2-7-2021 “HEALING, PRAYING, PREACHING”

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PRE-SERVICE LOOP — goes up 5 minutes or so before 9:30, with WELCOME/DATE slide and Communion Preparation slide looping for five minutes

WELCOME AND DATE

AT 9:30, SERVICE BEGINS PUSH BUTTONS TO START LIVESTREAMING AND START RECORDING IN PROCLAIM AND IN OBS AND TO GO ON AIR

click on duplicate WELCOME AND DATE slide, leave up a second or two

WELCOME AND DATE — Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany/Communion Sunday

change slide to GREETING slide, which stays up as pastor gives words of greeting

GREETING

And so Jesus began again the work He had done the day before, traveling throughout Galilee, preaching in the synagogues, healing the sick and throwing out demons. Mark devotes just one verse to what probably was at least a several-week tour of Galilee and possibly several months. And he preached and healed everywhere He went. This is important to note, because as Barclay put it, He never separated words and action — that is, He shared the Word and exhorted men to God and goodness, not one or the other. In addition, Jesus never separated body and soul. Some Christians believed the body didn’t matter — just the soul. But man is more than just body —He has a soul, too — and “the task of Christianity is to redeem the whole man and not just part of him. Barclay puts it this way: It is indeed blessedly true that man may be starving, living in a hovel, in distress and pain and yet have sweet times with God; but that is no reason at all for leaving him in such a case. When missionaries go out, they take the Bible and they teach and preach, but they also take schools and medical care and modern-day agricultural training. Sometimes called sneeringly the “Social Gospel,” this aspect of the Christian message is not something thrown into the mix as an extra component or an option. No, it is part and parcel of the whole thing. “The Christian message is one — and it preaches and works for the good of a man’s body, as well as the good of his soul.” Finally, Jesus never separated earth and heaven. “There are those who are so concerned with heaven that they forget all about earth and so become impractical visionaries. There are those who are so concerned with earth that they forget about heaven and limit good to material good. The dream of Jesus was a time when God’s will would be done in earth as it is in heaven, and earth and heaven be one.” [ATTRIBUTION: Barclay]

change to ANNOUNCEMENTS slide, which will stay up for just a second or two. Then move to first announcement. When that is over, move to next announcement.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

slide stays up just a second or two and then moves to first announcement. When that is over, move to next announcement.

ANNOUNCEMENT — Communion Preparation

If you haven't already done so, get some bread or crackers and water or juice ready for the Lord's Supper.

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ANNOUNCEMENT — Ralls Mobile Food Pantry

Food distribution to needy families in Ralls begins at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 11 Volunteers needed — come about 30 minutes or so early

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ANNOUNCEMENT — Let pastor know of announcements, prayer requests

illnesses, deaths, prayer requests, or announcements that need to go on the prayer list, in the bulletin, or that the pastor needs to know about.

after final announcement, change to CENTERING OUR HEARTS ON WORSHIP slide and leave up a few seconds, then change to REFLECT IONS ON WORSHIP, which will stay up until time for the GATHERING PRAYER slide

CENTERING OUR HEARTS ON WORSHIP

REFLECTION ON WORSHIP

Just like last week — when all three lectionary lessons had a theme about authority, two of the lessons have a very obvious focus on serving with compassion and preaching Word, in both words and actions. In addition, there is a less obvious but just as real focus on compassion by God on His people and the call for us to show compassion in our dealings with others.

In the Gospel lesson, Jesus’ ministry includes healing and authoritative teaching. People come to Jesus and bring their loved ones to him out of hope, and because Jesus has compassion for the people. Jesus sees us as we are and knows us, just as He saw, touched and guided those who were ill (physically or spiritually) to wellness and even raised people from the dead. This compassion of Christ is physical, it is here and now and tangible, and not something that is promised after we die. The authority of God over life and death is ours, now, through Christ Jesus, when we show compassion to one another. That is true healing. But the Gospel lesson is also about Jesus preaching, and that was extremely important to Him — in fact, He is saying it is more important to Him than the healing when He says, “Let’s head in the other direction, to the nearby villages so that I can preach there, too. That’s why I’ve come.” There’s a third theme this morning that is just in the Gospel, and that is of Jesus getting away from the crowds to be alone and to pray.

In the Epistle lesson, Paul uses a phrase that has a bad connotation to some people — he wrote of how he had “become all things to all people,” in order that they might know Christ. It doesn’t mean he is wish-washy in his faith or pretending to be something he is not. Instead, it means acting out of compassion and love for people — meeting them where they are and addressing the context of each community he is writing to and their different cultural values and spiritual needs. But preaching the Good News of Christ is paramount in everything he does and how he does it.

God’s compassion for His people runs throughout the Old Testament lesson, too, although the beginning verses are about God’s omnipotence in creating the world and His authority over all thing, including dignitaries and judges if they do not follow Him. All things are known to Him and His compassionate heart gives power to the tired, revives the exhausted and gives strength to the weary — this is available to all who put their hope in the Lord.

