Sermon 2 Samuel 4:4 “Broken Ankle”

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon 2 Samuel 4:4 “Broken Ankle”
New Covenant Church
August 12, 2018

I will begin this morning by thanking Paul Wilbanks for filling this pulpit for the last two weeks.   Two weeks ago I was on vacation and Paul had several weeks to prepare.   Last week he found out that I had broken my ankle and stepped in on real short notice.   So, thank you, Paul.  Let’s pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

On the first day of August, I was preparing to come back to work after a short vacation.   I had accompanied Grace to New York City.   While Grace attended a conference, I engaged in some urban hiking.   I visited the grand churches of 5th avenue.   And I spent some quality time in Central Park.   But now I had to get back to work because there was so much to do.   I had to pastor this church and with all the people in and out of hospitals and recovering from surgery I had a lot of visits and calls to make.   I had to continue to develop my sermon series on Ephesians.   I had to support the Pastor Search Committee as they loaded our Ministry Information Form on Church Leadership Connections.   I had to support the Sanctuary Committee as we approach the Ignite Committee of New Castle Presbytery for a grant.  I had to support the Education Committee launch youth activities.  And I had to prepare for September when we will launch Believe, Living the Story of the Bible to become like Jesus and coordinate what we do in worship with what we do in Christian Education for all ages.   So as you can see my plate was full.

So on Wednesday morning, August 1, I was rushing around getting ready to come to church.   I fixed my regular bowl of cereal and some coffee and when out on the patio to eat breakfast.   Then I remembered that I had left my phone next to my recliner.   So I went back into the kitchen to fetch it.   When I stepped up onto the kitchen floor my right foot slipped and I fell.  I couldn’t get up so I called for Grace.   And then made my way, painfully to the living room couch.

Later that afternoon I was scheduled for an appointment with my doctor for an ordinary check-up.   I went to the doctor in a wheelchair.   And after looking at some x rays he said that I had broken my ankle.   Thankfully it was a simple fracture that requires no surgery.   But I have to keep weight off the leg, keep it elevated, and keep ice on it.   The orthopedic surgeon gave me a boot and said that ankle should heal in six to eight weeks.

So, for that last 12 days, I have had plenty of time to think about what God is up to.  I remembered Psalm 121, “(the Lord) will not let your foot slip.   And for all my life God has protected me from serious falls.  But last week God let my foot slip.  Why?  And I was confident that Jesus will heal my ankle.  In Mark 2 he healed a paralytic instantly.   But in my case, his healing will take 6-8 weeks.  Why?

Then I remembered the date of my fall, August 1.   August 1 was the eleventh anniversary of my beginning pastoral ministry.  Four months before my ordination in 2007 I became the Student Pastor of Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles on August 1.   So the first of August was a significant date, in my life.

August 1 is also important because as a pastor I usually take some time off in August.  And I had planned to take some time off in August this year to, but I was just too busy.   Not only did I have to pastor this church, but I also had to moderate New Castle Presbytery through a time of transition with a Pastor Retreat coming up next month and new Tech Committee I am trying to form.   And Grace needs my help with her new ministry in Delaware City.  So I was too busy to take time off this month.

But God had other plans.  God wanted me to rest.   A Sabbath rest is not optional.  It is the way the world was created.   So God gave me a rest whether I wanted it or not.   God gave me 6-8 weeks of Sabbath rest with a broken ankle.   And so I have actually been richly blessed.

Let’s turn now to the scripture I have for you this day.

2 Samuel 4:4 (Jonathan son of Saul had a son who was lame in both feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell and became disabled. His name was Mephibosheth.)

Mephibosheth was born in the lap of luxury and power.    His grandfather was the great King Saul of Israel.  And one day Mephibosheth was destined to serve as king.    But his grandfather and father were killed in battle.  And with the death of Saul, Mephibosheth’s destiny changed.   He was just five years old.  His nanny picked him to flee the palace, but in the confusion that followed the nanny dropped him and he broke both of his ankles.   Sadly, Mephibosheth’s ankles never healed right and he was lame for life.

King Saul was succeeded by King David.   And after consolidating his power David asked to speak with Ziba, King Saul primary servant.   He asked Ziba if there were any of the children or grandchildren of Saul left alive.   Ordinarily, in ancient times, a new king would kill everyone from the previous dynasty.   But not David.   He showed kindness toward the children of Saul.   So Mephibosheth, with his broken ankles,  was summoned to Jerusalem.   His ancestral land was returned to him.   Ziba became his chief steward.   But highest honor Mephibosheth received was to eat at the same table every day with King David. 

David could have killed Mephibosheth.   But he didn’t.  Rather David returned Mephibosheth’s wealth and honor.   Why did do this?   It was an act of grace born out of love.

This is how our God treats us.   God could kill us for what we have done.   But God forgives us and restores to us our status as his children.

Years later David’s son Absalom launched a civil war.  David left Jerusalem with his army to fight Absalom in the wilderness.  Ziba, Mephibosheth’s steward, came to David with donkeys full of provisions for the army.  But there was no Mephibosheth.  Ziba told David that Mephibosheth had remained in Jerusalem to try to re-establish his grandfather’s kingdom.   David was so angry he gave all of Mephibosheth’s land to Ziba.

But when the battle was over and the victorious King David was returning to Jerusalem he was greeted by Mephibosheth.   Mephibosheth had not cared for his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes.   And David asked him why he had stayed behind.  He replied that he had asked Ziba to prepare a donkey for him, but Ziba betrayed him and left him behind.   Now David was angry at Ziba for lying, but Mephibosheth asked David to forgive him and let him keep the property.   All Mephibosheth wanted was to continue eating at David’s table.

What do we learn from all this?   When God shows grace, forgiveness, love, and compassion to someone that person becomes gracious, forgiving, loving and compassionate people.   So too with us.   God has been gracious and compassionate toward us, forgiving and loving.   And now we become a people who graciously and compassionately love and forgive others.

