, another controversy arises as Jesus and his disciples share a meal with “tax collectors and sinners” at Levi’s house (Mk. 2:15).  Once again, the scribes are nearby, who would never think of debasing themselves by sharing a meal with such unsavory people.  They also can’t understand why Jesus would do so if he is a godly man.  However, Jesus knows for whom he has come – “not the righteous but sinners” (Mk. 2:17).

         Finally, in today’s gospel, there is a discussion about fasting.  At that time, both John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, but Jesus and his disciples were not.  Fasting was a time honoured way of opening yourself to God and spending time in prayer.  Those who were especially pious would regularly spend time fasting.  Yet, here was Jesus, who was teaching people about God, and his disciples were not engaging in this practice.  Although Jesus gives a bit of a round-about answer to those who question him, it is ultimately a question of timing.  While he is with them, they will eat and drink.  Later, they will fast.

         Have you ever heard of the seven last words of the church?...  We’ve never done it that way before.  Can’t you imagine the scribes saying something like that when they encountered Jesus?... The power of God seems to be at work through him, and yet, he keeps messing with their traditions!  -- Not just any traditions, however, but especially the ones that kept people on the margins of their society.

         Some years ago now, I attended a seminar that was about the redevelopment of churches as well as new mission starts.  One of the assertions that was made is that, in many ways, it is easier to start a new church than it is to change one that already exists.  At least in part, this is because many people do not appreciate anybody messing with their traditions.  At the same time, however, with any congregation, it is very hard to make everybody feel welcome.  No matter how faithful we are in our efforts to welcome people, there will always be some who feel as though they are on the outside looking in.  However, with a new congregation, everybody starts on an equal footing.

         There is also the matter of different generations preferring different types of worship.  Some of you may have heard of Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber, who spoke in Winnipeg a few years ago.  She is pretty much everything that you wouldn’t expect in a pastor: tattoos everywhere, a foul mouth that would rival any trucker (although she does tone it down when leading worship), and a woman with quite the past.  Yet, she started a congregation in Denver that appeals to many of those who do not feel comfortable in other congregations – particularly young adults.  While her style of doing things certainly doesn’t appeal to everybody, she has drawn people who were feeling like outsiders into a community with Jesus.  Is that such a bad thing?

         One has to wonder what traditions Jesus might mess with today, as well as where he would say, “well done, good and faithful servant” (Mt. 25:21, RSV).  While the religious leaders of his day had plenty of complaints about what Jesus was doing, his presence was good news for all those who needed him the most.  Jesus brought into community those who had been marginalized by their illnesses or by their occupations.  He also spoke about God’s Way to all those who hungered and thirsted for an encounter with the living God.  He held up for people to see the things that really matter to God.

         In the case of the religious leaders, it seems that they had been teaching the same things for so long that they couldn’t imagine God acting in new and unexpected ways.  They were trying to fit the new together with the old, like the patch on the coat or the new wine in old wineskins.  Some of them, like Nicodemus, managed to see that God truly was at work through Jesus.  Others were threatened by him and held on to their traditions with all ten fingers.

         What seems to have happened in Jesus is that God was showing up in unexpected places.  God was among the tax collectors and sinners, as well as in the life of a paralyzed man.  God was not only in the Temple in Jerusalem, but also out in the fields and in deserted places.  God was not limited to the official teachers and religious leaders, but was working through this man named Jesus from Nazareth.

         There is no reason for us to believe that God ever stopped showing up at unexpected times and in unexpected places, especially among those who often find themselves on the outside looking in.  May we recognize Jesus wherever he is to be found, for he continues to show up among us through the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Epiphany 1 (NL 2)                            Mark 2:1-22

January 12, 2020

St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison

© 2020 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved