Mark 5:21-43
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
Faith to Heal audio (4MB)
If you were here last week you may remember that I asked whether you have trouble believing that God still intervenes in the world in a miraculous way. Well, a similar question arises today. Not whether you believe that God can answer your prayers, rather do you believe that he will answer your prayers?
Do you wonder whether God will listen to you because you’re not sure if you’ve been good enough? Do you think to yourself, “I haven’t really been good enough lately to ask him that.” Or do you sometimes make deals with God and then find that you’ve broken the agreement you had so you think you’ve blown it. Well let me suggest that it all comes back in the end to what you think faith is. What is it that faith in God hangs on? Is it something in ourselves? Does God look at us and decide whether we have enough faith before answering? Or is it something else.
In our reading today we find the account of two quite different people who had faith in Jesus. But we find the account cleverly interwoven by Mark so that as we go through it we see a number of contrasts and a number of similarities.
Mark 4:35-5:20
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
Power Over Sea and Spirits audio (5MB)
Di & I were watching a show the other day where they were previewing the latest movies and one came up that we decided was just too close to the truth to bear watching. It was based on the tsunami in 2004. Do you remember it? Those horrific scenes of the ocean rolling in and swallowing everything in its path. [video clip] 230,000 people died in 4 different countries. Do you remember watching the news reports and being reminded once again of the awesome power of God’s creation and humans’ inability, despite our great advances in science and technology, to fully control it?
Of course to the ancient peoples of the middle east, the sea, in particular, was seen as the image of unpredictability, of anarchy, of all the forces of evil that opposed God and his people. You can understand why, can’t you? The sea can be a fearsome thing even for those who know it well. [Video clip - the Perfect Storm] [Well the storm on Galilee wasn’t quite a Perfect Storm but] as we’ll see as we go through today’s passage Jesus’ disciples were among those who knew the sea and yet could be afraid of it.
In fact in today’s passage we find two types of forces that people fear. First there’s the power of the sea, which we all understand, but then there’s that other power that so many fear because they can’t understand it or comprehend it. That is the power of the spirit world. [Again there’s something very contemporary about this issue as well. TV shows and movies regularly portray all sorts of supernatural forces that our modern, scientifically trained, minds don’t want to admit. Yet these forces have been known and talked about since the scriptures were first written.]
I wonder how many of us have trouble believing that God still intervenes in the world in a miraculous way. When we pray do we really believe that God can and will answer our prayers? Or do we hedge our prayers to make them more ‘reasonable’, not asking for anything that’s outside the realms of the rational and explainable? Do we asking for patience rather than healing? Do we prefer to put up with the hardships of life rather than ask God to change them? Or are we so overcome by the troubles that we face that we simply forget to look to God for help?
Mark 4:1-20
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- Written by: George Hemmings
The Nature of the Gospel audio (5MB)
Do you see what I see?
When you look at this picture, I wonder what you see? A young lady in silhouette, or a cartoon man playing the saxophone? There’s only one picture, but people see different things. By the end of Mark 3, the disciples must be wondering the same thing about Jesus. How is it that people have such different reactions to him? Some people, including Jesus’ own family, thought he’d gone mad. The religious leaders said Jesus was a monster, that he was Satan or at least on Satan's side. The disciples saw Jesus differently though. He was the one they'd chosen to follow, even if they couldn't understand everything he said or did just yet. To them Jesus wasn’t mad or a monster, but their master. But they must have wondered, why doesn't everyone see this? Why doesn’t everyone follow him?
It's a question we might still ask today. Why are there so many different reactions to Jesus? You might know that the word gospel means good news. The news that Jesus came to restore us to full relationship with God, isn’t just good, it’s great! It’s the best news in the world! But if that’s the case, why doesn’t everyone respond with joy? Why is it that people still reject the gospel?
