The Third
Sunday before Lent
8th
February 2009 9:00am & 11:45am
Preacher:
The Dean
Everyone is looking for you -
Stewardship Campaign
‘Everyone is searching for you.’
The
Gospel reading of today tells us of Jesus’ first meeting with human suffering
and misery. Once Jesus finds that the mother-in-law of Simon is in bed with
fever and he heals her, then, at sunset the people bring him the sick and those
possessed by demons and he cures them. In the following morning Jesus set out
on a tour of the neighbouring towns of
‘Everyone is searching for you.’ – This is an appeal of a lot of
people who desire Jesus’ immediate help.
Today,
we commence our Stewardship Campaign. Some may ask whether it’s a good timing
for the Campaign as all the world suffers from the global financial crisis. Yet,
that’s partially true. In terms of money offering, it may not be a good timing.
However, our Stewardship Campaign is not only for our pledge of monthly contribution,
but more important, it helps us to reflect our living style.
In
this time of global financial crisis, people are searching for someone who can
provide us with immediate solution to cope with the crisis, so some people
eagerly ask for governments’ bailout package as the government could be their
hero. But it’s a false hope
Yet,
this is an age of fear. In a TV news last week, an interviewee said that now he
fears banks, fears investment agencies, even fears the market and the entire
financial system. He continues, ‘Maybe only Buddha or Jesus can help us.’ –
Yes, we want Jesus be a superman to save us, to solve our problem, to erase our
fear.
The
people of Jesus’ day were not very different. They too were impressed by
miracle workers offering immediate healing. They too looked for a hero to save
them. No wonder they were drawn to Jesus.
In
human experience, people use to ask help from God, or anyone who is thought as
controller of our destiny, when the sad condition and misery happen. So, ‘Everyone is searching for you.’ – it is an appeal from
the bottom of the hearts of many people who are with fear.
But the evangelist Mark knew that Jesus was more than that, and
for that reason he tells us something peculiar in today’s Gospel reading. That is
: ‘Jesus would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.’
To us, Jesus’ silencing of the demons serves as a reminder. To a
world which wants a Superman, Christ comes not with a cape but with a cross,
reminding us that there is more to it than that. God offers us not a hero but a
saviour, not magic tricks but victory over death. That’s the best way to treat
our fear when we face difficulties. That’s who this Jesus is – healer,
wonder-worker, one with authority – all of those things, but only because he is
also the one who has passed through death in order to bring us new life. That
is the rescue that is offered. It does not involve easy answer of instant
solution. Instead, it comes through struggle and pain but leads ultimately to
victory and peace.
‘Everyone is searching for Jesus.’ – What is our response to
this sentence in this year’s Stewardship Campaign?
I
think we make our biggest mistakes when we make decisions based on fear. If
we gripped by fear, we tends to only ask for immediate solution from anyone who
are expected to be a superman. As such, we lose focus and forget purpose of
life. The decisions are likely for short-term outcomes. They
stifle creativity. When people of prayer and spiritual depth respond in
reactive ways, they limit alternatives and possibilities that they might
ordinarily consider in less stressful times. Fear, together with eagerness
of a superman, close the door to the Spirit’s wisdom.
Perhaps
that is why so many scriptural passages repeat a common refrain, “Do not be
afraid.” That’s what the angel said to Mary at the annunciation, what the
heralds of Christ’s coming told the shepherds in the field, what Jesus said to
the disciples on the stormy sea, and what the risen Christ said to the women at
the tomb. That’s the message the disciples, huddled together in fear
after the death of Jesus, had trouble hearing. “Have no fear,” does
not mean we avoid legitimate concern and engagement. It means, “Don’t let
worry win.” When worry wins, we lose. When worry wins, the
purpose and ministry of the Church gets hijacked, derailed, ignored, and
avoided. Don’t let worry win.