Years later there was a great famine in Israel.   David asked the Lord about this.   And God told David that the famine was punishment for a massacre of Gibeonites at the hand of King Saul.  So David approached the Gibeonites to ask what should be done.   They wanted to avenge the massacre by killing all of the descendants of King Saul that remained.   The only exception was Mephibosheth.   David insisted that his life be spared because of the promise David had made to Mephibosheth’s father Jonathan.    And so Mephibosheth’s life was spared.

God loves us and forgives us.   God wants us to love and forgive other just as he loves and forgives us.  And when we do all this, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, God promises us eternal life.  God used a man with two broken ankles to show us the power of gracious and compassionate love and forgiveness.

And God showed me that a broken ankle was the consequence of being too busy.   So God has given me rest for the month of August.   I plan to be here on Sundays because being in church will help the healing.   But I won’t have office hours and I won’t be visiting you.   I will be praying and I ask you for your continued prayers.  Let’s pray.

Sermon Ephesians 1:3–14 “Spiritual Blessings”

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon Ephesians 1:3–14 “Spiritual Blessings”
New Covenant Church
July 15, 2018

I am beginning today a summer sermon series on the Book of Ephesians.    This wonderful book was written toward the end of the first century and sent to a whole group of churches.   It was either written by Paul near the end of his life or by his followers who wanted to encapsulate his thoughts into a single book for the church.   It was not written to a specific church.   We call it “Ephesians”  because they were one of the churches who received it and they put their copy in the New Testament.  So we have a summary of Paul’s thinking about church written for all churches.   And therefore it was written for us.   We will get to this, but first, let’s pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

(NRSV) Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. 5 He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight 9 he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11 In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, 12 so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; 14 this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.

What I have just read to you is a single sentence in the original Greek.   Everything in this sentence points to God.  The foundation of the church is God.  God’s spiritual blessings have been poured down on us, the church.   What are these spiritual blessings?   Let’s take a closer look.

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,

The church is blessed in that Christ is in us.   As we do our work as church here in Middletown remember the Christ is always in our midst.   Christ is with us in everything we do.   So as we look for a new pastor, Christ is with us.   As we think about how to use our property as a blessing for our community, Christ is with us.   As we prepare for children to arrive this week for VBS, Christ is with us.   Christ is in our church and we are richly blessed.

Our response to having Christ in our church is to bless God.   So how do we bless God?   The proper way for the church to bless God is to praise God.   That’s why we worship.   We come to worship to sing praises to God.   We praise God by reading scripture and praying.   We praise God with our gifts, tithes, and offerings.   We praise God with our attendance at church every Sunday.   By praising God we bless God in gratitude for the blessings we receive in Christ.  Let’s return to Ephesians and learn a little more about the spiritual blessing received by the church.

4 just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love.

We are spiritually blessed because God chose us.   God’s election of us came before time began, before the creation of the world.   Before everything else, God chose us.   And what did God choose us for?   To be more and more like Christ.  We were chosen by God to be holy, a people set apart for God’s purposes.   We were chosen by God to be blameless, free from sin in our lives.   And why did God chose us, of all people, for this?  Because God loves us.   Election is an amazing blessing from our loving God, but there is more.

5 He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

We were predestined, before the world began, to be adopted as Christ’s very own children.   Why did God adopt us as children of Christ?  Because having us as children is a great pleasure for God.   Just as a proud grandparent loves being with his grandchildren so too does God love being with us.  What did we do to earn this blessing?  Nothing.   There is nothing we could do to make God want to adopt us as children.   God adopted us as an act of grace according to God’s will.  And so God wanted us as his children before God even created the world.  These blessings are getting even more amazing.   But there is more.

7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 8 that he lavished on us.

Christ has redeemed us.   Redeemed us from what?   Ordinarily, people are redeemed from slavery.   If a Hebrew became a slave as a result or war or economic conditions then his brother could redeem him from slavery by paying the price of redemption.    Christ has redeemed us from slavery, slavery to sin.   Since the days of our first ancestors, we have been infected by sin.   Sin is a curse upon everyone.  But Christ has redeemed us from this curse.  He paid the price by shedding his own blood on the cross.   As a result, the sin that had stained us has been washed away.  We still have some of the linger effects.   We still have our sins with us.   But the curse is gone and we have an opportunity to be more and more holy, more like Christ.   So we are elected, predestined and redeemed, wonderful spiritual blessings from our creator.   But believe it or not, there is even more.  Let’s go back to Ephesians.

With all wisdom and insight 9 he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

So God has blessed us with knowledge of the “mystery of his will”.  It would be a wonderful blessing to know God’s will for us.  God could tell us what to do, how to live our lives.   And God has already done this.  So what did God do to reveal the mystery of his will to us?  God gave us the Bible. 
 The Bible tells us how to live our lives.   The Bible shows us God’s plan for the world unfolding over thousands of years.  The Bible reveals to us the Redeemer, sent by God to fulfill God’s plan, Jesus Christ.   And so the Bible blesses us with knowledge of God and instructions for being God’s faithful people.   Elected, predestined, adopted, we are knowledgeable of who God is, what God does, and how we should respond.    Let’s return to Ephesians.

11 In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, 12 so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory.

As the adopted children of Christ, we have an inheritance.   What might this inheritance be?  First of all, an inheritance is not something you earn.  It is something given to you.  In this case, the Last Will and Testament of Christ were drawn up before the world began.   And according to its terms, we inherit the gift of hope in our futures and live our present lives filled with joy and praise.  That’s why we are here today in worship.  We are filled with the hope of eternal life.   And we have come here to celebrate that hope with joyful worship and praise.

It’s hard to keep track of all the spiritual blessing we have received.   Here is the short list:  chosen to be more like Christ, predestined as Christ’s own adopted children,  given knowledge of God’s plan and will in the Bible, and inheritors of joyful lives of praise and the hope of eternal life.   Quite a list!  But there is one more spiritual blessing that we have received.   Let’s return to Ephesians.

13 In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; 14 this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.

We come to Jesus by hearing the stories about him in our Bible.   We believe that he is our Lord and Savior.   We believe that he was resurrected from the dead.   And when we publicly declare this belief in our baptisms the spiritual blessing of the Holy Spirit comes upon us.    The Spirit comes in us to mark us as adopted children of Christ and seals upon us the promise of all these spiritual blessings from God the Father.

So, New Covenant Church, what spiritual blessings have we received?   Christ is here with us in receiving our praises and listening to our prayers.  We have been chosen to receive the Holy Spirit and become more and more like Christ.   We have been predestined as adopted children of Christ to receive the promise of a joyful life today and eternal life forever.   We have been redeemed from slavery to sin, freed to live lives pleasing to God.  We have been given the Bible so we know how to live our lives in accordance with God’s will and plan for creation.   And all of these promises were sealed upon us by the Holy Spirit in our baptisms.   We are truly blessed.  Let’s pray. 
      
We thank you, Heavenly Father, for all the spiritual blessings you have poured down on us.   We thank you for choosing us as a people who sing your praises.   We thank you for revealing yourself to us in scripture.   We thank you for Jesus’ presence in the church and for all the blessings sealed upon us by your Spirit.  We thank you for loving us as your children.   And so we praise you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.   Amen.     

Sermon Mark 5:21-43 “A Savior’s Touch”

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon Mark 5:21-43 “A Savior’s Touch”
New Covenant Church
July 1, 2018

Listen to this sermon.

As American, we have a built-in reluctance to touch anyone or to have someone touch us.    We protect a zone of space around our bodies which ordinarily others will not violate.   When we meet someone we don’t want to stand too close.   Rather we extend our right hand outside of our zone of privacy to shake hands with someone also protecting his space.   I know that Koreans usually go farther than this to protect their zone of privacy.  They stand at a distance from another person and bow without touching at all.

Of course, there are some people who like to get into our private space.    We call these people huggers.  Huggers will meet someone and inevitably will try to hug that person.    I know some pastors who are huggers.   They love to hug people in the congregation.   I know of one church who had a pastor who had difficulty even shaking hands.    When he left the PNC looked for a more personable pastor who would hug the congregation.   They found a hugger for that congregation, but sadly that congregation was not ready for a hugger pastor.   And he went to another church.

So what about Jesus?  Was Jesus a hugger?   Did he like to be touched and to touch others?   Of did Jesus protect his own zone of privacy?   We will get to this, but first, let pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

The disciples and Jesus have returned from the other side of the Sea of Galilee.   They encountered a storm which Jesus calmed.   Then they ran into someone possessed by demons and Jesus cast the demons into a herd of pigs.   But they left all of this is behind them and Jesus is ready to resume his teaching and healing ministry in Capernaum. 

Mark 5:21 When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. 22 Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. 23 He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” 24 So Jesus went with him.

Jarius has a daughter nearing death and he wants Jesus’ help.  He is a leader in his synagogue.  We are not told that Jarius was a rabbi.   So he was probably someone who organized sabbath worship services like an elder would do in this church.   And he wants Jesus to heal his daughter.  He wants Jesus to touch her, lay his hand upon her, for healing. 

Throughout the Old Testament, the act of laying on of hands was something done by a priest.   A priest would place his hands on an animal and curse it will all the sins of the community.   Then the animal would be sacrificed to God and all those sins were forgiven.  This restored the people to a right relationship with God.

Jarius wants Jesus to lay his hands on his daughter not as a curse but as a blessing.   He wants his daughter blessed by having all of her sins removed and restored to right relationship with God.  And he believes that Jesus can do that.   All Jesus has to do is touch us and we experience salvation. 
But before Jesus can do this work for Jairus’ daughter he was interrupted.

24 A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

This woman had no business touching Jesus or anyone else.   She had a chronic disease which would have caused her to be quarantined.  But here she is, pushing through a huge crowd to touch Jesus’ cloak.  And she was healed as if Jesus’ cloak was some kind of good luck charm. 

Jesus was being bumped and pushed by the crowd as he was going to Jairus’ house.   And he probably should have kept going because Jairus was a very important person and his daughter needed him.  But Jesus stopped to find and speak to this woman who had touched him.

30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”
32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

So Jesus stopped his hurried journey to the bedside of a dying girl to try to find out who touched him.   The disciples wanted to help find her, but the crowd was so big there was no chance. 

In ancient times, when a person experienced healing from a chronic disease she would go to a priest for examination prior to being reintroduced into the community.  So the woman who touched Jesus’ cloak presented herself to Jesus.  She had to be scared to death to reveal herself.   Everyone knew her.  Everyone knew about her disease.   And now everyone would know about her leaving quarantine and joining the crowd.   But she had to present herself to Jesus. And Jesus, as a priest, pronounced her clean.  Jesus saved this woman from a lifetime as an outcast and reconciled her to the community.
So Jairus wanted Jesus to touch his daughter so that she would experience forgiveness of sin and be reconciled with God.   And the woman touched Jesus to experience healing of a chronic disease and reconciliation with the community.  They both needed a savior, and so do we.    We need a savior who forgives our sin and reconciles us with God.   And we need a savior who will heal our diseases and reconcile us with our families and communities.   And thankfully we have a savior, Jesus Christ.
After his encounter with the chronically sick woman, Jesus finally got to Jairus’ home and the bedside of his daughter.

35 While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?”
36 Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
37 He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38 When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” 40 But they laughed at him.

After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). 42 Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43 He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.

Jesus touched the hand of a young girl who had already died and brought her back to life.  This too is what a savior does for us.   A savior resurrects us from the dead and restores us to new life.    And the savior who does that for us is Jesus.

So a savior forgives our sins and reconciles us with God.   A savior heals our illnesses and reconciles us in community.   And a savior raises us from the dead to eternal life.   And the person who does all of that for us is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

And Jesus does all of that through touch.   He places his hands on us, like an ancient priest, to bless us, forgive us, and restore our relationship with God.   He allows us to touch him to receive healing, wholeness, and peace.   And he grabs our hands to lift us up out of our graves to life eternal in the resurrection.  So don’t be afraid of our Savior's touch.

Two ways that we feel our savior's touch are in the sacraments.   In baptism, we feel the water and we affirm our faith in Jesus.   In communion, we feel the bread and wine on our tongues.     Remember as we share that bread and wine today that this symbolizes our savior touching us, forgiving our sins, reconciling us with God, healing our diseases, restoring us to community, and resurrecting us to new life.   Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, we thank you for being our savior.   We thank you for blessing us with your touch.    Lay your hands upon us to bless us with forgiveness of sin and restored relationship with the Father.   Heal our diseases with your touch.   And grab our hands lift us from death to eternal life.   This we pray in the promise of scripture and in your holy name.   Amen.

Sermon Mark 4:35-41 “Opioid Disaster”

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon Mark 4:35-41 “Opioid Disaster”
New Covenant Church
June 24, 2018

Listen to this Sermon.

The disciples of Jesus have had a very eventful week.   It started with some Pharisees chewing them out for plucking grain on the Sabbath.   Then their rabbi, Jesus, was accused by Teachers of the Law from Jerusalem of being the devil.   And Jesus’ family said that he was out of his mind.   The disciples had to provide crowd control and had been walking all over the region of Galilee telling people about Jesus.   And finally that had to listen to Jesus tell stories about farming, soil, seeds and mustard bushes, something farmers would enjoy but the fishermen disciples would find quite dull.   So Jesus decided to give them a gift and let them spend a day on the lake in their boats.   We will get to all this, but first, let’s pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

So the disciples have had a long week.   They must have been overjoyed when Jesus said:   Mark 4:35 ...“Let us go over to the other side.”   Finally, they get to enjoy their day in their boats on their lake.   So, the disciples jump in their boats and do this:

36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him.

So they took Jesus along for the ride.  Up until now, they have been following Jesus.   They did whatever Jesus told them to do.   But now Jesus is to follow them.   The disciples will tell Jesus what to do.   And what do you think happens when we stop following Jesus and expect Jesus to follow us?   Well, here is what happened to the disciples.

37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat so that it was nearly swamped.

Disaster happens whenever we stop following Jesus and expect Jesus to follow us.   Our savior protects us as long as we are doing what he wants.  But when go our own way that’s when trouble starts.

So what do think the disciples did when they thought their boats might sink and they might drown?   Well, they decided that this would be a good time to ask Jesus for some help.   So they prayed.

 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

Of course, Jesus cares if they drown.    And Jesus did this for his disciples:

39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

So even though the disciples had stopped following Jesus and wanted Jesus to follow them their savior still loved them and saved them.   This is called grace.   Jesus loves you and wants the best for you.   But he also wants you to follow him and so he said this to his disciples.

40 … “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

The disciples were afraid, but not of the storm.   They feared their teacher, Jesus, who demonstrated that he had the power to calm the storms.   And with a display of this power, the disciples were filled with awe and respect.   And no doubt they will never try to get Jesus to follow them again.
We live in a culture that wants to go its own way.   We don’t want to follow anyone, especially Jesus.    But when disasters happen, as they surely will,  we turn to Jesus asking for help.

This past week I attended a memorial service for a young man named Tim.   His family had come together to ask Jesus for comfort at a time of loss.  Tim lived in our community but did not come to this church.   He was survived by his mother and father and a very young son who will grow up never knowing his father.  What happened to Tim has become common in America.   He died from a drug overdose.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 115 people die every day after overdosing on opioids.   People are overdosing on prescription painkillers, heroin, and fentanyl.

https://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/opioids/opioid-overdose-crisis

Senator Rob Portman said in  The Washington Post, “The opioid epidemic that has caused so much pain in the United States is also savaging Mexico, contributing to a breakdown of order in rural areas. Heroin is like steroids for drug gangs, pumping money and muscle into their fight to control territory and transportation routes to the United States.  Mexico provides more than 90 percent of America’s heroin, up from less than 10 percent in 2003, when Colombia was the main supplier. Poppy production has expanded by about 800 percent in a decade as U.S. demand has soared. The western state of Guerrero is the center of this business, producing more than half of Mexico’s opium poppies, the base ingredient for heroin. Guerrero also has become the most violent state in Mexico, with more than 2,200 killings last year.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/world/violence-is-soaring-in-the-mexican-towns-that-feed-americas-heroin-habit/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.016f04bd064d

So what happened that caused Mexico to produce so much heroin that is now killing so many Americans?

The Opioid epidemic in America accelerated from 2012 - 2015.  In June of 2012, President Barak Obama implemented a policy called DACA, Deferred Action for Children Arrivals.   This led to a significant increase in undocumented children arriving across our border with Mexico.   According to Daniel Horowitz “From the time DACA was announced, in 2012, through 2014, the number of unaccompanied minors apprehended from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras increased 490 percent, 444 percent, and 610 percent respectively.”

https://www.conservativereview.com/news/the-immorality-of-the-open-borders-left/

There is a clear link between the DACA program deferring criminal action against undocumented children and the huge increase in unaccompanied undocumented children crossing our border.
Many of these children were sent by parents to receive the DACA benefits.  According to the Miami Herald, “Immigrant-rights activists say more and more unaccompanied minors are arriving for various reasons. Many are fleeing gang violence ... But children are also being sent by families who believe they could qualify for immigration reform  … or for President Barack Obama’s 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program known as DACA.”

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article2087881.html

All these unaccompanied undocumented children crossing our border provided the cover that drug cartels needed to get heroin into our country.   And these children are recruitment objects for Mexican gangs.   According to the Center for Immigration Studies,

“Center researchers reviewed more than 500 cases of MS-13 gang members arrested nationwide since 2012. We conclude that this resurgence represents a very serious threat to public safety in communities where MS-13 has rebuilt itself. The resurgence is directly connected to the illegal arrival and resettlement of more than 300,000 Central American youths and families that has continued unabated for six years, and to a de-prioritization of immigration enforcement in the interior of the country that occurred at the same time.

All criminal gangs are a threat to public safety, but MS-13 is a unique problem because of the unusually brutal crimes its members have committed, its success in using intimidation to victimize and control people in its territory, and its focus on recruiting young members, often in schools...
Key findings:

We found 506 MS-13 members arrested or charged with crimes that were reported in 22 states. The most cases were reported in California (92), Maryland (85), New York (80), and Virginia (63).
MS-13 crimes are not primarily petty nuisance crimes; 207 MS-13 members were charged with murder. In addition, we found more than 100 accused of conspiracy/racketeering, and dozens of others for drug trafficking, sex trafficking, attempted murder, sexual assaults, and extortion.

While most of the reports of MS-13 suspects in our case set did not include information on the immigration status of the individual, we could determine that 126 of the 506 suspects (and 38 of the 207 murder suspects) were illegal aliens.

The median age of MS-13 gang members identified was 23, and suspects ranged in age from 14 to 57.

The median age of their victims was 19, and victims ranged in age from 14 to 74. Sixty of the victims were under the age of 18, including 52 of the murder victims.

120 of the 506 MS-13 suspects in our case set arrived as UACs (Unaccompanied Alien Children), including 48 of the murder suspects.

The location of these MS-13 crimes corresponds with locations of large numbers of UACs who were resettled by the federal government.”

https://cis.org/Report/MS13-Resurgence-Immigration-Enforcement-Needed-Take-Back-Our-Streets?utm_source=E-

So as a direct result of the Deferred Action for Children Arrivals program we have seen a significant increase in the number of unaccompanied undocumented children crossing the border and a significant increase in gang activity in America.   This has led to a vast expansion of heroin production in Mexico and the opioid epidemic we see today.  This epidemic is directly responsible for Tim’s death and the death of so many young men and women in our country.

So what should be our response?  Some argue that we should provide a sanctuary for undocumented aliens living here.  I understand the need to have compassion for people.  We do have to provide for basic human needs.   But we must also protect our nation from a gang invasion from the south.   We must keep Mexican heroin out of our country.  And so we must protect our borders and enforce our immigration laws.

The opioid epidemic is a disaster facing America.   And we know from scripture that disasters like this come to us because we fail to follow Jesus.  So we join our voices with Jesus’ disciples and cry out:“Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”.  We admit our need for the help of our savior to rebuke the Mexican gangs and free us from addiction to heroin.    Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, just as you rebuke wind and rain we ask now that you rebuke the MS-13 and all gang activity in America.   Help us to keep them and the heroin they sell out of our country.   Protect our children from heroin dealers.   And free from slavery all who are addicted to painkillers.    This we pray in your glorious name as our savior.   Amen.

Sermon Mark 4:26-34 “Parables of the Kingdom”

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon Mark 4:26-34 “Parables of the Kingdom”
New Covenant Church
June 17, 2018

Listen to this sermon.

We are continuing with our look at some of Jesus’ teachings.   With Nicodemus, we learned about spiritual baptism which we need to believe that Jesus is truly the Son of God and receive the gift of eternal life.  We heard in the Gospel of Mark about the confrontation that Jesus had with people who were not born again and therefore misunderstood his teaching and so some Pharisees went back to Jerusalem to plot his death.   We saw crowds coming to Jesus with so much faith that he could heal them.   And we have seen faithful disciples go out to tell people about Jesus, making the crowds bigger and bigger.

Jesus is building the Kingdom of God.  And today we will learn from Jesus about this kingdom and how it gets built, but first, let’s pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

When I look out my office window to the southeast I see the Jamison Road construction project.   When construction first began I went to talk with the project manager and asked him how long it would take to finish the construction.   I was surprised when he said that if would take a year or more.   I thought that since it was just a short road that did not require the removal of trees, or the blasting of rock, or the tearing down of buildings that construction would only take a few months.    So the project manager showed me his plans.   He said that each step plan had to be completed, in the proper order,  before the next step could be started.   All of this would take time.   Another factor was the weather.   Since they were working outside sometimes the entire project would be delayed for bad weather.    Various delays could push the completion of the project further into the future.   But it was his best guess that the entire project would be completed in a year or so.

So the road project requires an extensive amount of planning before it can begin.   And it requires a lot of management to bring the plans into reality.   I think this pretty much describes life in America today.   We are always planning things.   I know I live by my calendar.   Everything I must do is recorded on a Google calendar as soon as I decide to do it.   Then I look at my calendar on my phone every day, several times a day, to see what I need to do.   And since I must prepare for preaching and teaching I have to set aside time for that preparation too.  So I plan out my life on a calendar and I live each day doing what needs to be done.    My life is planned and managed just like the road project.

So if you look out my office window you will see a planned and managed project to build Jamison road.   But if you look out the window on the other side of the education building, what do you see?   What is happening northwest of the church?

If you look northwest from the church you will see a field of growing soybeans.   The farmer who planted the soybeans had to do some planning and management.   He had to order seed and maintain his equipment.   And, of course, he had to spread the chicken manure over the field last winter.   But once the seed is in the ground there is nothing else the farmer can do.   The farmer cannot make the seed sprout.   The farmer cannot provide light and warmth from the Sun.   The farmer cannot provide rain and good soil.   And the farmer cannot manage the growing seed.   All the farmer can do is wait until the harvest and see what God has provided.

This is what living in America was like a century ago.  Most people lived on farms.  They planted seed.   They had faith that the seed would grow.   And they would ask God for the blessing of an abundant crop.

On the southeast side of the church, we see the results of planning and project management.    On the northwest side of the church, we see soybeans growing seemingly all by themselves.  Which of these, do you think, describes how the Kingdom of God comes into the world?  For the answer to this let’s hear from Jesus.

Mark 4:26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”

So the Kingdom of God is more like the soybean field than the road construction.  That has very important implications for evangelism.   If the Kingdom of God was like the road construction then we would be planning an evangelism program.   We would be recruiting people, training them as evangelists, sending them into the community and evaluating their performance.

