Needs

Charlotte Collins Reed

Christ Church Episcopal

February 4, 2018

5 Epiphany B

          Every day, our mailbox at home is filled with evidence of raw human need.  Heifer Project, Doctors without Borders, Amnesty International, Save the Children, Food for the Poor, St. Jude’s Hospital for Children and so many more organizations send out request for funds on what seems like a weekly basis.  All of the requests contain heartbreaking stories along with the question “Can you help?”  Most of the stories are backed up by what I read in the news about medical care in war ravaged countries, the dire plight of refugees, starvation in impoverished countries, and the situation of children around the world.  The needs are overwhelming.  Don and I have a few organizations we support, but for the most part, the unopened envelopes simply go into the recycling bin.  The needs of the world are simply too overwhelming.

          I wonder whether Jesus felt overwhelmed when the whole city of Capernaum showed up on his doorstep with their loved ones who were ill.  Jesus had just cured Simon’s mother-in-law, and apparently the news of Jesus’ healing power spread quickly.  We are told that Jesus healed many who were sick and cast out many demons in Capernaum, and then he went away to pray.  Then, even though there were more sick people to be healed in Capernaum, Jesus went on to the neighboring town so that he could proclaim the good news there as well.

          When Jesus went away to pray, the gospel tells us that Jesus got up while the night was still very dark and went away to a deserted place.  In the linear story of the gospel, which our lectionary does not follow, Jesus has just spent 40 days in a deserted place, the wilderness, where Jesus was tempted by Satan.  In that wilderness, Jesus wrestles with his identity as the beloved Son of God.  We will hear that story in two weeks, on the first Sunday of Lent.  But I am reminded of that story when I hear that Jesus went to a dark, deserted place to pray.  Jesus has not gone to a lovely retreat center where meals are provided and there are beautiful grounds to help connect him with God.  Jesus has gone into the desert in the dark of the night, which sounds like a rather scary place to me.

          I wonder if Jesus has gone to a dark place this time to wrestle with how he is to respond to the desperate human need he has encountered in Capernaum.  Clearly he has the ability to meet that human need and to cure the people of every illness and demon that possesses them.  What was he to do?  He could spend his entire ministry in one city healing the sick and never finish.  Jesus could enjoy great success and be very popular in Capernaum. But if Jesus stayed, the good news he came to proclaim would go no further. But if he left, he would leave sick people behind.  What is the Son of God to do?

          Jesus leaves his time in the deserted place renewed and with clarity about his mission.  In the beautiful words of Isaiah, “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 be faint.”  Jesus says to his disciples who have hunted him down, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also. For that is what I came to do.”  And we are told that Jesus travelled throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.

          Two things strike me about this brief story.  First, Jesus says his mission is to proclaim the message.  Jesus does not say that his mission is to heal people, even though he has healed a lot of folks.  Secondly, the only time Jesus has used words to proclaim the message is at the very beginning of the gospel when he says “The time has arrived, and the Kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe in the good news.”  So, Jesus must be primarily proclaiming the Good News with actions rather than words. 

          Jesus reminds us that our primary mission as his followers is to proclaim the Good News.  Paul echoes that mission in the letter to the Corinthians when he reminds us that his primary obligation is the proclamation of the gospel.  To stay centered on that mission, we, like Jesus, need regular time for prayer, so we do not become overwhelmed.  But, also like Jesus, our mission is not to meet every human need in the world, or in Summit County even.  Our mission is, however, to do exactly one church’s worth, and each of us to do exactly one person’s worth, to proclaim the gospel with our lives, our actions, just as Jesus did.  If our primary goal is to meet every human need, we will become completely overwhelmed and end up doing nothing.  If our primary goal, our mission, is to proclaim that the Kingdom of God has arrived and to do so with our lives by doing the fullness of one church’s worth of gospel work, we will not be overwhelmed.  Steeped in prayer and the richness of our relationship with God, we will have done the gospel work we have been given to do.  Our mission as followers of Jesus is to proclaim with our lives that the Kingdom of God is at hand.  In the course of doing that, much human need will be met, and we will make a gospel difference in the world.

                                                                             Amen.