Sermon - Pentecost 5

July 5, 2009 

Go just about any place in the world, and somewhere you will see grand and beautiful churches built to the glory of God. They exist to give one a sense of the grandeur and wonder of God. Some churches are simple, some are filled with light, and some are dark, while others are ornate and filled with gold. All throughout Israel, magnificent churches are built on places associated with the life of Jesus.

Magnificent churches exist everywhere in the world; however, in these churches all over the world the lines of today's Gospel are being read. These lines are a contrast.

Jesus comes to his hometown. On the Sabbath, he begins to read and teach, and all of those people who knew Jesus when he was a child begin to say, "Where in the world did Jesus get all this; remember when he was a little boy and the cute things he used to say? Remember when he was a kid and the family when to Jerusalem, and he stayed behind in the temple? What a character. Hey what is he doing telling us how to live our faith? Who does he think he is? How is it that he dare speak to us about his special relationship to the Father? He is Mr. Big Shot going around with these disciples; it has all gone to his head."

These people do not want to build a monumental church in honor of Jesus. They think they know who he is, and they want him to go away. This begins one of the big themes of Mark Gospel. Although the theme is in other Gospels, Mark’s Gospel vividly draws the theme, "Those who should know who Jesus is do not. Those who should not know him are the ones that do.

In other words, the people who are closest to him such as family and disciples do not see him for what he is. The religious leaders such as the priests and Pharisees, who should know him because they know the Scriptures, do not comprehend him. On the other hand, those on the outside, the sinners, outcasts, and non-Jews, immediately recognize what Jesus is.

Mark, repeatedly, goes out of his way to demonstrate this theme. Why does Mark do that? What is the point?

I think there are many facets about which Mark is writing. However, there is one thing that comes at me. I think Mark's Gospel is telling us to be humble in our certainty. We can be so certain about how right we are that we blind ourselves to what is actually true, right, and good. When we lack humility in our faith, we do not rely on God, but on ourselves. That is why the Pharisees and priests could not see who Jesus was. They should have known, but their pride and certainty led then to lean upon themselves more than on God. The outcasts had nothing to lean on or boast of, and so they could easily see who Jesus was.

That is a simple idea. However, the practice of this simple idea is where we stumble. Sometimes we make ourselves so humble, or we become so deferential to other opinions, that we never take a stand because we end up not believing in anything.

Jesus is not telling us to be weak or wishy washy about our faith. That is not his definition of humility. He sends his disciples out to preach and proclaim with confidence and boldness. They are not to go out and say, "Well, whatever you believe is okay. It is all good just so long as you believe in something." On the contrary, they go out boldly believing; their confidence is not in themselves, but in the grace of God.

We are humble in our faith because we are humble before God. We are humble because our certainty is not in ourselves, but in Christ. There is a distinction, and it is an important one.

St. Paul tells us that he was given a thorn in his side to keep him from being too elated or too boastful. He explains that this thorn kept him from claiming the gifts of the Holy Spirit as his own creation or making him seem too important.

Have you ever had a thorn? You cannot ignore it. It is always at work reminding us of our limits.

God’s power is seen through our humility when boastfulness has not filled up the space. When God’s power is allowed to shine through us, everyone can see and experience it. It is confidence in Christ that gives us power and humility in our faith. Like a grand church, we offer our lives and our faith to the glory of God, so that God's light is revealed through the humility of our faith. Amen.