“Jesus said to them, ‘Let us move on to the neighboring villages so that I may proclaim the Good News there also. That is what I have come to do’.”
Let us move on. I’m fairly certain that there’s not another homily being offered today that will cite an Austrian physicist from the early 20th century. Yet here we are, with an introduction to one Erwin Schrödinger...
Erwin Schrödinger shared the 1933 Nobel Prize in Physics. His work offered groundbreaking additions to the study of quantum theory, wave mechanics and the behavior of electrons in atoms. Perhaps most famously, Schrödinger posited a thought experiment, denoted as “Schrödinger’s Cat,” in which the eponymous cat was both dead and alive at the same time. In simply citing Schrödinger’s work, I’ve told you 125% of what I know about physics. We’ll save critiques of my scientific knowledge for another Day.
I mention Erwin Schrödinger because of a quote that’s attributed to him. “The task,” he said,“ is not so much to see what nobody has ever seen, but to think what nobody has ever thought about that which everybody sees.” The task is not so much to see what nobody has ever seen, but to think what nobody has ever thought about that which everybody sees. Schrödinger’s observation seems particularly germane as we open our libraries to read Scripture. Yes, I said “Open our libraries.” Because, you see, the notion of the Bible as a book is a bit off target. If it’s a book, we might best – and, most accurately – describe it as an anthology. Since I’m quite prone to seeking what I term “thought interrupters,” I prefer to speak of the Bible as a library instead of as a book. In that library, we can peruse a section of histories. There are offerings of romantic poetry and inspirational literature to rival anything you could find on contemporary shelves. There’s a memoir written by a man in exile in which he ponders the end of the world. Most of what we call the New Testament is simply a series of letters, and most of those letters were written by one author. What a wondrous library! And, of course, one entire section is devoted to biographies of the One whose life embodied total Christ consciousness. It’s fascinating to recognize the way that the Gospels provide four distinct ways of telling the story of Jesus’ life, purpose, and ministry. Let’s take a moment to place today’s Gospel reading from Mark within the context of comparison to the other books in this section of our library. Let’s use the number “39” as the marker for our comparison. Today’s reading ended at the 39th verse of the first chapter of Mark. If you read the first 39 verses of Matthew’s Gospel, you’d be almost halfway through before Jesus is even mentioned. The first 17 verses are basically a recitation of His family tree, tracing Jesus’ lineage back to Abraham, the father of all three of the world’s most prominent monotheistic religions: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. While Matthew reports Jesus’ birth, he devotes more of his early writing to the reflection and action of Jesus’ earthly father, Joseph. Luke’s Gospel is a “Let me explain the things you’ve heard” account of Jesus’ life, written to Luke’s friend, Theophilus. Luke’s context for understanding Jesus is His extended biological family rather than the genealogy of the Jewish people. As such, the first 39 verses of the Book of Luke introduce us to Zechariah and Elizabeth, foreshadow the birth of John the Baptist, and then finally offer us the angel Gabriel’s Annunciation to Mary and Mary’s “let it be” response. The name “Jesus” appears only once in those 39 verses. The first 39 verses of John’s Gospel allude to the Christ, the life and light that existed from the beginning of time. He goes on to pick up Luke’s foreshadowing by describing the testimony of John the Baptist. We, along with John the Baptist, encounter Jesus as an adult in verse 29 of the first chapter of John. And by the 39th verse, Jesus has just begun to assemble his disciples. The slow buildup in Matthew, Luke, and John stands in stark contrast to Mark’s active treatment of the story of Jesus. It’s Oscar season, so we can borrow categories from the world of motion pictures. The other three Gospels are bio-pics, with significant devotion to character development. Mark’s screenplay is an action-packed adventure tale. Jewish history? A two-verse shout-out to the prophet Isaiah. John the Baptist? Five verses. Mary, Joseph, the Nativity? Not even mentioned. Mark introduces us to Jesus in verse 9, at the time of His baptism. By verse 34, Jesus has already been in the wilderness for 40 days; recruited Simon, Andrew, James, and John as Apostles; taught in the synagogue; cast out demons; and attracted