Watch for these themes as we study the Word this morning.

change to GATHERING PRAYER slide

GATHERING PRAYER

GATHERING PRAYER slide should be up — keep it up until the pastor says the final words of the pray and then “AMEN”)

Powerful God, from the very beginning you blessed creation. You have loved and shielded your people through all joys and trials of life. We come to you this day, rejoicing in the many blessings you have given to us. God of mercy and love, be with us this morning as we hear the stories of Jesus and His compassion. Reveal to us the many ways in which Jesus reached out to others at their time of need, and remind us again that we also need to be people of hope and compassion in this world which seems so dark. Open the doors of blessings to us, inspiring our hearts and lifting our spirits this day. We pray all these things in the name of Jesus. AMEN.

change slide to CALL TO WORSHIP. Leave up for a few words of introduction. The signal to change the slide is a dash (—)

CALL TO WORSHIP

PASTOR: Hope is poured upon us this day! PEOPLE: God is with us, always offering God’s healing love. PASTOR: Now is the time for us to be people of action, not just those who silently sit and hear the good news. PEOPLE: Now is the time to seek the good; to heal those who are broken; to offer peace and hope. PASTOR: Thanks be to God who has blessed us with God’s abundant gifts. PEOPLE: We are called to use these gifts in service to God’s broken world. Let us rejoice in the mission to which God has directed us. AMEN.

change to FIRST HYMN slide, which gives the name of the hymn and stays up for a short introduction of the hymn. Then change to the “O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing” slides, which will look like a single slide but it is actually several slides that have to be changed manually by clicking the large right arrow on the right side of the slide. If a verse is broken up into more than one slide, the signal for the slide change is — (It’s best so hit the right arrow to change the slide immediately as the final word in the first verse begins and go to the next verse — perhaps a half-second sooner. At the end of the second verse, do the same thing with the last word of the verse., which will stop the music and go to the next slide.

FIRST HYMN — “O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing” (three verses)

The first hymn in the United Methodist Hymnal is page 57 —” O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing.” It is one of moe than 6,500 hymns — some sources say 9,000-10,000 -- written by Charles Wesley, the brother of John Wesley; together they started the movement that became what is known today as the United Methodist Church and will be for at least a few more months. The song was inspired by Peter Böhler., who said in a conversation with his friend Charles, “Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing, my greater Redeemer's praise.”

Let’s join together in singing this old familiar hymn to our Redeemer, Master and friend. We’ll sing three verses.

Change slide to the words of the first hymn

Verse 1 — Oh for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer's praise:

the glories of my God and King, the triumphs of His grace

Verse 2 — My gracious Master and my God, assist me to proclaim:

To spread through all the earth abroad the honors of Thy name.

Verse 3 — Jesus, the name that charms our fears that bids our sorrows cease,

'Tis music in the sinner's ears, 'Tis life and health and peace.

When the song is over, change to OLD TESTAMENT LESSON slide and leave up during the introduction to the passage, which usually ends with something like, “Let’s listen to the book/chapter/verses, reading from the Common English Bible.”

OLD TESTAMENT LESSON — Isaiah 40:21-31

Chapters 4 through 55 of Isaiah have a central theme.” God is speaking through the prophet Isaiah to the Jewish people soon after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. as they were returning to their homeland after some 70 years of exile in Babylon. God had warned the people of this punishment to come if they continued to sin. At this point, the people feel like they have been forgotten by God, but these chapters reinforce the idea that God has NOT forgotten them. In fact, in the earlier part of Isaiah 40, God reminds them that He offers comfort to His people by saying that the warfare had ended and their sins had been pardoned. He contrasts “the frailty of the chastened, frightened Jerusalem and the incomparable power of God as revealed in the sheer cosmic scale His creative activity. When He says “Put your faith in the former and you will wither like grass; put your faith in God and you will “mount up with wings like eagles,” God is saying through Isaiah that “the things humanity builds and plant fade and fall away, but God is eternal.” The audience is the people returning from Babylon — people of all ages: the grandparents who were originally taken to Babylon and their children and their grandchildren. He’s saying those younger ones may tire and wear out, but those who wait for God will renew their strength. [ATTRIBUTION: J.F.A. Sawyer (1986) Isaiah, Volume 2, page 43; Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, KY.]Let’s hear what the prophet has to say in Isaiah 40:21-31, reading from the Common English Bible:

change slide to the Scripture passage, which will look like one slide but is several slides, Use right arrow to change slide or right arrow on computer when you see a dash (—)

21 Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard? Wasn’t it announced to you from the beginning? Haven’t you understood since the earth was founded? --

22 God inhabits the earth’s horizon — its inhabitants are like locusts —[He] stretches out the skies like a curtain and spreads it out like a tent for dwelling. --

23 God makes dignitaries useless and the earth’s judges into nothing. --

24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely is their shoot rooted in the earth when God breathes on them, and they dry up; the windstorm carries them off like straw. --

25 So to whom will you compare me, and who is my equal? says the holy one. --

26 Look up at the sky and consider: Who created these? The one who brings out their attendants one by one, summoning each of them by name. Because of God’s great strength and mighty power, not one is missing. --

27 Why do you say, Jacob, and declare, Israel, “My way is hiddenfrom the Lord, my God ignores my predicament”? --

28 Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He doesn’t grow tired or weary. --

His understanding is beyond human reach, --29 giving power to the tired and reviving the exhausted. 30 Youths will become tired and weary, young men will certainly stumble; --

31 but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength; they will fly up on wings like eagles; they will run and not be tired; they will walk and not be weary.--

At end of the Scripture, change to the CENTERING OUR HEARTS IN PRAYER slide. Leave up as pastor talks about prayer needs. (NO SECOND HYMN ON COMMUNION SUNDAY)

CENTERING OUR HEARTS IN PRAYER

This is not in the bulletin because it just happened Saturday afternoon, but the prayer list for Ralls should say “The Family of Marilyn Schwamkrug. Marilyn was the sister of Russell Mason, and she was added to the list last week because she had been injured her patella in a car accident. She was doing well and was waiting to enter a rehab facility when she had a stroke last Wednesday and was flown to Lubbock from Midland for surgery. She had blood clots removed late Tuesday night this week and was doing better, but then began having setbacks. She died Saturday afternoon. The family appreciates all the prayers for Marilyn and for them and asks for continued prayers for the families.

Added to the Ralls prayer list were Ann Abell’s brother David Davis, who is not doing well, and Sharon Fostick.

I’ve not heard about any new changes. As always, keep me posted on who needs to be on the list. When the pastor says “Let’s take these joys and concerns to the Lord in prayer,” change to PASTORAL PRAYER slide and leave it up during the prayer.

PASTORAL PRAYER

Pastor prays

After the “Amen,” change to TITHES AND OFFERINGS slide and leave up for a second or two. and then change to slide on where to send offerings - leave up just a few seconds so people can see the addresses (NO LORD’S PRAYER ON COMMUNION SUNDAY)

TITHES AND OFFERINGS

change slide to first announcement about where to send tithes and offerings and leave up a few seconds so people can see addresses. Then change slide to DOXOLOGY

DOXOLOGY

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.Praise him all creatures here below.

Praise him above, ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. AMEN.

change slide to EPISTLE LESSON and leave up during the introduction to the passage

EPISTLE LESSON — 1 Corinthians 9:16-23

This passage is like an outline of Paul’s entire concept of ministry. He saw it as a privilege, as well as a duty and a great reward. But is also is a description of his method ministry, which was becoming all things to all people so that they could come to know Jesus. James Boswell, the author of the biography of Samuel Johnson, which is called “the greatest biography written in the English language, calls it “the art of accommodating oneself to others.”

This explains why Paul doesn’t always send the same teaching to each church, but rather, he addresses the context of each community and their different cultural values. He says he “acts like a Jew to the Jews” based on his own Jewish background, having been circumcised on the 8th day after his birth into the Hebrew tribe of Benjamin. He says he acts like he is “under the Law” to those “under the Law” based on his background as a strict and legalistic Pharisee who is under the Law (although he strongly states that he is NOT under the Law). He says he “acts like I’m outside the Laws to those who are outside the Law,” which basically means anyone who is a Gentile or non-Jewish based not as much as his personal background but his long ministry with and starting churches with Gentiles — he knew them and they knew him.

In addition, Paul tried to identify with the poor and oppressed in the communities he visited, so he could share with them the Gospel, the Good News. Let’s hear what Paul has to say, reading 1 Corinthians 9:16-23, from the Common English Bible:

change slide to the Scripture passage, which will look like one slide but is several slides, Use right arrow to change slid when you see a dash (—) or use the right arrow on the computer keyboard

16 If I preach the gospel, I have no reason to brag, since I’m obligated to do it. I’m in trouble if I don’t preach the gospel. --

17 If I do this voluntarily, I get rewarded for it. But if I’m forced to do it, then I’ve been charged with a responsibility. --

18 What reward do I get? That when I preach, I offer the good news free of charge. That’s why I don’t use the rights to which I’m entitled through the gospel. --

19 Although I’m free from all people, I make myself a slave to all people, to recruit more of them. --

20 I act like a Jew to the Jews, so I can recruit Jews. I act like I’m under the Law to those under the Law, so I can recruit those who are under the Law (athough I myself am not under the Law). --

21 I act like I’m outside the Law to those who are outside the Law, so I can recruit those outside the Law (though I’m not outside the law of God but rather under the law of Christ). --

22 I act weak to the weak, so I can recruit the weak. I have become all things to all people, so I could save some by all possible means. --

23 All the things I do are for the sake of the gospel, so I can be a partner with it.

change to the CENTERING OUR HEARTS WITH THE WORD slide for a few seconds. Then change to SERMON TITLE, which should stay up during the introduction to the passage; it will then go to the GOSPEL LESSON slide.)

CENTERING OUR HEARTS IN THE WORD

SERMON TITLE: “HEALING, PRAYING, PREACHING”

change slide to GOSPEL LESSON and leave up during the introduction to the passage

We’re still in the first chapter of Mark’s Gospel. Verse 9 began with Jesus being baptized and tempted, He is calling two sets of brothers to be His disciples (Simon Peter and his brother Andrew and brothers James and John by verse 16. And then, last week, we seven verses taking us from Mark 1:21 through Mark 1:28, when Jesus entered the synagogue and His teaching amazed His listeners with His authority. They were even more amazed when he healed a demon-possessed man — again with authority. The final verse in that section says, “Right way, the news about him spread throughout the entire region of Galilee.”