But the Kingdom of God is not like the Jamison Road project.   It is like soybeans in the field next to the church.    We plant seeds in the hearts people which over time grow into faith.  So how do we plant seeds of faith?

You come to the church and receive preaching and teaching.  Through this, you learn more and more about the Kingdom of God.   Then when you leave the church and enter the world you experience the Kingdom of God taking shape.    As you talk with people, family, friends, people you meet in day to day living you tell them about Jesus and how he has blessed you.    Every time you talk about Jesus and blessings you have received you are planting a seed of faith in someone’s heart.      The Holy Spirit takes it from there.   You plant seeds of faith through conversation and God creates a believer.

Of course, we must cooperate with Holy Spirit.   A new believer will want instruction in the faith.  They will seek out a church.   We have to be ready for this. We need to go into the communities around the church and invite people to come to church.  And when people come, we must greet them and provide them with preaching and teaching and fellowship that will satisfy their spiritual hunger.    And one day, as they grow spiritually they too will be planting seeds of faith, in others.

So, we have learned that the Kingdom of God is like the soybeans growing next to the church.    We plant the seed of faith by talking about Jesus and blessings we have received with others.   The Holy Spirit causes the seed of faith to grow and uses the church to nurture it.

So we have looked to southeast and northwest.  But, If we look to the south of the church we see something completely different.   We see bamboo growing.   This bamboo stands between the church and the road blocking people’s view of us.    Bamboo keeps growing and multiplying until one day it covers the whole area.   And you can’t get rid of it easily.   This summer DELDOT will try to get rid of the stuff.  They will cut it and fill the holes with undiluted herbicide.   Then when it is dead they will dig it up.   Hopefully, the bamboo will never return.

A few years ago I was living in the manse in Pocomoke City.   The manse has a beautiful east facing porch.   I wanted to eat breakfast on this porch in the summer, but the sun was too bright.   I thought about hanging a shade.   But then I remembered my grandmother’s solution.    I hung string vertically from ceiling to floor.   I space them one foot apart.   Then I planted Morning Glories at the base of the porch.   As the Morning Glories grew I trained them to twist up the string.   Pretty soon I had a wall of leaves and flowers, the perfect shade for a sunny morning.

But then I made a mistake.  I wrote about this in the church newsletter, and the farmers in the church read about what I had done.   For the corn farmers in Pocomo,ke Morning Glory is a horrible weed.    It strangles corn stalks and gets tangled up in combines.    The farmers fight Morning Glory with everything they have.   And their pastor had just planted some Morning Glory next to the church manse.

Plants like bamboo or Morning Glory can be either beneficial or harmful.   An ancient plant like this was the mustard bush.   Mustard has medicinal properties and tastes great on hot dogs.   But you don’t want mustard growing in your grainfield.   Like bamboo and Morning Glory mustard can hurt your crops and is hard to get rid of.   But, according to Jesu,s this is what the Kingdom of God is like.

30 Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”

The Kingdom God can seem, at times, to be a nuisance.    For a people who are planning and managing busy lives, the kingdom of God might come at an inappropriate time.   Someone might need a meal after coming home from the hospital, but we are too busy to respond.   Someone needs to talk with us about their lives and faith, but we have something else to do.     Caring for others, loving them as a neighbor, can be a costly thing to do.   So sometimes, the Kingdom of God is like a weed that we want to get rid of.

But Jesus says that the Kingdom of God is a beautiful thing, like Morning Glories blooming at breakfast.   If we take the time to love and serve others, if we make time to come to church, read our Bibles and pray, then we can enjoy the kingdom growing in our hearts. 

So we come to church for worship, prayer and Bible study to nurture the seeds of faith someone planted in our hearts.    We go into the world and see the Kingdom of God already happening.    We accept opportunities to participate in God’s work in the world.   And we talk about the blessings we have received  with others  planting seeds of faith in their hearts.   This is the Kingdom of God.
Mark, the author of the second gospel reflected on all this, and said this about Jesus’ teachings.

33 With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. 34 He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.

I hope that the explanation of the parables of the Kingdom that I have given you today will help you to see the KIngdom of God in our world around you and will help you to participate in it.   The kingdom does not require your planning or management.   It does require some planting as you talk about your faith with others.   Let’s pray.

Father in heaven we thank you for the seeds of faith growing in our hearts.   We thank you for the church that nourishes our faith.   Thank you for the opportunities to talk about Jesus and the blessings we receive with others.    Use our conversations to grow your kingdom.   In Jesus’ name, we pray.  Amen.

Sermon Mark 3:20-35 “Reaction to Jesus’ Teachings”

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon Mark 3:20-35 “Reaction to Jesus’ Teachings”
New Covenant Church
June 10, 2018

Listen to this sermon.

I am continuing today with my series on Jesus’ teachings.   And we will be looking at the some of the reactions that people had to Jesus and what he said and did. 

Two weeks ago we followed Nicodemus, the great teacher of Israel, as he went to see Jesus secretly, at night.  He heard Jesus’ teaching:  John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  Nicodemus received spiritual baptism and joined with another secret disciple to remove Jesus’ body from the cross.

Last week we accompanied a couple of Pharisees as they tried to trap Jesus in a sabbath sin.  They heard Jesus’ teaching,   Mark 2:27  … “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”   These Pharisees concluded that Jesus must be a blasphemer by equating himself with God.   They did not receive spiritual baptism to see that what Jesus said was true.  And so they returned to Jerusalem to plot Jesus’ death.

So we have heard two of Jesus’ teaching and have seen two different reactions.   Today we will look at some other reactions.  We will get to this, but first, let’s pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Jesus healed many people throughout the region of Galilee.   Last week we heard about his healing of withered hand.   As you might expect news of what Jesus was doing spread like wildfire across the region.   And here is what happened.

Mark 3:7 Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. 8 When they heard about all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. 9 Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him. 10 For he had healed many so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him.

