The House of Jesus (?); Mark 2:1-12

 

Rev. George Miller

Jan 14, 2024

Mark 2:1-12

 

On the streaming service HULU there is a new documentary on world famous entertainer Raffaella Carra.

 

Born in Italy, Raffaella was the Beyonce of the 70’s and 80’s, putting on stunning shows with dazzling outfits.

 

Raffaella was adored in Italy, but when she toured South America, the people went into a near religious frenzy.

 

Their love for her was so great that her fans began to idolize her like a saint or a deity.

 

There is a clip where Rafaella is trying to make it across the street and the crowds have descended upon her to the point that she can barely move.  You see someone reach out a hand, and pluck a strand of hair from her head.

 

This image of people wanting a piece of her, interrupting her intimacy is like today’s reading.

 

Mark tells us Jesus has returned to Capernaum and is now at home.

 

Jesus was in the wilderness where the demons dwell, being baptized and meeting us in our loneliness.

 

Jesus has been at the work site of Andrew and James who were fishing and mending broken nets.

 

Jesus has been in Peter’s house, where he entered the most private of places to bring healing to the family matriarch, affirming her personhood and role.

 

Then, like Raffaella and Beyonce, Jesus embarks on a tour of Galilee, sharing his bright light, proclaiming the good news, evangelizing to everyone.

 

When his tour wraps up with remarkable success, he returns to Capernaum. 

 

Word gets out that he’s at home.

 

People crowd around Jesus, so much there’s no room, not even by the door. 

 

Next thing you know “Bang”, “Crack”, “Whoosh,” the ceiling falls in and a man on a mat living with paralysis is lowered down by four of best friends.

 

Holy Maria and Madonna!!!  Raffaella had a fan take a string of hair from her head, here Jesus has men take the roof off his house!

 

…wait!  Did I just say “his house”, as in the house of Jesus?

 

Haven’t we always been told that Jesus was a wanderer?  Haven’t we heard again and again that Jesus was homeless? 

 

Doesn’t Jesus himself say in Matthew 8:20 (and Luke 9:58) that the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head?

 

Mark 2:2 says that Jesus is “at home.”  How is this possible?

 

Welcome, sisters and brothers, fathers and mothers to the wonderful world of the UCC where we take scripture and look at it very closely and try to figure things out.

 

Mark, which is the first Gospel written, and said to be the most historically accurate, has done something to further expand our mind and our faith.

 

Mark makes it clear that Jesus is headquartered in Capernaum.  Mark also says that Jesus is at home.

 

But what does home mean?

 

Does home mean that Jesus is staying at his Momma’s house, eating up all her food and letting out all of her electricity?

 

Maybe this is Peter’s house and after being healed, his mother-in-law said to Jesus “You are now part of the family; our house is your home.”

 

Does home mean that Jesus is at home the same way we feel when we return to our childhood town; or how we feel when we go to our favorite spot in the world, like the beach, or Back Bay Mission?

 

Does Mark mean “home” as in “heart” or home as in “house”?

 

Mark is not here to answer our questions,  so we will never know, but here is the beautiful thing-

 

we now have another opportunity to think deeper about Jesus and why we follow him.

 

When Jesus was speaking to the people, and they filled the home, blocked the door, and took down the roof…

 

…does it mean more to you historically, theologically, spiritually if this was the actual home of Jesus; or does it mean more to you to think of Jesus as a 30-year-old homeless man?

 

In the traditional way of viewing Jesus as a wanderer of the land who depends on the kindness of others, we see the value of hospitality and how our Savior depended on the food, shelter, and goodness of others.

 

So if Jesus depended on the welcome of others, then we should do our best to welcome the hungry, the cold, the traveler.

 

On the other hand…if Jesus actually had a home, and he actually had day to day upkeep and day to day responsibilities, like sweeping the floors, going to the market, then that makes Jesus more real…. more human…more like us.

 

And if Jesus actually had a home with bills and things to get done, then this means Jesus really knows what it’s like to be us; like really really know.

 

Which means that all Jesus taught, all he said about blessed are you who hunger, blessed are you who thirst wasn’t just cool-sounding poetry, but that he knew, he actually knew.

 

Which means that when Jesus toured the nation, when he went from desserts to storms at sea to standing before Pilate…

 

…he could have been safely at home in his PJS, undisturbed, watching the Great British Bakeoff on Netflix.

 

Which means when those crowds filled the room, it was his living room. 

 

When those four guys cut a hole in the roof, it was his roof!