These are the very first days of His ministry, and already people are hearing about Him and His healing powers. That’s important because of what happened next. First is the healing of an individual woman Jesus had compassion on, and then hours and hours of healing people brought to Him from far and wide, again acting out of His compassion for people. Next, we see Jesus withdraw from all that hustle and bustle and seek alone time with His Heavenly Father in prayer. Then the disciples came looking for Him to go back to Capernaum where He had just been, because there were lots more people wanting healing there. “No,” He basically said, “It’s time to move on. Let’s go somewhere else, to some of the neighboring towns in Galilee “ which was in the opposite direction.” Why? “So I can preach there, too,” He said. “That’s why I’ve come.”

His primary purpose was not healing but preaching, although He certainly did a lot of healing along the way. As we said last week, the healing was not a way of drawing attention to Himself but rat her a way to show His love and compassion to hurting people. But preaching the Good News was always His PRIMARY focus. And sharing the Good News with others should always be our major focus. Let’s read our Gospel lesson from Mark 1:29-39, reading from the Common English Bible:

change slide to the Scripture passage, which will look like one slide but is several slides, Use right arrow to change slid when you see a dash (—) or use the right arrow on the computer keyboard

GOSPEL LESSON — Mark 1:29-39

29 After leaving the synagogue, Jesus, James, and John went home with Simon and Andrew. --

30 Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed, sick with a fever, and they told Jesus about her at once. --

31 He went to her, took her by the hand, and raised her up. The fever left her, and she served them. --

32 That evening, at sunset, people brought to Jesus those who were sick or demon-possessed.33 The whole town gathered near the door. --

34 He healed many who were sick with all kinds of diseases, and he threw out many demons. But he didn’t let the demons speak, because they recognized him. --

35 Early in the morning, well before sunrise, Jesus rose and went to a deserted place where he could be alone in prayer. --

36 Simon and those with him tracked him down. 37 When they found him, they told him, “Everyone’s looking for you!” --

38 He replied, “Let’s head in the other direction, to the nearby villages, so that I can preach there too. That’s why I’ve come.” --

39 He traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and throwing out demons.

change to the JESUS HEALS ONE PERSON slide, leave up until JESUS HEALS MANY PEOPLE slide

JESUS HEALS ONE PERSON

We don’t know what happened immediately after the healing in the synagogue. Those unusual circumstances may have ended the service, or Jesus may have just turned back to the manner at hand — preaching the good news. Under ordinary circumstances, synagogue would let out about noon, and Peter apparently said something like, “Come on, guys. Let’s go to my house for lunch.”

At any rate, Simon Peter and Andrew took Jesus, James and John to Peter’s house, where they found that Peter’s mother-in-law had taken to her bed. This must have been a sudden illness, since she apparently wasn’t sick when he left for the synagogue. But she’s sick now, running a temperature — in a day when you couldn’t quickly take a Tylenol and resume your daily life. In those days and in that climate, fever was often a life-and death matter. We don’t know what was wrong with her for sure, although the Talmud called it a “burning fever,” an ailment common then and now in that part of Galilee. And Exodus actually offers a cure for it. Seriously. Commentator William Barclay tells us that” A knife wholly made of iron was tied by a braid of hair to a thorn bush, and then each day for three days, a specific verse from Exodus 3 would be repeated, followed by what he called “a certain magical formula” that was supposed to bring about a cure. [ATTRIBUTION: William Barclay(Ed.). (1976). The Gospel of Mark (p. 37). Philadelphia, PA: The Westminster John Knox Press.]

But the family’s daily life and routine was upset, and in their short time with Jesus as His disciples, the four had already learned to take their troubles to Him, Jesus goes to the woman and simply takes her hand and lifts her up; some translations say He “raised” her up. Forget about all that fancy paraphernalia — Jesus heals the woman with a gesture and a word of unique authority and power. He did not do it to draw attention to Himself or to show off His power. Instead, He did it out of His compassion for the woman and her troubles. As exhausting as the day had been already, He But Barclay points out one other thing about this healing: “above all,” he said, we see here — as we saw in the synagogue — the uniqueness of the methods of Jesus. There were many exorcists in the time of Jesus, but they worked with elaborate incantations, and formulae, and spells, and magical apparatus. In the synagogue Jesus had spoken one authoritative sentence and the healing was complete.”

The wording that Jesus took the woman by the hand and raised her up reminds us of the resurrection, although here Jesus is not raising her FROM death but raising her TO a life with renewed vigor and health. The haling was complete — so much so that she immediately got up and began serving them, taking care of their needs. Service was apparently in her nature, and she went right back to serving. There’s a great Scottish motto that says “Saved to Serve. Jesus helps us that we may help others.”

