Year B Epiphany V Isaiah 40:21-31 Mark 1:29-39

Pretend for a moment that you aren’t reading a sermon – but that you are responding to someone who is taking a poll. One of the questions they ask you is, “What do you consider to be the center of your life?” If we were asked this in Church, we know what we’d be expected to say. But take a moment now to think about that question, to honestly consider your true answer. It might be interesting to discover what comes up.

Years ago, at the beginning of my ministry, a Church official pointed out to me just how many eager young clergy dashed into their work only to burn out. (Does anyone still use that term these days – “bun out”?) They had the right education; they had high ideals and great ideas. I actually knew one clergy person who felt they had come to “save, they used that word, a disenfranchised community. Back then there were burning issues social and political, and while today many of the issues have changed, the presence of similar issues in our society has not. The challenge to help, to fix, remains.

All of us at times feel as if we are the only ones who can solve the problems, address the issues, understand the needs in a certain situation. This is common in families, in groups, even in church congregations. In these moments, as we look at “our” work, the answer to that question, “what is the center of your life?” becomes, “I am.”

Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?

God speaks through His prophet in this beautiful reading from Dutero-Isaiah. The Children of Israel have been in exile in Babylon for seventy years, which in ancient times meant several generations. Most of those who had been brought captive into exile in Babylon are now very old or have passed away. A younger generation that no longer remembers the old country has sprung up, but the stories have lived on and their faith is still alive.

But, unlike their ancestors, these younger ones have not felt the power of God in their personal history, in their lives. God wants them to know Who He is! Through the prophet He reminds them of his power.

Are you not aware, God asks, you and your ancestors back to creation itself – that it is God who controls the earth? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.

In a short time, a new king will rule over Babylon, and he will send the Israelites home. Not all of them will leave. In seventy years, some have acclimated; have set down roots, established good businesses. But some will go home, and God doesn’t want those who return home to be confused about who has made this possible.

Those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

Israel shall be sent home, not by the Babylonian king, but by God. It will be through God’s mercy that the king makes the choice he does, to return the exiles to their homeland, and God wants to be absolutely certain the Children of Israel understand. He wants to be sure they get it!

“Jesus left the synagogue at Capernaum and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her.”

Jesus enters the home of an hospitable lady, and immediately cures her of her sickness. We can imagine the word spread quickly, because “That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door.” Jesus is suddenly the center of attention.

This is the sort of situation that certainly many people dream of. How marvelous to be the draw for a huge crowd of people, all wanting to see us, all wanting our gifts. Jesus has achieved instant celebrity status, something everyone in our society is eager to acquire. People are flocking to Him.

If this were to happen today, we would expect the individual in question to be delighted. We would also anticipate that they would make every attempt to respond to the needs of the crowds who came to them. Jesus does just this. “He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons.” Unlike us, however, He isn’t delighted by the accolades of the crowd. “In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.”

Jesus doesn’t want celebrity. Instead, He turns immediately to prayer, to His Heavenly Father, for direction and sustenance. It takes a while for His followers to even locate Him, and “When they found him, they said to him, ‘Everyone is searching for you.’”

Any modern faith healer or preacher would welcome the news that a large crowd has gathered and is just waiting for them to appear. Jesus responds, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.’”

Rather than remain where He already has an eager group, Jesus first seeks out time for silent prayer, and then moves on. To us it seems strange that He does not remain where He has already achieved celebrity status, where people would flock to Him for healing and to hear His teaching.

Thinking about today’s Bible readings we have to admit that if we were among the Israelites who, by decree of the Babylonian king, are leaving Babylon for home, we would probably credit said king for our release. Put in modern terms, if our current president manages many of the good works he is attempting to accomplish, i.e. reuniting migrant children with their parents, it’s likely he will be the one getting the credit. We get caught up in the worldly issues, and while those who do God’s will deserve praise, the final thanks belong not to them but to God. That almost sounds odd to us, because that often isn’t the way we think.

And what of walking away from fame? We would stay, because the recognition would further us in our work, give us a supportive base, and while we helped others it would make our lives easier and more comfortable. That just makes good sense, good worldly sense. In His example to us, Jesus goes aside to pray, to find sustenance, strength, and guidance from God. And, yes, we undoubtedly would bolster our work and our lives by time spent in quiet prayer. But after He prays, Jesus takes His ministry to the next town, avoiding the temptations of fame and popularity, in order to do the work He has been given to do. As form us, we pray and stay put!

This is where we find our largest stumbling block, why we often think we cannot follow Him as the saints do and have done. How can we walk away from our families, our homes, our lives? The reality for most of us is, we can’t, but we can walk away from our stubborn conviction that we are the only one who can solve the problems, address the issues, and understand the needs in any given situation. We must rely on prayer, and we need to grasp the truth, that only with Jesus’ help can we avoid the temptation to be wrapped up in our personal goals, our own “clever” solutions, our pride. The greatest danger we ever face is answering the question, “what is the center of your life?” with, “I am”. That is the name reserved only for God.

We are living in difficult times, but all times are, in their own way, difficult. Worldly woes are ever present as is the temptation for us to look to worldly “saviors”, or to try to solve every problem – and take the credit for ourselves.

St. Paul tells us, “If I proclaim the Gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the Gospel!”

We are called to live the Good News and share it, to turn always to prayer, to God, for strength and guidance, to live lives centered on Jesus. Shifting our way of seeing things sounds simple, but it is not easy. It is the difficult calling of our lives. We do not live for ourselves or for what the world holds dear. We are His followers, and when we achieve our calling we live and work for Jesus.

Let us pray:

Almighty God, from your loving hand comes every good and perfect gift, everything that we achieve, everything that we possess; grant us, we beseech you, the grace to follow the example of your Son, that we may offer all we have received in love, with love to others, expecting no earthly reward or recognition, but only that which waits for those who faithfully serve you, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.