SUNDAY, JANUARY 7 2024 - WHO IS THIS?
Deborah Laforet
January 7, 2024
Who Is This?
Let us pray. May the words from my lips and the meditations of my heart be guided by
your Spirit and be words of wisdom for this day. Amen.
Have you ever been new to a place or new to a role, where it was your job or you felt it
was your calling to make some changes, to bring in some new ideas, to make a shift in how
things are normally done. If you have, you’ll know that most times, people don’t tend to be
receptive and will push back at you, sometimes with all their might. They may be open to the
idea of change or to the idea of a new leader with fresh ideas, but when the rubber hits the road,
the actual ideas, the actual suggested changes, and possibly even the one making those changes
and offering these suggestions are not at all what was expected and are not wanted.
People don’t like change, no matter how much it might be needed. The status quo is an
easier road to travel. It feels safer and more familiar. One knows what to expect and there are
often few surprises. Change is difficult, risky, and one never knows what is just around the bend.
As a minor example, my yoga app has recently gone through some changes, and they have taken
away the familiar voice that I’ve been hearing for something like four years. I was not happy.
But change is inevitable. I’ve now been hearing a new voice for a few days and I'm getting used
to it, but I was shocked at how determined I was to hold onto that familiarity. And that's a small
change. Big changes bring bigger feelings.
The stories we hear about Jesus, after two thousand years, feel familiar and expected, but
to those around him, he was definitely a change maker, and some would even say a
troublemaker. He was always doing the unexpected, he would say outrageous things, and he
would constantly push against traditions and even break societal rules. He was questioned a lot,
and not just by authorities like Pharisees and scribes, but by his own followers. Ummm...Jesus,
are you sure you want to hang out with this person? Jesus, do you really want to be hanging out
in this part of town? Jesus, you want us to do what? Really, Jesus, you’re going to attract some
unwanted attention and we're all going to get into trouble.
In today's stories, it’s the scribes who question him in the first two instances, and
“people” who question him in the last scene. The scribes are people who toe the line. They
work for the Pharisees, who are the people who interpret the law and make sure others
understand the law and follow it. Now remember, the Israelites are currently living in a territory
being occupied by a very powerful empire. They are its subjects and too much unwanted
attention can mean the intervention of empire’s soldiers who bring peace through violence. We
are sometimes too hard on the Pharisees and scribes and we sometimes make them out to be the
bad guys, but they’re really not. They are people in leadership who are doing their best in a
difficult situation. Israel has already experienced rebellions and the put down by Roman soldiers
of those rebellions. Jesus was far from the first crucifixion in the land. There had been several,
as this form of punishment was used to kill terrorists, those who rebelled, to set an example to
the rest of the rebels. The Pharisees are trying to hold on to peace, even if it’s an unjust peace,
for the sake of safety and security for their people.
In our gospels, it’s Jesus who keeps saying and doing things that could bring that
unwanted attention. He is stirring up people to think that justice and mercy are their rights, that
people who are oppressed don’t have to live in fear and isolation. These kinds of ideas catch on,
they're liberating, and they cause people to question authority. They can cause a subdued people
to become a resistant people. So yes, the Pharisees and their scribes are keeping an eye on Jesus,
asking questions and sometimes trying to discredit these new and rebellious teachings of his.
So Jesus was one of these leaders who was called to bring change, but not just for the
sake of making change. He wasn't someone who believed people should be more modern and
hip and wanted the old traditions thrown out. He was an observant Jewish man. He wasn’t
trying to overthrow a religion. Jesus saw people suffering. He saw people being oppressed and
marginalized. Jesus had the wisdom to see that life could be different. He said that the kingdom
of heaven or the kingdom of God was at hand, within grasp. He believed that people could
create that kingdom of God on earth. Some people welcomed this, but others were afraid. Some
turned their backs on him, while others made plans to silence him.
Being change makers is hard work. It takes brave people and people who feel
passionately about the changes that need to be made. It also takes patience, because you will
encounter obstacles, some that may even stop you in your tracks until you figure out a way
around it, or sometimes even pave a new way, bypassing the obstacle. It takes understanding,
listening to the objections and concerns of others. It takes flexibility. You might have a beautiful
and strong vision, but you have to be willing to learn and grow and let others adapt and change
your vision, so that it becomes the vision of the whole community.
So, who are you? Who are we? Are we the change makers? Are we the leaders with a
vision? Are we the followers? Which, by the way, is a role just as important as the leader.
Leaders come and go. The followers carry on the vision. Or are we the obstacle? Are we the
ones who stand in the way of change because we are scared and unwilling to take that risk, or
because we like the way things are and are unwilling to see others change what has worked for
so long - or what has seemed to work?
And again, I’m not talking about change for the sake of being more modern in order to
fill our pews and offering plates. I’m talking about the vision Jesus had of creating God’s
kingdom on earth, bringing justice, compassion, understanding, and respect to those people who
have too often been silenced, ignored, misunderstood, and pushed away.
As we begin a new year, as we enter 2024, as our church continues to envision its next
steps, who will be the leaders? Who will be followers? Who will be the cheerleaders,
supporting the leaders and followers? There may be some who don’t agree with the vision, and
that’s OK. There may be some who don’t want change, and miss the way it’s always been, and
that’s OK too. We are a community; we are a family. Sometimes that means supporting a way
forward with which you may not agree. Sometimes that means honouring new ideas and giving
them a try, even putting away objections and stepping aside. Sometimes that even means
supporting and advocating for these change makers when others put up obstacles.
As a church community, we support one another. As a faith community, we are called to
love our neighbour as ourselves and be one in Christ. As a family, learning and growing
together, facing obstacles together, and celebrating successes together, we are strong, we are
whole, and we are one. We gather as a people of God; as followers of Jesus; as leaders called to
create a world where all are seen and heard, valued and understood, and given space to belong
and be all they can be. In some ways, that makes us all change makers and troublemakers. May
it be so. Amen.
Mark 2:2-20
(Introduce yourself.)
For the next little while, we are going to be hearing the stories of Jesus as told in the gospel of
Mark. Today I am reading from the second chapter, verses two to 20. You’ll hear three stories in
this chapter and three instances when Jesus is questioned for his actions - first for offering
forgiveness when only God can offer forgiveness, second for hanging out with sinners, and third
for not fasting.
2 When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. 2 So
many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door, and
he was speaking the word to them. 3 Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man,
carried by four of them. 4 And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd,
they removed the roof above him, and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on
which the paralytic lay. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,
“Child, your sins are forgiven.”
6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there questioning in their hearts,
7 “Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God
alone?”
8 At once Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were discussing these questions among
themselves, and he said to them,
“Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic,
‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and take your mat and walk’? But so that you
may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—
he said to the paralytic—
“I say to you, stand up, take your mat, and go to your home.”
12 And he stood up and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them, so that they
were all amazed and glorified God, saying,
“We have never seen anything like this!”
13 Jesus went out again beside the sea; the whole crowd gathered around him, and he taught
them. 14 As he was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax-collection
station, and he said to him,
“Follow me.”
And he got up and followed him.
15 And as he sat at dinner in Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were also sitting with
Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 When the scribes of the
Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples,
“Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
17 When Jesus heard this, he said to them,
“Those who are well have no need of a physician but those who are sick; I have not come to
call the righteous but sinners.”
18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, and people came and said to him,
“Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?”
19 Jesus said to them,
“The wedding attendants cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long
as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 The days will come when the
bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.
May God grant us understanding of our sacred text. Amen.