And there is a word there for us. As one pastor put it, “The church continues the ministry of Jesus. Jesus faced a crowd pressing against the door of the house. We have trouble even imagining how endless that crowd looked to Jesus, who had already put in a full day. Do we feel overwhelmed by the need in our world? Do the scourges of human trafficking, drug addiction, political corruption, poverty seem so enormous that we wonder what a church losing membership and influence can do about them?” We may not have the same understanding of unclean spirits and demons as people did in that day, but, as this pastor says, “A drug addict can feel just as helpless, just as unable to shake off the dependency as the characters in these narratives felt trying to escape from their demons.” [ATTRIBUTION: from “Jesus’ Secret Weapon sermon on Proclaim sermon website]

change to the JESUS HEALS MANY PEOPLE slide, leave up until JESUS NEEDS TO PRAY slide

JESUS HEALS MANY PEOPLE

All this would have taken place around noon, and we don’t hear anything more about Jesus until about sunset. The Sabbath is over, and the rules about observing the Sabbath — such as no carrying any burden through the town on a Sabbath — were no longer in effect. So as the sun went down and at least three stars had appeared, that was considered the end of the Sabbath and normal activities could be resumed. That is, Jesus healing people over the last day has drawn attention, and crowds begin knocking on Peter’s front door., bringing people from all over who were sick or demon-possessed so that Jesus could heal them.

Surely He was tired — it had been a long day. Already He has preached in the synagogue, been interrupted by a man with an unclean spirit and ordered that spirit to leave the man, which it did, and the people were amazed at the authority He expressed in His words and His actions. Then He healed a sick woman, and now a whole wave of people is gathered at the door, seeking healing. And again, He responds with a willing heart, no matter how tired He might be. He cannot turn away from the need for healing from the diseases that brought pain and limitation to their bodies and the demonic evils that had captured their souls. Jesus healed their bodies and their souls, no matter what the disease was, and he threw out demons, but based on what had happened in the synagogue earlier that morning, He would not allow the demons to speak because they recognized who He was. Barclay says the demon-possessed often cried out when they met Jesus — they recognized Him as the Messiah and would say so, and they knew His reign would be the end of demons. Accordingly, He forbade the demons to speak. [ATTRIBUTION: Barclay]

Or to put it another way, He won’t let the demons identify Him as the Messiah at this point. He does the same thing later with individuals He heals, telling them not to tell anybody. His goal is to “control the interpretation of what He is doing. Jesus wanted to make sure that the message going out about Him was HIS message. There were plenty of popular views about what the Messiah would do when He came. Jesus wanted to ensure that He was not pigeonholed into one of those pre-determined viewpoints.” [ATTRIBUTION: from the “Will success spoil Jesus?” sermon on Proclaim sermon website]

Barclay says, “The people flocked to Jesus because they recognized in him a man who could do things. There were plenty who could talk and expound and lecture and preach; but here was one who dealt not only in words but also in actions. The person people want is the effective person. Jesus could, and can, produce results.” But, Barclay notes, “The crowds came, but they came because they wanted something out of Jesus. They did not come because they loved Him; they did not come because they had caught a glimpse of some new vision; in the last analysis, they wanted to use Him. That is what nearly everyone wants to do with God and His Son. For one prayer that goes up to God in days of prosperity, 10,000 go up in time of adversity. Many a man who has never prayed when the sun was shining begins to pray when the cold winds come,” Barclay said. [ATTRIBUTION: Barclay]

change to the JESUS NEEDS TO PRAY slide, leave up until next WE NEED TO PRAY slide

JESUS NEEDS TO PRAY

After what was probably hours of His healing ministry, Jesus went to bed, surely totally exhausted but likely with a sense of having done His Father’s will. Everyone went to bed, most probably thinking they’d sleep in a bit from such an exhausting day. But Jesus did not sleep in. Before sunrise the next morning, He left Peter’s house and went to a deserted place, where for the first time in over a day when He could be alone — no disciples, no sick women needing His help, no crowds of people clamoring for healing. Mark tells us He needed to be alone in prayer. Barclay says “Jesus knew well that He could not live without God; that if He was going to be forever giving out, He must be at least sometimes taking in; that if He was going to spend Himself for others, He must ever and again summon spiritual reinforcements to His aid. He knew that He could not live without prayer.”

Barclay goes on to quote Dr. A.D. Belden from his book, The Practice of Prayer. Belden said, “Prayer may be defined as the appeal of the soul to God.” Barclay adds, “Not to pray is to be guilty of the incredible folly of ignoring 'the possibility of adding God to our resources.’ “In prayer we give the perfect mind of God an opportunity to feed our mental powers.” For Jesus to be effective in meeting the needs of the people around Him, He knew that He must first meet with God. That was a daily necessity for Him. In quiet retreat, Jesus was able to gather His thoughts. In prayer He was able to refocus. Separated from the crowds, and even from His disciples, Jesus was able to renew Himself around His main task and central message. If JESUS needed that kind of daily sustenance with the Father, we know we need it even more than He did. We’ll come back to our own need of prayer in a few minutes.

But Jesus knew that He needed to slip away and meet with His Father. But even in that deserted place, He could not be alone. The disciples tracked Him down, who knows how, and told Him that everyone was looking for Him. Basically, “Come on back — there are more people who need healing in Capernaum.” He was conscious of His own weariness and exhaustion, but He was even more conscious of the insistent cry of human need. He ended His so-needed alone time with God and rose to meet the challenge of His task. As Barclay said, “Prayer will never do our work for us; what it will do is to strengthen us for work which must be done.”