 

I can’t tell you what to believe or how the Holy Spirit is calling you to understand this text, but for me, today…

 

…for me, today I feel even closer to Jesus than before because it indicates “for me” that Jesus really put everything on the line and he really gave it all to us and everyone around us,

 

So that we can be witnesses to the Kingdom of Heaven,

 

so that we can see Heaven on Earth,

 

so that we can experience our stupid, stupid mistakes being forgiven,

 

so that we can be reminded that we are not forgotten, we are not forsaken, we are not insignificant.

 

If Jesus really had his own house, and if Jesus really really allowed his roof to be taken down and his front door blocked, we have an even more amazing image of Christ.

 

That not only did Jesus choose to begin his ministry by going into the wilderness where the wild things are and our loneliness dwells,

 

Not only did he go into our places of honest work and broken nets,

 

Not only did he go into our homes, and into our most intimate spaces and validate our mundane day to day tasks,

 

Jesus invites us into his home, Jesus invites us into his house, to evangelize, to speak, to heal, to forgive, to restore.

 

The home of Jesus is indeed the house of the Lord…and we are invited in, and we are all worthy.

 

And that is beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.

 

For that, let us say “Amen.”

Jesus Honors the Everyday; Sermon for Jan 7, 2024

 

Rev. George Miller

Jan 7, 2024

Mark 1:21-31

 

Last June we witnessed a horrific experience.  5 men went undersea to view the Titanic and died in a catastrophic implosion.

 

There was a tide of reactions as it captured our worse fears - deep, deep waters, claustrophobia, no way out. 

 

It was chilling to think of those men under all that water. 

 

There were those who felt no sympathy- these men were billionaires going on a foolish trip, spending foolish money.

 

Why were we discussing them dying horribly while the rest of the world was horribly suffering-  starving children in Somalia, 26 million people in Yemen struggling to meet the most basic of needs?

 

5 men died underwater while in Haiti 51 people died in floods and 6,000 were evacuated.

 

Where is our focus?  Who do we deem important and worthy of our collective attention?

 

Grace goes out equally to the families and children affected by the lives lost in the Titanic tragedy, Somali, Yemen, and Haiti.

 

Today we continue journeying with Jesus as he travels through the landscape of Mark.

 

After last week’s reading it has become clearer what an amazing, unique message Mark has.

 

Mark does not begin with the birth announcement of Matthew.

 

Mark does not begin in the Temple with an angel like Luke.

 

Mark does not feature profound poetry like John.

 

Mark starts in the bleakest, loneliest place one can be- the wilderness.

 

Mark chooses to tell us the Good News of Jesus Christ by first bringing us to a place of absolute nothingness.

 

In the wilderness where all the demons and wild things run free.  In the wilderness where loneliness is real and comfort does not exist.

 

THAT is where Mark dares to begin and introduce us to the Son of God.

 

From the wilderness, we see Jesus baptized, tempted.  Then, he enters the land of the living.  He proclaims, he tells.

 

He sees Simon and Andrew fishing and says “Follow me.”  He sees James and John mending and says “Follow me.” 

 

He sees a man enslaved by an unclean spirit and sets him free.

 

He enters the home of Simon and upon hearing that his mother-in-law is unwell in bed, Jesus enters her room and gives her the gift of wellness.

 

There is something astounding about this.  As Jesus embarks on his ministry, note who he interacts with and where he goes.

 

Jesus goes to where the people are.  He goes to the most everyday, typical locations, where everyday people are doing everyday things.

 

He goes to the lake where hard-working folk are trying their best to earn a living.

 

He goes into the family home, the most basic and important of all dwellings.

 

Jesus goes into this woman’s bedroom, the most intimate and personal of spaces.   

 

She has probably worked so hard and done so much that she’s exhausted in bed.

 

Jesus dared to reach out a hand, lift her up, and she’s made well.

 

She becomes the first person in Mark to experience a non-demon related miracle of healing.

 

Side note- once the fever leaves, she immediately served them.  Ever wonder if she was like “Dang, I really just wanted to sleep!”

 

But do you hear this?  How amazingly mundane this all is? 

 

Jesus first comes to men who are fishing; meets men who are mending. 

 

He goes into a multi-generational household to heals the matriarch.

 

The salvation of Heaven and gifts of the Good News are first given to regular, everyday people who

 

have seen their share of storms, dealt with their share of broken stuff, who tend to tasks like sweeping, washing, and figuring out how to make a dollar feed a family.  

 

It is to the people, the most vulnerable, the most underappreciated that Jesus goes.

