Rev. George Miller
March 17, 2024
Mark 13:1-23
…so- we know what ya’ll thinking- “That’s
the reading for today?”
This scripture full of doom and gloom is what
we’re preaching on for ‘Show Us Your Socks Sunday’?
We have all these wonderful, beautiful people
from ARC, including staff, clients, and Donna, the Director of Development and
this is what we’re preaching on?
We’re here today to show off our colorful,
lively, socks in support and acknowledgment of people living with Developmental
Disabilities….
…and what we just heard is wars, earthquakes,
lies and liars!
A Dios Mio!
How is this possible?
And the answer is this- Emmanuel is not
afraid to speak the hard topics.
It would have been so easy to skip today’s
scripture and find something nice, like Jesus feeding folk or a woman searching
for lost pennies.
But here’s what we know- when we take the
easy way, we don’t grow.
When we face the hard times, the difficult
moments, that’s when we can grow, when we can become better versions of
ourselves, and we become closer to God.
That’s when we become Superstars.
So, let’s take a look at today’s reading.
Jesus is in Jerusalem with the disciples
looking at the Temple, and one of the disciples says “Wow- look how beautiful
this is.”
And the Temple was beautiful. Herod the King had spent all the people’s
money to make it a sight to be seen.
Supposedly, he had the entire Temple covered in gold so that when the
sun hit it just right, it lit up in magnificent ways.
“Look how beautiful this is!” the disciples
say. But Jesus is not impressed. See, he knows that hard times are
coming. He knows that soon there is
going to be great pain and suffering.
So he says “Don’t be impressed. This building will not last. Be prepared- hard times are coming our
way. Be alert- how you respond to the
difficulties will make all the difference.”
Jesus is being very real.
By not sugar coating anything, Jesus is
allowing his followers to understand what’s going to happen.
He gives them the gift of being prepared, not
devoting all their energy to things that don’t last.
Jesus is very honest with those he
loves. There will be wars. There will be disasters. There will be hunger.
There will be fathers disagreeing with their
children; there will be siblings fighting amongst each other.
Kind of sounds like today, doesn’t it?
Kind of sounds like things happening in
places, like Haiti, Ukraine, Advent Hospital.
Kinds of sounds like things gong on in our
own lives.
How many here are currently living through a crisis
in which it feels like your world is ending?
How many here are having issues with Mom and
Dad, sister and brother, son and daughter, grandchildren?
How many here are struggling with a car that won’t
work properly or paying rent or homeowners insurance?
How many feel like they are constantly on
alert, unable to get a proper night’s sleep?
By speaking these realities, Jesus acknowledges
just how difficult and scary life can be.
It can feel as if there is no comfort in this
scripture…but today’s story does not end here.
There is more that we did not read today.
See, in chapter 14, right after Jesus speaks
all these words of doom and gloom, he goes to the house of Simon for a meal.
Simon is an interesting fellow. He is different from all the other
people in town. Simon is not like
everyone else. Simon is someone that not
everyone knows or is friends with.
Because Simon is different, he may spend a
lot of time alone. People say unkind
things about him.
How many people here today have ever felt
different?
But Jesus didn’t care that Simon is
different. In fact, Jesus goes into
Simon’s home to have a meal.
Who knows what they ate? Maybe pizza and Mountain Dew? Perhaps chicken nuggets and iced tea.
Who knows what Jesus and Simon Peter talked
about. Perhaps they discussed Disney
Princesses, or Marvel Super Heros, or Legos.
As Jesus and Simon are sharing a meal, a
woman comes in, carrying a beautiful alabaster jar.
Alabaster is so beautiful, so shiny that it
captures the light and it can show off the colors of the rainbow.
So after Jesus speaks about the doom and
gloom, and he’s hanging out with Simon, this woman comes in with a bright,
shiny jar…
…and she proceeds to open it up and to pour out
its perfume and lotion all over Jesus.
She pours from this beautiful alabaster jar
all this sweet sweet smelling ointment over Jesus and it runs down from his
hair to his beard to his chest to his legs, to his ankles, to the soles of his
feet.
…and Jesus is covered in beauty, and light
and joy.
This woman covers Jesus in ointment and in
her own way she is saying “I see you. I
am aware of you. And I love you.”
In this single act, this woman literally
embodies the entire Gospel that Jesus came to teach.
In this moment of unexpected generosity, in
the home of Simon who was so different from everybody else,
This amazing woman shows us just what it
looks like to Love God and what it is like to love our Neighbor as ourself.
From the doom and gloom of today’s reading we
enter into awareness and love that one person can show another.
And does this woman’s actions prevent the
pain and suffering from happening?
No.
Does her actions stop the Last Supper and Crucifixion? No.
Does her actions stop the realities of life
from creeping in? No.
But what she, at this moment, is offer a
moment of grace, a moment of beauty and glamour and care that can empower one
to face the horrible and horrific.
Today’s reading may not be what we wanted,
but it is the reading that leads us to where we are today.
Think about it- we are all wearing our most
colorful, beautiful, lively socks; some are wearing green hats, bowties and
necklaces.
In some ways, our socks are anointing our
feet.
In some ways, our socks are like that woman’s
ointment.
They cover our feet with beauty, with heart,
with awareness and joy.
Life is full of anxiety, stress, fear, anger,
worries about the unknown, and of being seen as different.
All those things we face on a day to day
basis.
But today’s reading reminds us that we do not
have to face things alone.
Today, our colorful socks reminds us that we
do not have to do it alone.
Yes, we have God, yes we have Jesus.
But guess what- we also have each other.
Jesus knew all the pain that was about to
happen. But at that moment he has the
disciples.
He has Simon.
At this moment Jesus has this woman with her
alabaster jar, pouring out love and awareness upon him.
The socks we wear today are a reminder that
we are not alone. That we have one
another.
We have Simons we can turn to when life seems
scary.
We have people like this woman who remind us
of the world’s beauty when the ugly seems to be too much.
We have amazing community organizations like
Ridge Area ARC, The Shepherd’s Pantry and the Garden of Hope.
We have amazing individuals like Shelly and
Samantha, Carlos and Candance, Jessica and Donna who are there to offer care.
We have God.
We have the Holy Spirit. We have Jesus,
who knows exactly what it is like to face the scary, uncertain things in life.
Buildings fall. Problems arise. But God’s word endures forever.
And God’s word reminds us to love. To love God.
To love one another.
Today we show our socks despite all the
worries of the world.
Today we show our socks as a sign of love,
just as the woman who anointed Jesus, body and soles.
Amen and amen.
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