When missionaries go out, they take the Bible and they teach and preach, but they also take schools and medical care and modern-day agricultural training. Sometimes called sneeringly the “Social Gospel,” this aspect of the Christian message is not something thrown into the mix as an extra component or an option. No, it is part and parcel of the whole thing. “The Christian message is one — and it preaches and works for the good of a man’s body, as well as the good of his soul.” Finally, Jesus never separated earth and heaven. “There are those who are so concerned with heaven that they forget all about earth and so become impractical visionaries. There are those who are so concerned with earth that they forget about heaven and limit good to material good. The dream of Jesus was a time when God’s will would be done in earth as it is in heaven, and earth and heaven be one.” [ATTRIBUTION: Barclay]

But Jesus is going to do His work on His own terms. Instead of going back to Capernaum and more and more healing, He chooses to go in the opposite direction. Instead of going back, He will go forward, to the nearby villages, so that He could preach there, too. “That’s why I’ve come,” He said.” The healing is important to Jesus — His soul hurts when other people are hurting, and He wants to bring healing and restoration to them, but it is preaching the good news that is MORE important — restoring people’s souls, restoring them to right relationship with the Father. So He walks away from a sure thing. Or as one pastor put it, “Anyone knowing anything about church growth or marketing would be quick to tell Jesus He was making a big mistake. When you’ve got the crowds coming, when you’ve got what they want, you don’t pull up stakes and leave. You dig in, you increase production, you maximize your potential, you multiply your output, you increase your advertising. Jesus was right on the cusp of succeeding, of generating a mass movement, and yet he walked away.”

The reason had to do with the meaning of miracles. The devil had already tempted Jesus that the easy way to build a following was to perform miracles. But Jesus wanted more. He wanted to build a community of faith, and He knew that would not happen with “a crowd who only came for the miracles.” In that case, why perform miracles? Well, the miracles were never ends in themselves. As another pastor put it, “Jesus was not trying to pass Himself off as a miracle worker. All of His healings and exorcisms were object lessons. They were part of His proclamation about the nature of kingdom of God that was dawning in His life and in His words. The miracles were intended to point away from themselves to the deeper truth of God that Jesus was proclaiming. The arrival of the kingdom meant “release for the captives, opening the eyes of the blind, and allowing the oppressed go free.” The miracles were intended to illustrate the message Jesus was proclaiming.” [ATTRIBUTION: from the “Will success spoil Jesus?” sermon on Proclaim sermon website]

change to the WE NEED TO PRAY slide and leave up until time for the OUR HEARTS RESPOND TO THE WORD slide

WE NEED TO PRAY

But did Jesus really NEED to pray? Did He need to recharge His batteries? Did He feel overwhelmed by the need of the world and desired time alone with God? Whatever his reason, Jesus made time for prayer. is reason, Jesus made time for prayer. And if JESUS, the Son of God and the Redeemer of the World, needed prayer, why would we think we do not?

Mark does not tell us why he prayed. Did he need to recharge his batteries? Did he feel overwhelmed by the need of the world and desired time alone with God? Whatever his reason, Jesus made time for prayer.

Just as we might overlook this detail in the narrative because of the dramatic healings and exorcisms, we might neglect prayer in our lives. We need sleep and find it hard to rise early. If we continue the ministry of Jesus, we might not singlehandedly cast out any demons, or crisscross the countryside preaching, but we can pray. Let’s talk honestly: We find prayer difficult. We don’t have time, or the opportunity to get away to be alone. Our duties and our families crowd up against us. We don’t know what to say. We feel too unworthy for prayer. Our minds wander.

Whatever Jesus’ purpose for praying, he made a point of it. In the midst of Jesus’ gallop of a ministry, he made time to pray. We can all name the distractions that keep us from a vital prayer life. Work, family and fatigue all block our prayer life. May we learn to pray through our distractions, and through our inner reluctance.

We may pray short prayers. We may not get away early in the morning as Jesus did. We may not accomplish as much in our ministries as Jesus did. We can nevertheless draw on God’s resources. We may not have Jesus’ healing power, but we can pray for those who need healing. We can pray about our grief for those not healed. We may not score the victories over unclean spirits that Jesus did, but we can pray about the evil forces that blanket our world.

Mark tells us about Jesus’ ministry. In Mark, we learn theology not from poems but from action, from Jesus’ teaching, healing and exorcisms. God calls us to our ministries. The need is great, and we should get started. We may not do our ministry at a full gallop, but we do our ministry as God gives us strength. God may not grant us Jesus’ success over illness and evil, but God will hear our prayers.

change to the OUR HEARTS RESPOND TO THE WORD slide and leave up until time for the COME TO THE TABLE slide

OUR HEARTS RESPOND TO THE WORD

There are several words here for us in today’s Gospel Lesson. One is that We must take seriously the content of our message and mission. It is our responsibility to make sure we are telling our story our way. We cannot allow our identity to be altered by what people think we ought to be doing. We also cannot allow our identity to be altered in order to increase the size of the crowd. This is the temptation that has the power to spoil the church — to give the people we’re trying to attract what they want rather than what God wants. It is the role of the church to convey the gospel message of Jesus both by our example and even by our bold words.

