January 24, 2021 Mark 4:35-5:43

              The passage we read from Mark is a wonderful collection of miracle stories.  They show the full extent of Jesus’ powers.  In the stilling of the storm we see that Jesus has power over the forces of nature.  In the casting out of the demons in the Gerasene man we see Jesus has power over chaos and evil spirits.  In the healing of the woman with hemorrhages he shows his power to cure medical problems doctors can’t fix.  And in the raising of dead little girl Jesus shows power over death.

            In each case he does it to provide people with health and safety. 

-At least a few of the disciples were fishermen.  They knew a bad storm when they saw one, and if even they were scared, they were in one.  Jesus provides them with safety. 

-The demon possessed man lived as a wild outcast away from civilization.  He was chained and restrained to keep him under control.  Jesus gives him a right mind and fullness of life. 

-Similarly, the hemorrhaging woman would have been considered perpetually ritually unclean and unable to participate in many religious and social activities. 

-And what parent isn’t devastated at the serious illness and death of one of their children?

            As the front of our worship bulletins for today suggests, this is all fine and good for them.  They get to have their lives miraculously fixed by Jesus.  But what about us?  Are our problems somehow less?  Are we second rate that we do not get such treatment?  Is our pain somehow less real?

Does the person suffering from chronic heart problems have less faith that her condition is not healed the way the bleeding woman was?

What about the parent who loses a son or daughter to cancer, or the boy or girl killed in an automobile accident?  Why not being raised from the dead for them?

Is the person struggling to overcome an addiction to drugs really all that different from the Gerasene Demoniac?  Maybe he or she isn’t tethered with chains, but the feeling of being out of control is the same.  Lives are ruined.  Families are destroyed. 

And what about the chaos of the person who suffers at the hands of an abusive parent?  I think of the kids who live in households of complete chaos at the hands of addicted or grossly incompetent or insane adults.  Why when he or she prays for God to help does that help not come?  Are we not taught to pray for our enemies and do good things for them?  Why doesn’t God respond to such sincere and righteous prayers?  Is such a person’s suffering all that different from the disciples being tossed around in a boat in a storm-tossed sea?

These are all good questions.  They are fair questions to ask.  I’ve said any times that it’s okay to get mad at God for the unfairness of it all.  A look at the passage from Mark shows us that not everyone who had a miraculous healing was a faithful person.  While Jesus praises the faith of the bleeding woman, he criticizes the disciples for their lack of fait; but both get a miracle.  The Gerasene Demoniac doesn’t even ask to be cured.  He’s not a local.  He’s even of a different religion.  Still though, Jesus approached him without even having an invitation.  Jesus sets his life to rights.

The passage we read from Mark does not give us answers, but Mark’s gospel does respond to our questions, even if it isn’t the answers we want to hear.

Here’s the thing.  We need Jesus to be powerful.  We need to know he has power over nature, and over evil, and over medical problems, and over death itself.  How could we ever trust God with our lives if we weren’t sure God was fully powerful? 

We need Jesus, and we need to know he is powerful; but we do not need his miraculous powers in our own lives. 

Any number of times we see in Mark’s gospel that Jesus tells people not to tell about the miracles he has performed.  Sometimes, like with the Gerasene Demoniac, he does tell him to spread the word.  You’ll remember me saying before that it’s impossible to say for certainty why this is so.  The general rule is that he tells outsiders and non-Jews to spread the word; but Jewish insiders to keep it quiet.  That’s strange, but without it being a privilege or racist meaning, it fits with the idea that his ministry is first and foremost to Jews.  Jewish faith is the foundation upon which God’s revelation in Jesus is built.  It is necessary to understand Jesus.  In a sense they are the ones equipped to really get it.  They have to get it, get it right – and not get it wrong.  Getting it wrong would be to see Jesus as first and foremost as a miracle worker, not the crucified one.

In a couple weeks we’ll explore the dimensions of Jesus’ identity more, but for now let’s just say that Jesus wants the center of our identity with him to be, not one which is based on getting supernatural solutions to problems, but instead based on Jesus’ self-emptying love.  Your salvation came through Jesus’ death, not his miraculous powers. 

We need to know Jesus is powerful so we can trust in his promises.  Then when we truly trust in his promises they become a force that shapes our lives. 

You are what you believe.  That’s what shapes your life and forms your identity.  In Christian faith you bring God’s promises to life.  That is how God wants his work to be done.  That is how he wants his kingdom to come into reality in this life.  It is as strong as we make it. 

Why doesn’t God fix problems beyond our control for us?  It is not because God doesn’t care.  It is because he holds us in his power no matter what.  From there, we are empowered to embody God’s love.  That’s how God wants it to be real in the world.  He wants his love to be alive because we make it alive.  It can be a tough challenge, but it honors us and gives us a meaningful place in God’s work.