So we see the Holy Spirit at work.    Jesus heals and crowds show up.   So how do you think Jesus handled these large crowds?   Maybe he divided them into two services at 9 and 10:30.   Or maybe Jesus moved the crowd into a larger place.   Jesus did neither of these.    Instead, he recruited twelve followers and sent them out to tell everyone they met what he was doing.   Jesus wanted even larger crowds!

So too with us.   Jesus wants this place full.   And if we build a new sanctuary Jesus wants that filled too.   And Jesus wants us out in the community telling people what he has done for us.   So let’s make the crowds that come here to New Covenant Church bigger and bigger.

But not everyone was enthusiastic about Jesus’ ministry.    And there were some who wanted it to end.    Let’s go back to Mark and hear how the evil spirits were dealing with Jesus’ ministry.

Mark 3:11 Whenever the impure spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” 12 But he gave them strict orders not to tell others about him.

The demons know exactly who Jesus is.   They are well aware that Jesus is God incarnate on earth.   So they fall down to worship of Jesus, hoping not to be destroyed.   But they just can’t stop themselves from trying to hurt Jesus’ ministry.  So they start telling people that Jesus is God.   Jesus knows what’s going on with evil spirits.   He not yet ready to reveal his true identity to everyone.   So Jesus orders the demons to be quiet.    And that problem is solved.

The crowds continued to grow.     People frantically wanted to touch Jesus for healing.   And one day when the disciples and Jesus went home for dinner this happened.

Mark 3:20 Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat.

Jesus’ family was not at all happy about this.   They saw the crowds coming to Jesus and were concerned about him.  So they decided to get him some help.

Mark 3:21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

So Jesus’ family thinks he has lost it.   They want him to come home.   But evidently, Jesus refused so they went to get his mother, Mary, to do something about this.   And when Jesus heard that his mother had arrived he said this.

Mark 3:33 “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.
34 Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

So Jesus silenced the demons and ignored his family.  He has dealt with huge crowds of people coming for healing by sending disciples out to bring in even more.  Maybe, a pastor like this will show up in Middletown for this church.

All of this has attracted the attention of religious leaders in Jerusalem.   Remember, some Pharisees had witnessed Jesus’ healing of a withered hand and his claim to be “Lord of the Sabbath”.    Evidently, they returned to Jerusalem and talked with religious leaders about Jesus and the large crowds he was attracting. 

As a result, some religious leaders, teachers of the law, came from Jerusalem to observe Jesus.  They saw his healing and the great crowds that followed him.   They saw Jesus silencing the demons and ignoring his family.     And they came to the wrong conclusion.

Mark 3:22 And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.”

So the teachers of the law come to the conclusion that since the devil has control over the demons, and since Jesus controls the demons, therefore the devil and Jesus must be one.

All of this requires an answer from Jesus.   Is he the devil or not?  Here is Jesus’ answer.

Mark 3:23 So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. 27 In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house.

So Jesus has explained to the religious leaders that he could not be the devil.   Jesus is not supporting or encouraging the demons the way the devil does. That would be absurd.  Jesus is binding the evil ones and ordering them to be quiet.   Jesus’ authority over evil comes not from evil but from God.   Jesus is demonstrating his victory over the devil and his subsequent control over evil spirits.
But Jesus has something very important to say to the religious leaders.   Let’s listen.

Mark 3:28 Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”

This is a warning to the religious leaders.    If you truly believe that Jesus was sent by Satan there is no hope for salvation.   Our only hope for salvation is if we believe that Jesus is the Son of God.  If you believe this you are guaranteed eternal life.   If you are not so sure that Jesus and God are one then pray for spiritual baptism when you will receive the gift of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

So we have seen Jesus dealing with large crowds by sending out disciples to make them larger.   We have watched as Jesus told demons to be quiet and they did.   We have seen Jesus ignore his family when they think he has lost his mind.   And Jesus has refuted the arguments of the religious leader who think he must be the devil.    This is the Jesus we believe in who must follow and who leads us to eternal life.  Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, you must have lived an exciting life on earth.   Rekindle the excitement in this church.   Lead us into the world.   Help us to pray for the sick and respond with your healing.    Bind up whatever evil oppresses us.  Still all voices who consider faith in you to be crazy.  And help us to believe that you are one with the Father and the Spirit, so that we may live with you for eternity.   This we pray in your glorious name.   Amen.

Sermon Mark 2:23-3:6 “Caring for People”

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon Mark 2:23-3:6 “Caring for People”
New Covenant Church
June 3, 2018

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I’d like to begin this morning with an Interim Update.   Last year you elected a Pastor Search Committee and told them to find a new pastor for this church.   This committee has worked diligently. 

They have produced a Mission Study which you can look at in the back of the sanctuary.   Now they are working on a Ministry Information Form.   This is essentially a job announcement.   It has information about what you are looking for in a new pastor and how to apply for the position.  Once this MIF is completed and approved by your session and the presbytery it will be entered into Church Leadership Connection, an online database for pastors and churches in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A).   Once this is entered your Pastor Search Committee will start receiving requests from pastors and seminary students from all over the country.   Please keep the Pastor Search Committee in your prayers.

Today we turn to Jesus’ teaching on the Sabbath.   Jesus is concerned not so much with what we are not to do on the Sabbath.  Jesus is more concerned about what we should do on the Sabbath.   But before we learn about what we should do on the Sabbath, let’s pray. 

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Mark 2:23 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”
25 He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26 In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.”

The Pharisees, in this story, are looking for anything they can find to trap Jesus.   So when they see his disciples picking and eating grain on the Sabbath they thought they had something on Jesus.   But in reality, Jesus and his disciples had not violated the Sabbath at all.  You are allowed to walk through a grain field on the Sabbath.   That’s not work.   Also, you can pick some grain off the stalk.   That’s not work either.   The Pharisees think that rubbing the grain in your hand to separate the wheat from the chaff is work because harvesting is prohibited on the Sabbath day.  But harvesting grain requires that you cut the stalk, load it in a cart, thresh it in a barn, and mill it into flower.   Jesus and his disciple did none of that.