 

Yes, Jesus goes to the local synagogue, but he doesn’t first go to the majestic and mighty Temple.  He does not go to the council of chief priests. 

 

He does not go to the courtyard of Pilate or the backroom where billionaires make deals.

 

Maybe if he had, he would not have been so feared, perhaps he would not have been killed, perhaps he would have been instructed how he could use his talents to make a buck.

 

That is not what Jesus does.

 

He goes out into the world, out to where ordinary life takes place, and he sees, and he speaks, he hears and he offers a hand.

 

Jesus says to those who work and those who mend and those who worship and those who are feeling unwell.

 

“Follow me.  Be made well.  Sit up.  Stand strong.”

 

Today we celebrate 34 years of serving Jesus.  Today we celebrate 34 years of doing our best to be Christ to the community.

 

Today we are thankful for all the ways in which Jesus has met us, and continues to meet us.

 

There are those of us who have been following Jesus from birth, those of us who are new. 

 

There are those of us who found Jesus when we were the most broken, the most unwell, the most tortured by spirits.

 

There are those of us who feel like we are following Jesus anew with enriched insight and a different understanding.

 

Whoever you are, wherever you are- in the wilderness, by the sea, in the church, at home, sick in bed, Jesus will meet you.

 

Jesus will come to you. 

 

Jesus knows who you are.  And Jesus is ready to call, ready to hear, ready to extend a hand.

 

Jesus is ready to say “Bienvenidos- Welcome into the Kingdom of God and welcome into the Extended Faith Family of Heaven.”

 

For that, let us say “Amen.”

 

Remembering Our Baptism; Mark 1:1-11

 

Rev. George Miller

Dec 31, 2023

Mark 1:1-11

 

After weeks of anticipation, our Christmas Season nears its end.

 

Today is Day 6 of the 12 Days of Christmas.  On Saturday our Puerto Rican friends will celebrate Dia de Los Reyes Magos- when The Wise Men come to Jesus with gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

 

These stories appear in Matthew and Luke, but not in Mark.

 

Mark’s Gospel does not begin in a Temple or a home, or feature shepherds or Reyes Magos.  It begins in the wilderness with a call to baptism.

 

How interesting that Wise Men travel from afar, so they can come to a town and offer gifts to Jesus.

 

While Mark has people leave their towns so they can travel into the wilderness to leave their sins behind and be baptized.

 

In Matthew, the Wise Men travel to see the face of Jesus, but in Mark, Jesus travels to the people.

 

While the Wise Men travel to give Jesus worldly gifts of economic value, Mark has Jesus travel to the people so they can receive gifts of the Heavenly kind.

 

Matthew shows Jesus receiving gold and myrrh, but Mark shows Jesus traveling to us so we can receive goodness and eternal life.

 

Here we are- the mystery and “the why?” and wonder of Jesus.

 

That while Jesus is the Son of David, the Son of God, Jesus does not use those titles to demand or seek gifts, rewards and accolades.

 

Instead, Jesus as the Son of David, Son of God, uses his position to seek us out, to give us heavenly gifts and to welcome us into the Kingdom of God.

 

Last week we prepared for Heaven to enter into our world through the birth of Mary’s Baby.

 

Today we prepare to become participants of Heaven through the words, miracles and actions of Jesus.

 

John invites folk into the wilderness so they can turn from their mistakes and be baptized in preparation for the Lord.

 

Jesus comes to John to be baptized and begin his earthly ministry and heal the world.

 

Jesus does not go to the Temple or City Hall, he does not go to the University…he goes to where the people are-

 

He goes into the wilderness, the lonely place, the scary place, the deserted place.

 

If Jesus were in Germany, he would have gone into the Black Forest.  If Jesus was in Florida, he may have gone to the Everglades.

 

Jesus go into the mysterious, unsafe place to be baptized and to begin his ministry to us and his ministry for Heaven.

 

How amazing that Jesus as the Son of God, doesn’t simply sit on a throne and say “You want to be healed, you want to be loved, you want to be seen- come and grovel at my feet.”

 

Jesus comes to the wilderness where we are.  He is baptized alongside us so that he can speak and share and be the Good News.

 

Today we have a chance to meet Jesus again and to follow.

 

Today, no matter who you are, no matter where you have been in your journey, no matter what cities, towns, desserts you have traveled through, you are invited to come forward.

 

You already confessed within your heart, you’ve already received the gifts of forgiveness.  Because you have repented, you are ready to recall and restore.

 

You are invited to come to this Holy Font, to reexperience the waters of Heaven and to remember your baptism.