One pastor put it this way: “Did you ever notice how loudly people can, in the name of Jesus, ‘preach’ about things that Jesus never mentioned? But fewer preach as boldly about the things He addressed over and over again: nonviolence, forgiveness, mercy, avoiding judgment of others and sharing what we have with those who have not. Those things are at the heart of gospel behavior and they are the things about which we need to preach, not only in pulpits but wherever we are.” [ATTRIBUTION: from the “Will success spoil Jesus?” sermon on Proclaim sermon website]

The pastor went on to say, “We may not have paralytics come to our door. We may not have blind people come up to us with the expectation that we can restore their sight. But the world is full of illnesses that do not require a degree in the healing arts. All we have to do is look around us and we will see the illness of fear, the illness of hopelessness, the illness of loneliness, the illness of grief. These illnesses show themselves in people with whom we work. They are found in our neighborhoods, our shopping malls, our grocery stores and even in our homes. They are present in any place where women, men or children are. And yes, Earth itself carries a kind of illness contracted from the ways in which we have abused it. This is why ecology is even more of a spiritual calling than it is a political football. “

So what IS our response when we come into contact with people who have these kinds of diseases? Well, we can ignore them or run from them or insist they are not our problem. That’s not the way Jesus responded. HE reached out and touched these people. As unlikely as it sounds, we can become healers. At various times in our lives, we have been on the receiving end of someone else’s healing words or encouragement to us. We can do that for others. We even get direction from the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi:

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace;

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

And where there is sadness, joy.

And just as we follow the model of Jesus in ministering to others, we follow His model in prayer. Prayer was more basic to who He was and is than the healing or the preaching. It was in His prayer life that Jesus obtained the vision that He needed to do these things. If Jesus needed prayer to accomplish His mission, then of course we do to accomplish ours. It is only when we are tuned in to the God channel that we can see what it is we are called to do and how we are to do it. It is only then that we can have the courage to do God’s will humbly and effectively. But when we are tuned to that God channel as prayer enables us to be, we can be assured of the vision, the humility and the courage we need to be healing preaching demon-chasers ourselves. In other words, to be Christians. That’s another lesson for us today: Sometimes we need to retreat. We need quiet, reflective times that allow us space to renew and review. When we are too busy doing our work to pull back and evaluate it, we are too busy. Every step we take, every effort we put forth, must be constantly reviewed in the quiet solitude of prayer and reflection. [ATTRIBUTION: from Healing Preaching Demon-Chaser” sermon on Proclaim sermon website]

On this Sunday, just a couple of weeks before the beginning of Ash Wednesday and Lent, it is important to hear these Words from the Lord for several reasons. One because it tells WHY Jesus came. It moves us “from the warm and lovely sentiment that accompanies the Christmas story to a day-by-day description of the world into which Jesus came, a world out of joint, and why, therefore, Jesus needed to come.

Secondly, the passage reminds us that Jesus met with His Father sometimes late at night and often early in the morning because He needed the reinforcement to meet the titanic needs of our world. Thirdly — we have four Gospels. Matthew and Luke tell us that God came to our world by way of Jesus Christ, and John tells us that Jesus was with God — was in fact God -- as the Word, the One who would come to save the world. But Mark tells us the kind of world into which Jesus came. Mark’s gospel thrusts us right into the maelstrom of living — of villages where the sick are everywhere, and of cities where the demonic so often asserts itself, sometimes subtly and sometimes arrogantly.

And finally, we are reminded that “you and I — we who call ourselves Christians and who want so much to be worthy of that name — we’re the ones who represent Jesus in this world that is out of joint. We are the people who represent our Lord in a world that needs Him altogether as much as it did 20 centuries ago, when He came physically to be among us. This surely is what Mark wants us to know. Because our world is still out of joint, it still needs the Christ of Calvary, with His compassion for our human need. And now, you and I are part of the delivery team. We are called to help in the healing of our world. [ATTRIBUTION: from “A World Out of Joint” sermon on Proclaim sermon website]

Another way we respond is to participate in Holy Communion. During that ritual, we ask God for His forgiveness for the things we should have done that we didn’t and we ask for strength and courage to do the things we should. Let us join together in remembering the Lord’s Supper.

change to TOGETHER WE REMEMBER THE LORD’S SUPPER slide; then change to the COMMUNION LITURGY slide, which looks like one slide but is a number of slides that have to be changed manually by clicking the large right arrow on the right side of the slide. Change slide when you see the dash (—)

TOGETHER WE REMEMBER THE LORD'S SUPPER

leave up a second or two and change to COMMUNION LITURGY slide set, which stays up only a few seconds

COMMUNION LITURGY --

INVITATION TO THE TABLE (leave up while pastor gives some instructions, then move to the next slide.)

