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Put Yourself in the Scene

I would like to do something different this morning instead of simply reading the Scripture from Mark 2:1-12. I would like for you to close your eyes and imagine the scene described…. Close your eyes and imagine that you are living in first century Palestine and that you are standing outside a house in Capernaum by the Sea of Galilee. Can you picture the stone walls, and the roof made of earth and straw? Do you see a crowd gathered around, wearing robes, and having dusty, sandaled feet? Can you smell the sea air? Do you hear the sound of seagulls in the distance? Can you feel the warmth of the sun on the back of your neck? Perhaps you can smell the sweat of bodies packed close around and in this simple house with its few small rooms clustered around an open courtyard. Can you still savor the strong taste of the fish you had for breakfast? Alright, you can open your eyes, but now I want you to imagine who you are in this scene. First, there is a crowd of people. Why are you there in the...
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Touching the Outcast

Who are we afraid to touch?  There was a time when people were afraid to touch patients with AIDS or be anywhere near them. Elizabeth Kubler Ross, the famed author of the book, On Death and Dying, tried to establish a work with AIDS patients in Highland County, Virginia, many years ago. However, she was, basically, driven out of the county, I believe, in part, by fear. On the positive side, on a worldwide level, Princess Diana helped many people to overcome their fear of AIDS by meeting with AIDS patients and touching them.  In our text for today from Mark 1:40-45 we are going to read about someone in the ancient world who most people were afraid to touch, most people except Jesus. Listen for God’s word to you…. A leper came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him, “If you choose, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, “I do choose. Be made clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. ...
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Too Busy Not to Pray

A June 2012 article in The New York Times online apparently struck a nerve for many people. The article received over 800 comments and was often quoted and retweeted. The following quote captures the essence of the author’s analysis of what he calls “the busy trap.” If you live in America in the 21st century, you’ve probably had to listen to a lot of people tell you how busy they are. It’s become the default response when you ask anyone how they’re doing: “Busy!” “So busy.” “Crazy busy.” It is, pretty obviously, a boast disguised as a complaint. And the stock response is a kind of congratulation: “That’s a good problem to have,” or “Better than the opposite.” Busyness serves as a kind of … hedge against emptiness; obviously your life cannot possibly be silly or trivial or meaningless if you are so busy, completely booked, in demand every hour of the day… [We’re] busy because of [our] own ambition or drive or anxiety, because [we’re] addicted to busyness and dread what [we] might have t...
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Who is the author of your life?

Babe Ruth was, of course, the great home run hitter for the New York Yankees baseball team. During one particular at-bat, the umpire, Babe Pinelli, called Ruth out on strikes. There was a stunned silence in the stands. Ruth turned to Pinelli and said, “There are 40,000 people here who know that last one was a ball.” Pinelli replied, “Maybe so, but mine is the only opinion that counts.” We live in a world of thousands of opinions. Whose opinion counts? Who has the authority that matters? There are experts in every field imaginable, some of whom say conflicting things. Who do we look to as our authority?  This is the question that Mark addresses in the portion of his Gospel that we are going to read today. Listen for God’s Word to you from Mark 1:21-34… They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was in their synagogue a ...
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Following Jesus: Why Do It?

When I was getting ready to graduate from college and go off to seminary, my father sat down with me one day and offered me the chance to take over the nonprofit ministry he had started almost thirty years before. I would have had a steady income, the opportunity to lead a significant Christian ministry, and the freedom to take it in new directions. But I wasn’t sure that following in my father’s footsteps in that way was what God wanted me to do. So, I told my father I wasn’t sure. After graduating from seminary, I started into parish ministry and have never looked back.  I do not know how many generations in Simon and Andrew’s, or James and John’s family were in the fishing business. However, I imagine it was quite a few. There must have been great pressure on them to carry on the family tradition, if only to make a living. But they did not. They chose to follow a different dream, the dream of God’s kingdom. Mark tells us about that in Mark 1:14-20… After John was put in prison, ...
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How do you identify?

Funny things sometimes happen in church, especially surrounding special ceremonies like baptism. When I baptize young people or adults, I usually like to use a lot of water because it is supposed to be a visible sign of invisible grace. I remember one time when I was baptizing a group of four siblings. When I came to the youngest, whose name was Ryan (meaning “little king”), he had already seen how much water I could hold in my hand and pour over the heads of his brothers and sister. Therefore, when I scooped a big handful of water out of the baptismal font and poured it on his head, he quickly moved his tie to one side so that it would not get wet as the water descended. He was smiling as he did this, and it brought a big smile to everyone in the congregation. Baptisms are joyous times. I think Jesus’ baptism also must have been a joyous time. Let us see what Mark has to say about it in Mark 1:9-13…. In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jor...
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