Fifth Sunday in Epiphany 2/5/12 Mark 1:29-39

Fifth Sunday in Epiphany 2/5/12 Text: Mark 1:29-39 Title: Jesus, the Holistic Healer. Last week in our continuing study of the Gospel of Mark we found that Saint Mark in writing his gospel did not just write down the history of Jesus’ life on earth, for he wrote in the opening statement of the gospel, “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, Son of God.” In other words Saint Mark only meant to start the story of Jesus and not write a complete account, for he knew that Jesus’s story would become our story since Jesus has gone before us to wait for our being in his presence. Last Sunday we saw Jesus drive out an unclean spirit from a man. The spirit had loudly proclaimed to all within earshot, “I know who you are; the holy one of God.” Jesus did the strangest thing. He orders the spirit to be quiet even as he tells the unclean spirit to leave the man. The spirit did leave in a rather spectacular way. The people were amazed not only that Jesus had driven out the unclean spirit, but that he also taught the scriptures correctly. His fame instantly spread around the area. Which brings us to today’s gospel reading were we see that after Jesus had driven the unclean spirit out of the man that he went straight to Simon Peter’s home. There he found out that Simon Peter’s mother-in-law was sick with a really bad fever. He immediately healed her, raising her up by the hand. After which she did what her position in life was to do; prepare and service the meal for the family and guests at the end of the Sabbath. As soon as the Sabbath was over, maybe even before Jesus had finished his supper, the people of the town began to gather at the house of Simon Peter. They brought their sick and demon possessed for Jesus to heal them. Jesus, as we see, healed many of them, not permitting the demons he drove out to speak, for they knew who he truly was while the people did not. Jesus must not have healed all the people brought to him that night, for we hear the disciples exclaim to Jesus, probably with some irritation in their voice, “Everyone is looking for you!” In other words, come on Jesus there is work to be done. People are expecting great things of you and here you are by yourself outside of town. You could have at least told us you were going out here. Don’t you care about us and those who are waiting for you to heal them? Jesus the great healer was in great demand. He had become an instant celebrity. Come to Jesus and all your problems are over they thought. They were just like the crowds that followed Jesus after he fed thousands with five loaves and two fish. Follow Jesus and you will be provided with all you need to eat. It was certainly going to be a good life following Jesus. Who knows; he might be able to make houses appear. Life was going to be good. No illness, no worry about food, maybe no worry about shelter and clothing. Jesus can do it all, if you just believe enough. Of course the people then, as well as now have missed the real Jesus, the Jesus who said to his disciples after they fussed at him, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I my preach there also, for that is why I came out.” We are not told what the disciples said in return or what the people thought when Jesus did not come back into town. But we have a pretty good idea, for the disciples and the people seemed to have missed that point. Jesus did not come to heal, drive out demons, make bread and fish multiply, or make wine out of water, as good as those things are. Jesus came to preach the good news message that the Kingdom of God was at hand and that he was it. Believe, repent, and be forgiven was his message, but the people were not hearing his message. Although I am sure that they enjoyed his calling the religious leaders to repent of their ways. Why did they not get who Jesus is? Why do people ever since; even up to today non-Christian and Christian alike do not get who Jesus is and what Jesus came to do. The answers to those questions are found in our text today. The people then, just as today did not know who Jesus is because they had a false understanding of Jesus. They only thought of him as a healer and bread king, among other things. They believed, as people do today that the reason Jesus came to be one of us is so that his followers can be happy, wealthy, and healthy. That is what was taught then and is still being taught today. Jesus, although they would never admit it, is the genie in the bottle that you pull out when you want blessings. Of course the problem is that is not why Jesus came to be one of us, as he says in today’s gospel reading. Their problem is still the same problem of those who have a false understanding of Jesus today who chase after the latest faith healer and preacher who promises wealth, if you only believe enough or give enough. They have a heart problem. They only trust in the Jesus that they can manipulate by prayer to do what they want; happiness, wealth, and good health. This false Jesus that they are staking their lives on will not restore them or save them from God’s wrath. The Jesus they believe in will do the opposite, for he is a false Jesus who cannot save them from God’s wrath and they are thus doomed to an eternity of sorrow and pain. Maybe you have been staking your hope on that Jesus, the false Jesus who will, if you only believe enough, or give enough, or do enough will give you what you want. For after all, I have heard many times, “Doesn’t Jesus want me to be wealthy and healthy”? “No” I reply. He doesn’t, if it means that you lose your soul, for as God’s Word tells us, “What good does it do if you gain the whole world, but lose your soul?” To be honest, for a lot of people it is only when their world, their support system collapses and the law bears down on them that they turn to God. That my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, is when Jesus steps in just as he did when he walked the earth; touching, healing, and forgiving those who were lost without him. Jesus took all those false concepts that I believe we all have about him, with him to the cross. On that cross he became, in a sense, all that we have made him out to be false gods and all. He, in his death took God’s wrath upon himself whose wrath we still deserve and in the process changed our hearts. We who were lost, as we tried to make Jesus into our image have been remade into his image. The healing and wealth that we so desperately chase after are now ours; not as those of the world believe, but as God tells us. Our souls are healed and when we die and are raised from the dead our bodies will no longer suffer from disease or physical infirmities. No longer will we suffer from emotional or mental problems, for in the resurrection all those problems of living in a sinful upside down world will be gone and all things will be good, as God first made them. When our hearts are changed by God the lives we live are changed also. We no longer will try to make him into a god that fits our image. We no longer lose hope in the tragedies of life whatever they might be. We by knowing the identity of Jesus know our identity, our purpose in life which is simply to live our lives giving him honor and glory as we serve our neighbors. Amen.