Stephen Palmer
Second Presbyterian Church
Sermons: July 23, 2006

"Between Miracles"

". . . and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things." Mark 6:34.

Next Sunday, Pastor Holly will preach on The Feeding of the Five Thousand – the only miracle of Jesus reported in all four Gospels. She will use the text from the Gospel of John, the first 21 verses of the 6^th chapter of John to be specific because that is where the lectionary leads us. Today, in the 6^th chapter of Mark, verses 30-44 Mark shares with us his original view of the feeding of the five thousand. Our portion of the text, the first five verses, focuses our attention on the setup or the transition to the miracle. Hear now our second reading from Mark 6:30-34 (see Scripture Reading).

Katie, my 6-year-old red-headed grand-daughter has a minor problem these days. She wants to play soccer this fall. And her parents have given her a conditional green light. The condition is that she must learn to wear soccer shoes with shoe laces. Not only does that mean she has to change out of her normally light summer flip-flops – after all, you can’t play soccer with flip-flops – but she must learn to tie her own shoes. Even if she can dress herself beautifully in a soccer uniform, and she knows how to make "scary faces" to frighten her opponents, she still must learn to tie her shoes.

Second Presbyterian Church also has a little problem too this summer. As a faith community, we want the momentum of growth to continue here, and for the mission, music, fellowship and educational programs of the church to keep expanding until everyone has a meaningful part somewhere in the church beyond coming to worship and tying their own shoes. But first we need to find out where we want to go – beyond where we are now. So, like little Katie, we are busy these days learning new skills in order to find new opportunities for spiritual growth. And Mark’s words offer clear help for our task.

As we look at today’s second lesson, it is important that we remember that earlier in the sixth Chapter of Mark, after Jesus has taught The Twelve how to teach and heal and shake dust off their sandals, he sends them out into the world to participate directly in mission: his own activity of bringing about the rule of God. In other words, the Twelve share the authority and mission of Jesus with him. They continue to be an extension of Jesus’ own ministry, not independent contractors. The goal of their mission is spreading the Gospel beyond the inner circle; it is not about their personal successes, but communal faithfulness. No single charismatic personality is lifted up as the leader: all are agents of Jesus Christ, who sends them out, just as he has come out, to announce the Gospel of God to a world waiting to hear, know, believe and trust the Good News.

Simply, our text begins with the completion of that task, taking the baby steps of service. Verse 30 says: "The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught." You can almost hear the frenzied chatter of The Twelve – each telling, or trying to tell, their leader how they succeeded magnificently, or how things, events, situations or other folks caused them to fail. But they will do better next time. Can’t you hear one apostle after another interrupting each other repeatedly with the phrase "But, Jesus, listen to this." . . . Then verse 31 introduces a familiar formula from Mark: "and he said to them." Silence suddenly fills the room. The electric energy of the conversation is gone. The balloons of hot air suddenly go limp. All wait expectantly to hear what Jesus is preparing to tell them. Then the quiet pleasure of a vacation invitation changes the mood of the place instantly: "Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while." The sound is as soothing and sultry as Norah Jones singing "Come Away With Me." The powerful scent of coconut butter is in the air. You come. You rest. Now. Life in the fast lane may be invigorating for a while, but you are weary, tired. You are frazzled and frustrated too much of the time. You have no leisure in your life, at least not enough leisure to eat an unhurried meal. You need a time for rest, reflection, re-grouping. Isn’t that part of our dilemma today: how to eat fast food slowly, restfully, and with patient pleasure? How to live gracefully for God? How to switch to plan B when circumstances change.

What a real jewel these few verses are: setting up a time of transition: looking back to the mission and the miracles of the Twelve by its mention of weariness and then looking ahead to the feeding miracle by moving the action away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life to a lonely place. Times of transition in our individual lives, and in our life as a community of faith, as God’s elect, God’s Holy Ones, and God’s Beloved People are opportunities for amazing growth and development – rather than moments to shut down enthusiasm, or bail out on everything until God’s next miracle appears in our midst.

Last Sunday, when David McKee was with us, he preached on the great miracle of the Exodus: How our religious ancestors, the children of Israel, escaped from the Egyptians at the Red Sea – and then while traveling to the Promised Land – grumbled and complained – as God continued with smaller miracles – bread from heaven in the form of manna in the wilderness; water from the desert rocks at Meribah. What was going on was more than a prison diet of bread and water from God; it was communion – an earlier version of communion – with the Living God. And the point of the sermon last week, this week and next week and for all the weeks ahead is that God provides for our needs because God loves us, God challenges us, God tests us, and God changes us. Our God wants to have a deep, authentic communion with us. God wants us to push forward together, beyond the comfortable pew. Whether we are gripping and complaining in the wilderness of the desert or being fed as one among the five thousand – God longs to have life-giving communion with us. Today we are between miracles, forgetting the past miracle and waiting for the next one to knock our socks off. That is both a dangerous and a challenging place to be.