all of the residents of Capernaum to receive healing from diseases. Mark drops us directly into the action. Our minds, eyes and ears tune in when there’s action afoot. That’s one reason that new students of the Bible are often encouraged to begin their study with the Gospel of Mark. There’s stuff happening right from the start and Mark says everything that he wants to say in just 16 chapters. The action draws us in as we get a steady narrative of Jesus teaching and preaching and healing and performing miracles. It’s easy to get caught up in the action, which is why I like to circle back to Erwin Schrödinger. Everybody sees the whirlwind pace of Jesus’ ministry as described by Mark. When we step away from that pace, though, what discernment is available to us that can help us to think what nobody has ever thought about that which everybody sees? For my part, the healing and casting out of demons don’t strike me as the most compelling part of today’s Gospel reading. That’s what everybody sees. Rather, the compelling part – what nobody has thought about that which everybody sees – is that after a full day of what John Wimber described as “Doing the stuff,” Jesus didn’t choose to sleep in and muster his energy for another jam-packed day in Capernaum… “Rising early the next morning,” the Scripture says, “Jesus went off to a lonely place in the desert and prayed there.” I don’t know what Jesus prayed. I’ll tell you what I believe, though. I believe that Jesus prayed “God, help me to be still. Don’t let me get too full of myself. Another day in Capernaum will make this all about me. Help me to remember my purpose.” And when the disciples finally found Jesus and wanted to take Him back to the place that had yielded so much success on the previous day, that early morning prayer ushered forth a surprising response. Today’s reading from The Inclusive Bible reports that Jesus said to them “Let us move on.” I’m partial to the translation offered in the New International Version: “Let us go somewhere else.” We often remark that prayer changes things. The most profound changes are the changes wrought within us when we pray. Prayer is an invitation into stillness, the quiet place in which we can embrace our true identity. That was true for Jesus and it must also be true for us as we seek to follow His example. Prayer reconnected Jesus to His purpose. It led Him from the acclaim of what had come before to the newness of what was to come. Today’s Gospel reading offers a three-step guide to the power of prayer. First, prayer reminds us who we are and what power animates and equips us. Second, prayer tunes us to the places where our presence and power can help to bring about God’s will. And, finally, prayer invites us to step away from the crowd and leave the familiar behind. Let us go somewhere else. We’ve been privileged here at Douglas UCC to proclaim the Good News in this community in countless ways. We’ve responded to the hopes and hurts of the world as they’ve been presented to us: In care for one another, in stewardship of God’s creation, in ministering to the needs of those less fortunate, in seeking a more safe, just, and loving society. We’re familiar with the places that people expect to see and feel the impact of our dedication to our mission. And I trust that we’ll continue to be a force for good in those familiar places. Yet if we are to live fully into our dedication to “pursuing peace, justice, love and healing for all creation,” we must be willing to hear Jesus say, “Let us go somewhere else.” Traditional readings of Scripture point to the Great Commission as the basis for outreach and evangelism. That passage, Matthew 28:18-20, occurs as Jesus appears to the disciples after His resurrection. It’s at the end of the story. By contrast, Mark 1:38 appears near the beginning of Jesus’ recorded ministry. Outreach and evangelism weren’t an afterthought, introduced as Jesus left His disciples. They weren’t ceded to Paul with his three missionary journeys. Mark 1:38 stands as a reminder that outreach and evangelism were among the first examples that Jesus set for his followers. Where is our “somewhere else?” I don’t know. We’re working diligently, in dialogue and discernment, to answer that question. Let us also make time, individually and collectively, for the stillness of prayer that will allow the answer to emerge and grow within us. And as our prayers meet the prayers of a yet-to-be-known pastor whose own discernment is leading to a new place, let us look forward with excitement to all that God has in store for us. Only then can we be assured that we are doing what we have come to do. Amen. And Amen.
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