Like
everyone else, we may have cringed each evening during the last few months to
hear of the downward spiral of the financial markets. We think of people
losing jobs, closing businesses, anxious about our houses, fearful for the
retirements, wondering about our college savings funds. We think of the
churches we serve and we fall pledge campaigns, our budgeting for next year,
the missions we support, the ministries we offer, the building projects that
are underway.
As
the Stewardship Campaign starts at this very moment, I think this season
requires of us a special steadiness of hand. How we respond to it?
First,
don’t push the panic button. Continued prayerful support generate a far
more positive response than notices that imply that the whole world is facing
catastrophe, calamity, and crisis and that we are dead, dying, busted, broke,
or sunk. We’re followers of the Christ who calmed the seas and walked
forward amidst the tempests of the time. He invites us into his way,
promising to be with us every in every step we take.
Second,
we need to do well to keep the focus on the purpose of our lives, even and
especially during stressful times. Challenging times do not relieve us of
the joyful obligation of worshipping God with glad and generous hearts; of
serving others with compassion, mercy, and justice; of studying God’s word and
teaching the children; and of inviting others into Christ. Challenging
times do not relieve us, or the individuals who comprise them, of the calling
to be generous and giving. Remember that many of the ministries that we
support – Ministry for Migrant worker, HIV Education, Counseling service etc. -
are seeing their expenses increase even as the need for their services
intensifies daily. They need us more now than ever. The element of
character and soul we call generosity is not seasonal, temporary, or only for
smooth and easy times. Rather, generosity is our way of being in the world
as followers of Christ because it’s the way God works in the world. As
Paul writes to the
In
short, these early Christians did not let worry win. The did not ask for
superman to help them to overcome all difficulties. They even rightly adjust
their living style. Shall we learn from them in our following of Christ?
That’s a story about how Satan called a
worldwide convention of demons.
In his opening address he said, “We can’t keep
Christians from going to church. We can’t keep them from reading their Bibles
and knowing the truth. We can’t
even keep them from forming an intimate relationship with Jesus. Once they gain that connection with
Jesus, our power over them is broken.”
So
let them go to their churches; let them have their classes, programmes, Pot
Luck Suppers and fellowship events, but distract their faith so they just need
Jesus as their slave to solve their problems and they will never develop a good
relationship with Jesus.”
“This
is what I want you to do”, said the devil.
“Distract them from gaining hold of their Saviour and maintaining that
vital connection throughout their day!”
“How
shall we do this?” his demons shouted.
He
answered. “Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow. Keep
them being disappointed about themselves, about their families, and about the
Church.”
“Over-stimulate
their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small voice trying to talk to
them. Entice them to listen to the news
about the deterioration of the stock market. This will jam their minds.”
“Fill
the coffee tables with magazines and newspapers. Pound their minds with the news 24 hours
a day. Invade their driving moments
with billboards. Flood their
mailboxes with junk mail, mail order catalogues, sweepstakes, and every kind of
newsletter and promotional offering free products, services and false hopes.”
“Give
them Santa Claus to distract them from teaching their children the real meaning
of Christmas. Give them an Easter
bunny so they won’t talk about his resurrection and his power over sin and
death.”
“The
most important : Keep them fear, fear, fear!”
“And
when they meet for spiritual fellowship, leave them with troubled
consciences. Crowd their lives with
so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Jesus. If they must talk to God, make sure that
they don’t take time to listen to God.
Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their
health, family and church lives for the good of the cause.”
“Do
this and it will work!”, Satan concluded.
“It
will work!” His demons replied.
So
then the convention ended. The
demons went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to treat
Jesus as their immediate helper only and have no space in their hearts to
adjust their life style.
Is this story true to us?
However, remember, the
Gospel reading tells us that ‘Jesus would not permit the demons to speak.’ What
happen in this story will never distort our faith and hope.
‘Everyone is searching
for you’ – What is our response to
this sentence when we remind ourselves of being a good steward of God?