In the hymnbook, you’ve probably seen a few little asterisks, which are symbols of additional words the pastor says in accordance with a specific season or situation. We’ll be ignoring asterisks today, so just keep going. A few slides will have three little dots in something the pastor is saying. In those situations, the section the liturgy has the pastor reading several passages of the liturgy. You’ll know where we are, because the ending words of that section are printed on the slide you’re on. If there are three dots and no asterisk, it means that the thought continues on the next slide and you will continue reading on the next slide. So let’s hear the invitation to the Table of the Lord this morning:

change slide

PASTOR: Christ our Lord invites to his table all who love him, who earnestly repent of their sin and seek to live in peace with one another.--Therefore, let us confess our sin before God and one another, first silently and then as the church, the Body of Christ.*(Pause/Silence)--

CONFESSION AND PARDON

PEOPLE: Merciful God, we confess that we have not loved you with our whole heart. We have failed to be an obedient church. We have not done your will, we have broken your law, … --

we have rebelled against your love... we have not loved our neighbors, and we have not heard the cry of the needy. Forgive us, we pray, free us for joyful obedience, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.--

PASTOR: Hear the good news:Christ died for us while we were yet sinners; that proves God’s love toward us. In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!--

PEOPLE (to the pastor): In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven. ALL: Glory to God. Amen.--

THE GREAT THANKSGIVING --PASTOR: The Lord be with you.

PEOPLE: We lift them up to the Lord. --

PASTOR: It is right and a good and joyful thing, always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.--

And so, with your people on earth and all the company of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn:--

PEOPLE: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!--

PASTOR: Holy are you, and blessed is your Son Jesus Christ.* By the baptism of his suffering, death and resurrection, you gave birth to your church, delivered us from slavery to sin and death ,and made with us a new covenant, by water and the Spirit.*--

On the night in which he gave himself up for us, he took bread, gave thanks to you, broke the bread ,gave it to his disciples, and said, “Take eat; this is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”--

When the supper was over, he took the cup, gave thanks to you, gave it to his disciples, and said, “This is my blood of the new covenant, poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sin. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”—

And so, in remembrance of these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and living sacrifice, in union with Christ’s offering for us, as we proclaim the mystery of faith: --

PEOPLE: Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.--

PASTOR: Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here and around the world out of love for you and on these gifts of bread and the fruit of the vine. Make them be for the world the body of Christ redeemed by his blood.*--

By your Spirit, make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world, until Christ comes in final victory, and we feast at his heavenly banquet.--

Through your Son Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit in your Holy Church, all glory and honor is yours, almighty Father, now and forever. Amen. And now, with the confidence of children of God, let us pray:-

change to THE LORD’S PRAYER slide

THE LORD’S PRAYER

ALL: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name; thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.--

Forgive us of our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.--

change to COME TO THE TABLE slide and leave up a few seconds; then change to BREAKING THE BREAD AND GIVING THE BREAD AND CUP slide, which stays up until the pastor invites all to say the prayer after Holy Communion

COME TO THE TABLE

BREAKING THE BREAD AND GIVING THE BREAD AND CUP

persons at home and in the service are invited to participate in the taking of the Lord’s Supper

change to PRAYER AFTER HOLY COMMUNION

PRAYER AFTER HOLY COMMUNION --

PASTOR: Let us join together in saying this Prayer After Holy Communion:

ALL: Eternal God, we give you thanks for this holy mystery in which you have given yourself to us.--

Grant that we may go into the world in the strength of your Spirit, to give ourselves for others, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.--

change to INVITATION slide, leave up just a few seconds and then go the "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" slide, which will look like a single slide but it is actually several slides that have to be changed manually by clicking the large right arrow on the right side of the slide. If a verse is broken up into more than one slide, the signal for the slide change is — (It’s best so hit the right arrow to change the slide immediately as the final word in the first verse begins and go to the next verse — perhaps a half-second sooner. At the end of the second verse, do the same thing with the last word of the verse., which will stop the music and go to the next slide.

INVITATION SONG — "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms"

Our invitation song was written in part by Edward Showalter — an American gospel music composer, publisher, and teacher. He had received letters from two former students about the deaths of their respective wives. His response to them was inspired by the words of Deuteronomy 33:27 — “The eternal God is thy refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms.” He then wrote the music for the whole song and the words to the chorus of “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.” In the words of he song, you are invited to walk with Jesus, this week, knowing His peace, His security, His loving care. We’ll sing two verses, each with a chorus.

leave this slide up until the end of the song introduction, then go to the words of the song, which will look like a single slide but it is actually several slides that have to be changed manually by clicking the large right arrow on the right side of the slide. If a verse is broken up into more than one slide, the signal for the slide change is — (It’s best so hit the right arrow to change the slide immediately as the final word in the first verse begins and go to the next verse — perhaps a half-second sooner. At the end of the second verse, do the same thing with the last word of the verse., which will stop the music and go to the next section.

What a fellowship, what a joy divine, leaning on the everlasting arms.

What a blessedness, what a peace is mine, leaning on the everlasting arms.

Leaning ... leaning, safe and secure from all alarms.

Leaning ... leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.

What have I to dread, what have I to fear, leaning on the everlasting arms?

I have blessed peace with my Lord so near, leaning on the everlasting arms.

Leaning ... leaning, Safe and secure from all alarms.

Leaning ... leaning,

Leaning on the everlasting arms.--

change to BENEDICTION slide. When the benediction is over, change to FINAL SLIDE and leave up

BENEDICTION

God of mercy and love, be with us this morning as we hear the stories of Jesus and his compassion. Remind us again that we also need to be people of hope and compassion in this world which seems so dark. You, O God , open the doors of blessings. You reveal to us the many ways in which Jesus reached out to others at their time of need. Inspire our hearts and lift our spirits this day, for we offer this prayer in Jesus’ Name. AMEN.

FINAL SLIDE

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