Perfection
Mark 1: 29-39 (NIV)
As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they immediately told Jesus about her. So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them. That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was. Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!” Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.
This morning Mark introduces us to someone very important: a Jesus the healer.
How can Jesus heal you?
In this morning's Gospel story, Mark tells us about Jesus essentially going out on a healing spree. First he saw Simon's mother-in-law, and cured her fever. Then he rounded up every single sick or demon-possessed person he could find in town, and cured all of them. Then he took a break so he could go pray. Then he and his disciples moved on to the next town so Jesus could do the same thing there--drive out demons.
So when you read a passage like this one in 2015, the first thing you may find yourself asking of the text is, Demon possessed? What in the world does that mean? What on earth was going on in this town that droves of possessed people were out wandering the streets? That sounds like some kind of horror movie.
So here's what we need to know: people back in Jesus' day didn't understand very much about the human body. They didn't know what disease was, or how to cure it. And they really didn't know what would cause someone to get sick. And in this community, people were getting ill so early and so often that the life expectancy was only thirty years.
But since these people didn't know anything about germs, they turned for an explanation to something they thought they did understand: the gods. In this society, people believed there was a god for everything--for the rain, for the sun, for the moon, for the sky, for the ground, for the water, for every animal, every season, every day of the week. Even among the Jews, they still hadn't totally shaken this belief that there was a different god in charge of everything that happens, so if something bad happened to you, it must be because you offended one of the gods. And, as your punishment, one of those gods, one of those malevolent spirits, must be inhabiting your space and wreaking havoc.
So these people that Mark calls "demon possessed" might have had any number of things wrong with them, and might have been suffering from a multitude of what we would now call physical or mental illnesses. But ultimately, that isn't the point. The point is what these people saw in this amazing Jesus, who seemed to make all these bad spirits go away, and made everyone healed and whole.
Woah.
Jesus only needed to heal a handful of people before large crowds started following him around, asking him to do favors for them, to perform more healing miracles for them.
But that wasn't the point to Jesus, and when his healing powers started becoming notorious, he moved on, because he wanted to go reach more people.
He didn't just come to live among people so that he could be a traveling doctor and rid the world of disease and injury. He came to preach, to proclaim God's kingdom and bring people to God.
The thing is that he had to perform those healing miracles, because the people he was preaching too were too sick, too wounded to serve God. When Jesus healed Simon's mother-in-law of her fever, the first thing she did was get up and start serving him.
Is there something keeping you from being able to serve God? For you that might be a physical or mental illness. Or it might be an injury. Or it could be that someone you love is sick, or hurt. Those things might not stop us entirely from serving God--after all, we made it to church today--but they're a burden. They're a burden that, once lifted, frees you to do something more, something greater.
Your burden might be something different. Your burden might be hurt feelings--a relationship that didn't work out, or something you never forgave. Your burden might be resentment. Your burden might be jealousy, a fear you could lose something really important to you. Your burden could be envy, a sense that other people around you have something special that you lack.
Your burden might be anger or fear that's eating you up. Your burden could be doubts, or worries, or guilt. Your burden could be a bad memory you never dealt with. Your burden could be grief that you're having trouble wading through on your own.
Or your burden could be something more tangible, something immediate. Your burden could be getting a roof over your head, a job to pay your bills, and food on your table.
Jesus came to live among us to help us give up our burdens. He said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30 NIV)
The really Good News for us, though, is that Jesus didn't just come here to alleviate our burdens. He came to make us perfect. At least according to John Wesley.
Wesley, who founded what became our tradition, used that word, "perfect", a little differently than we do. To him, being perfect didn't mean you were flawless, or that you never made mistakes. Rather, he meant that there is a perfection that God will create within you when you decide to love and serve him. And being a servant of God will so change you on the inside that you can't help but look different on the outside. And you'll have flaws like anyone else, but you'll be wiser, more grounded, more mature, and more at peace.
There's nothing too great to ask of God. There's also nothing too small or insignificant. If it matters to you, it matters to God. If there's something weighing you down, and keeping you from giving your all to God, then share that with him, and let him take your burden from you. If there's an obstacle in your way, something in your life that you can't get around, bring that obstacle, that frustration, to God, and let God help you deal with it. Let God be your healer.
But understand that when God helps you, God won't just make you better, God will make you perfect. And understand that with a perfect and pure heart, you will be a wonderful servant for God, helping him relieve others of their burdens, too.
Amen.