The Pharisees had made a simple mistake.   They thought that men and women were made for the Sabbath.   In other words, God made us for the purpose of not doing things on the Sabbath.  This is false.   The reverse is true.   The Sabbath was made for men and women.   God’s purpose in creating the Sabbath was to bless us with a day of rest.   And that means if people are hungry on the Sabbath we have a positive obligation to bless them by sharing our food.

When I lived in Washington DC I was part of a group in my church that went monthly to another church to feed the homeless.   We would drive a few miles to an urban church with an extensive homeless ministry.   Mostly men and some women would line up at the kitchen door each Sunday afternoon.  We would give them a hot lunch and then clean up afterward.   The most rewarding part of this mission was that I had a chance to talk to and pray with several of the homeless men.

Several years later I was serving my first church in North East Los Angeles.   There were many homeless men and women living on the street in our neighborhood.   We started a new worship service on Sunday evening with a meal right after worship.   Many of the homeless began to come for a meal.   And I asked them to join us in worship.    Within a few months we had around 60 very poor people in worship every Sunday night and 20 more would show up for dinner.   I organized them into a congregation.   Volunteers were needed to cook the food and clean up afterward.  I organized a choir around some of the young women and gave them choir robes to cover their tattered clothing.   I did a funeral for a homeless man and the place was packed. It was a wonderful experience and I am very pleased that this worship service is still going on in that church.

When I served the church in Ocean City I realized that many of the apartments around the church were filled with extremely poor families in the winter.   Those apartments were only affordable in the offseason so these families had to leave in the Spring.   But while they were there Grace and I would give them food and invite them to a lunch the church had every Sunday.   Many of them came.   And some came to church.   That year we had a wonderful Christmas pageant filled with kids from the community.  This too was an extremely rewarding ministry to lead.

You have some opportunities here at New Covenant in your “Our Daily Bread” program.   On the first Friday of each month, a group from this church goes there to prepare and serve a free lunch to anyone who comes.  I urge you to get out of the kitchen and talk with the people.   Hear their stories.   Share your stories.   Tell them about the church.   Do these things and God will bless your efforts.

So feeding the hungry is something we should do during our time of rest.   There is something else we should do.   Let’s go back to Mark and listen to Jesus.

Mark 3:1 Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. 2 Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. 3 Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”
4 Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.
5 He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.

Again, Jesus has done nothing wrong on the Sabbath.   He went to the synagogue.   There is nothing wrong with that.   We should be in church on Sunday.   And Jesus prayed for healing.   There is nothing wrong with prayer on the Sabbath either.   God answered the prayer on the Sabbath and healed this man.   So prayers for healing on the Sabbath are certainly ok.

When I went to seminary I thought that there was really no need to pray for healing.  After all God had given us doctors and medicines.   This was all we needed.   I saw no need for prayers for supernatural healing.

But while in seminary I served as a hospital chaplain.  One day I heard a request for a chaplain on my floor.   I went to the room and talked with the nurse.   She said that the patient has just returned from surgery.   She had hooked up a machine to automatically dispense morphine to deal with his pain.   But the machine wasn’t working.   And the patient was is a lot of pain.  It would take around 10 minutes for her to get another machine working.   So she asked me if there was anything I could do.
I sat down next to the patient and began to pray.   I asked God to ease his pain.   As I prayed I felt him relax.   Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the nurse setting up the new machine.  I kept praying for around 10 minutes.   Then the patient fell asleep as the morphine from the new machine did its job. The next day I returned to the room to talk with the patient.   He thanked me for what I did.  He said that his pain eased while I was praying.  So I prayed again, this time for his complete healing.

As a pastor, I always pray for healing.   Sometimes something truly extraordinary happens.  On three different occasions, I have been summoned to emergency rooms to pray with dying patients.   Doctors have given up.   Life support was removed.   Families were prepared for an imminent death.   And I prayed for healing.   Three times now,  people I prayed for who were dying walked out of the hospital and went home to live several more years. 

Do prayers for healing work?   Ye,s they do.  Of course, everyone has an appointment with death.   We can’t put it off forever.   But sometimes God will hear our prayers and do something extraordinary by healing someone.

This is why we pray for healing every Sunday at this church.   I hear your requests and pray.   And I continue to pray throughout the week.  I urge you to pray for healing too.   Sometimes God is just waiting for your prayer so that he may be glorified in a healing.
 
So Jesus wants us to feed the hungry and pray for healing on the Sabbath.   There is nothing controversial about these.   These are good things to do because they bless people.   But the Pharisees were angry at Jesus.    After they saw the hungry disciples eating and a withered hand restored they did  this.

Mark 3:6 Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

Certainly, they didn’t plot to kill Jesus just because he plucked grain and healed a withered hand on the Sabbath.  They were angry about something else, something Jesus said.   Let’s listen to Jesus.

Mark 2:27 Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

God is the Lord of the Sabbath.   God created the world in six day and rested on the sabbath.   Anyone who claimed to be the “Lord of the Sabbath” would be in violation of the first commandment.    They would be claiming to be another god superior to the creator.   This is blasphemy.  When the pharisees heard Jesus claim that he was the “Lord of the Sabbath”  they began plotting to have him put to death. 

But Jesus wasn’t claiming to be another god at all.   He was claiming something far more than that.   Jesus was claiming to be one with the true God who created the world.  He was claiming to be the “Son of God.”   The pharisees couldn’t see the truth of this claim.   But we can because we are filled with the Holy Spirit and can see the Kingdom of God.

So our Lord Jesus Christ is the Lord of the Sabbath and wants us to feed the hungry and pray for the sick.  Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, we gather here on this Sabbath day to listen to your word and respond.   We  have heard your stories of feeding the hungry and healing the sick.   Use us to feed the hungry and pray for the sick in our community.   We pray this to you our Lord of the Sabbath.  Amen.