Mark 3:20-35
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
Jesus, Mad, Monster, or Master? audio (5MB)
How much is too much? I’m not thinking about chocolate here. That’s an easy one. No, I’m thinking about ministry effort. When do you say enough is enough? Is it OK to say “I’ve done my 40 hours this week; now I’m going to stop and have a rest”? Or should you work flat out all the time for the Lord? Alternatively, when you see someone in ministry seemingly working their fingers to the bone, should you tell them to stop and have a break?
I’ve known people who from my perspective seemed to be workaholics, never stopping, always looking for another opportunity to minister, to help someone out. And I’ve thought they should look after themselves more. It’s a fine line isn’t it, between being a workaholic, and working flat out at serving God?
But of course it’s much easier to make a judgement like that from the sideline isn’t it? If you’re not the one actually engaged in that ministry it’s hard to know what’s the right thing to do.
Well, in today’s passage we see two different sets of onlookers watching Jesus and judging him. They both think he’s not quite right, though their conclusions as to the cause are quite different.
Mark 2:13-3:6
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
New Wine, New Wineskins audio (5MB)
Most people dislike change. Some people think it’s a necessary evil; but evil nevertheless. But there are times when change is absolutely necessary; when the old ways won’t work; when the old ways will actually hinder the thing that’s coming.
One such moment in time was at the coming of Jesus. The Old Testament from start to finish points to his coming, but with his coming the days of the Old Testament are finished. The way God had taught his people to live as they waited for Jesus was about to be made redundant. The means by which they gained righteousness was about to be overtaken, replaced by a righteousness by faith alone. And the very identity of God’s people was about to be changed.
And we see all of this in great clarity as we read through the end of Chapter 2 and the start of ch3 of Mark.
A Nation of God-Fearers?
The old order established very strict boundaries of righteousness. These were largely built upon the 10 commandments but the rules had been widened to cover a host of situations that weren’t mentioned, in fact probably not even thought of, in Exodus 20. Similarly the old order was built around a belief that the Jews were God’s chosen people and everyone else was excluded. That exclusion meant that faithful Jews would have nothing to do with Gentiles: no business dealings and certainly no social dealings.
Series: 41: Mark 2-7 - Who is this Man?
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
Who Is This Man?
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Jesus Forgives a Paralysed Man |
Mk 2:1-12 |
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New Wine, New Wineskins |
Mk 2:13-3:6 |
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Withdrawal & Commissioning |
Mk 3:7-19 |
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The Character Of Jesus Family |
Mk 3:20-35 |
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The Nature Of The Gospel |
Mk 4:1-20 |
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The Nature Of The Kingdom |
Mk 4:21-34 |
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Power Over Sea And Spirits |
Mk 4:35-5:20 |
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Faith To Heal |
Mk 5:21-43 |
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A Prophet Without Honour |
Mk 6:1-13 |
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Food And Water |
Mk 6:30-56 |
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The Secret to Purity |
Mk 7:1-23 |
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The Faith of Foreigners - RL |
Mk 7:24-37 |
Mark 2:1-12
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
Jesus Forgives a Paralysed Man audio (5MB)
Have you noticed how mobile phones are now an essential accessory for so many people? It seems like no matter where you are you’re likely to find yourself standing next to someone who’s having a conversation on their phone. And if you’re like me you probably find yourself listening in, wondering what they’re talking about. Mind you, that just leaves you frustrated because the next thing you know they’ve moved away and you don’t know how the conversation finishes up.
Well if you find it frustrating only hearing a snippet of a conversation, you’ll understand why here at St Thomas’ we choose to follow whole books in our sermon series rather than following a lectionary. I guess a lectionary is useful because you don’t have to think about what to read each week - someone else has thought it out for you, but often all you get are snippets with bits left out here and there.
Well, today we’re starting out on a new series following the Gospel of Mark. We actually looked at the first chapter of Mark in January so today we’re going to start with Mark ch2. But before we begin let me encourage you, if you haven’t done it lately, to read all the way through Mark in a single sitting. It’ll only take you about an hour. Or if that’s too hard try reading it a few chapters at a time. I did this while I was away and it’s interesting how you pick up some connections as you move from chapter to chapter that you might miss if you just read a small section as we often do on a Sunday.