One of my faith heroes is the late Dag Hammarskjold, who wrote a spiritual journal called "Markings" and whose public service as Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1953 until his death in 1961, has had a profound effect on many people. I invite you to ponder these probing words about miracles and spiritual growth that he wrote on December 26, 1956 in his diary:

"We act in faith – and miracles occur. In consequence, we are tempted to make miracles the ground of our faith. The cost of such weakness is that we lose the confidence of faith."

Again:

"We act in faith – and miracles occur. In consequence, we are tempted to make miracles the ground of our faith. The cost of such weakness is that we lose the confidence of faith."

The confidence of our faith is based on the trustworthy goodness of God, the compassion of Jesus, and the leadership of the Holy Spirit – not past miracles; not our expectations of future miracles. Jesus is The Good Shepherd who upon hearing our reports about what has been going on at Second Presbyterian Church over the past dozen years, and maybe tired himself with the state of the world, designs his own plan of action for 2006 for a time to rest, a time for R&R before pointing us to the next level of ministry in this place. Jesus is The Good Shepherd who not only cares for his sheep beyond the church (as we will see next week), but also cares deeply for the welfare of his under-shepherds within the church (as we see this week).

In the Gospel of Mark, miracles are a big deal. Approximately one-third of the 678 verses in Mark recount miracles; a majority of them appear in the first 8 chapters actually – 13 of 18, according to Biblical scholar Lamar Williamson, Jr. Today, you are invited to ponder what happens between the miracles – during the periods of transition– from last week’s miracle communion in the wilderness and next week’s miracle communion with the five thousand. Also, I want us to think about the disciples – our ancestors who followed Jesus. For as Williamson points out: "If Jesus is one major focus of the gospel message in Mark, the disciples are the other." And like the grumbling, mumbling Israelites following Moses in the wilderness who were so shockingly human, so were the disciples, the staff and officers of the early Christian church. This intimate relationship between Jesus and his disciples forms the underlying structure of many passages in Mark and at the same time links this ancient writing to our lives today. The Twelve represent church leaders in any age. They are us.

In complete fairness to the text, let me now say the climatic point is not Jesus’ compassion for The Twelve – or the institutional church. It was for the crowds swarming around them, spoiling the peace and quiet of the private retreat in a deserted place. The text tells us: "and he had compassion on them (the masses), because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things." While God cares for the needs of the church, God so loved the world, that all heaven broke loose for it and them – not just us. The church has a shepherd; the crowds and the masses look for a shepherd.

During the near future, our transition from one miracle to the next depends on how we live out verse 34: our church needs to remain focused on our continued ministry and mission to and for the masses. Are there new missions we can and should be doing? How can we make our current missions more holy? This transition time is a time of growth and renewal, and our Lord reminds us – it is not just about us, but what we can do together in God’s his name as God’s community.

With the children, I talked about Shaker brooms. Let us continue briefly our exploration of that image as we think about the church in general, and our church in particular. The gift of simplicity creates community – and a sense of community helps us find clarity in a complex word. What makes us a richly diverse church, keeps us as a mission-oriented, music-loving church, and helps us to sense the joy and fellowship of community is that which binds us together . . . voluntarily – and that is our shared praise of the majesty of God, the love of Jesus, and the faithfulness of the Holy Spirit which leads us forward together. Both the interim senior pastor and the next permanent senior pastor need to be persons who can keep us bound together in faithful fellowship on the one hand and allows and encourages further diversity on the other. As you hold that image of community in mind, God’s broom, let me close with a lovely, clear prayer written by Martin Marty ⁽¹⁾ as he reflected on a simple picture ⁽²⁾ of broomcorn stalks waiting for new service which I showed the children. Let us pray:

O God, who has bound us together in this bundle of life,
       give us grace to understand how our lives depend upon
       the courage, the industry, the honesty,
       and the integrity of our fellow humans;
       that we may be faithful in our responsibilities to them. Amen

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 ⁽¹⁾ When True Simplicity Is Gained: Finding Spiritual Clarity In A Complex World, by Martin Marty and Micah Marty, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1998. Page 20.