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Do you remember the first books you read, Those early readers that primed you for a lifetime of learning, That teach through simple words and phrases? Come, Dick, come. Look, Jane, look. See Spot run. Or maybe they are the books some of you are reading now. One fish. Two fish. Red fish. Blue fish. Mark’s gospel is a learn-to-read book, A learn-to read-about Jesus book. There’s six scenes in the first 28 sentences, Simple stories that prime us for learning about Jesus the Christ, The Messiah. Look, Mark says, Look at John the Baptist at the river Jordan. See the Spirit descend like a dove at Jesus’ baptism. Follow Jesus into the wilderness for 40 days. Hear Jesus proclaiming the kingdom of God has come near. Hear Jesus call his first disciples. And today’s lesson - Watch this man who teaches with authority. Jesus and his disciples are in the village of Capernaum. And like a good Jew, Jesus heads to the synagogue on the Sabbath. He begins to teach, and we are told that immediately others in the pews were astounded and amazed. Maybe it’s just me, But I can’t help but ask: What did Jesus teach? Did he offer a new interpretation on the Torah? Was he able to recite the psalms and share the lessons that he had learned about them? Did he connect the ancient words of the prophets with the experiences of those listening 2000 years ago? I have my questions about Jesus’ teaching – Maybe you do, too. But friends, our Scripture has a question, Like those simple words and phrases in the “learn to read” books. What is this? What is this, the folks ask one another, a new teaching – with authority!” What is this, what is this authority Jesus possesses, An authority that makes others stand up and take notice What is this authority that makes the teaching of Jesus sound different to their ears, that feels different in their hearts? I read a story this week about the late great Catholic leader, Pope John XXIII. I remember this pope, so popular throughout the world, known for his down to earth ways, his laughter, and his engagement with others. One day, the pope was meeting with a group of people. Usually, there was an assistant who introduced the people to the pope as they passed along in line. But the pope stopped the assistant when a mother of several children came to him in line. “Will you please tell me the names of your children?” the pope said. I realize that anyone in this room could tell me their names, But something very special happens when a mother speaks the names of her own children.” You know how a mother – And a father, too, Speaks the name of their children. Kathryn, Ryan, Edward, Rose, Kylie, James, Victoria. Whether we’re young or old, There’s power in the speaking, for there is more to it than just a name, isn’t there? Woven into the speaking, Into the word is an intimacy, A connection of experiences and conversations and love. Maybe it was something special, This intimacy that the people in the synagogue that day sensed about Jesus, That gave him his authority. In his knowledge of God. Jesus spoke about God and God’s name as if he had traveled with God for many days and hours, and had many conversations with the Creator of the Universe. When Jesus talked about God, When Jesus taught in the synagogue, it was like hearing a mom or dad call out the names of their own children. The words did not come out of his head so much as his heart. It was this “something” special, This authority, that made Jesus’ different from others, different, Mark tells us from the scribes. The scribes, like Jesus, Were the teachers of the Torah, Teachers about God. They drew off their study of the Scripture, their years of training and education. And while they were good at it – In fact, very good at it, there seemed a disconnect between the teacher and the God he was talking about. But let’s not judge those scribes too harshly, dismiss them too easily, or – perhaps even the most dangerous – cast aside the entire Jewish system of learning and worship. Because it is true, friends, that most of us are comfortable living with a little disconnect. We are comfortable with just learning about God, about hearing others speak about God. Let me be the first to admit that I can spend hours listening to a good lecture about the ways and will of our God. Or if you’ve ever been in my office, You know I can – and do – spend hours reading books by learned scholars and teachers – Authorities and experts – about the life and words of Jesus, And these words – All these words – In books, in lectures, and yes, even in sermons – can keep us at arm’s length from touching the authority of Jesus, or perhaps more rightly, to keep the authority of Jesus from touching us. Friends, do you believe, Do we believe that desires to Jesus to touch us, To come among us, in the same way that he did in the synagogue? In our prayer of invocation today, We proclaimed the promise of Jesus: Where two or three are gathered, I am there in the midst of you. Jesus is here today, His presence, his power, his authority, Surrounds us now and weaves us together as a community of faith. This authority, Rooted in God’s grace and love, Astonished the people not only because of his words, But also because of his actions. In that house of worship long ago, Jesus calls out and silences the spirits that keep a man from living a full and whole life. Jesus can do, will do the same for us. Jesus calls each of us by name and desires to set us free, to let go of the spirits that disable our ability to follow him: Be it a spirit of control or a spirit of fear, A spirit of depression, a spirit of competition, A spirit of pride or a spirit of addiction and prejudice or weariness. Whatever those spirits are in us and in our community or in our world, Jesus can heal them. Come, Jesus, come, we prayed in our invocation. And we pray it again now and in the days ahead. Come Jesus, come, with your authority and your power. Astonish us. Amaze us so that we can leave here today asking one another: What is this? What is this power that has touched me, That has changed us? Astonish and amaze us so that we can leave here proclaiming the good news: It is Jesus, the Son of God, the Holy One, the Bread of Life who calls us to gather at the table of blessing. May it be so. Amen and amen. |